Bats Erupt for 30 Combined Runs as Baseball Splits Twin Bill Saturday vs. Concordia/LIU Post

2/25/2017 12:00:00 AM

Links: Box Score (Concordia) | Box Score (LIU Post)

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Merrimack College baseball team combined to score 30 runs on Saturday in Myrtle Beach, S.C. as the Warriors split a doubleheader against Concordia (N.Y.) and LIU Post during the Northeast Challenge at The Ripken Experience. The Warriors knocked off the Clippers, 18-0, scoring the most runs for the program in six years in the season-opening victory, but suffered a 21-11 loss to the Pioneers in the second tilt.

The Basics
Score (G1): Merrimack 18, Concordia 0
Score (G2): LIU Post 21, Merrimack 12
Records: Merrimack (1-2) | Concordia (0-3) | LIU Post (4-3)
Location: The Ripken Experience | Myrtle Beach, S.C.

How It Happened (G1)

• 1^st inning – Junior Anthony Lupi (Dover, N.H.) got the ball for his first start of the season and worked a scoreless first. The Warriors scored twice in the inning, with junior Mike Hoalcraft (Fayetteville, N.Y.) scoring on a passed ball and senior Cam DiSarcina (Shirley, Mass.) touching home on an infield single by sophomore Matthew Ronai (Orange, Conn.)
• 2^nd inning – After Lupi struck out the side in the top half, DiSarcina plated two in freshman Thomas Joyce (Newton, Mass.) – who reached on his first-ever double – and senior Ryan Petrone (Leicester, Mass.) on a two-out single to make it 4-0
• 3^rd inning – Doubles from junior catcher Ricky Smith (Weymouth, Mass.) and Petrone accounted for three more runs for Merrimack in the third, increasing its lead to seven-zip
• 4^th inning – Lupi struck out the side in the top of the fourth, as nine of his first 12 put outs were by way of the K. In the bottom half, the Warriors blew the game open. Freshman Michael Mercuri (Lowell, Mass.) entered the game and nearly went yard before scoring on a hit from Joyce. Graduate shortstop Mike Forgione (North Branford, Conn.) got in on the act with a RBI double, while a passed ball with Hoalcraft at the plate scored the Warriors' 10^th run of the afternoon. DiSarcina then stepped into the box and smacked his first home run of the season, one of the three-run variety. Two batters later, Ronai went yard for the first round-tripper of his career. When the inning ended, the Warriors batted around and put up a nine spot to make it a 16-0 game
• 7^th inning – Lupi's day was done after six innings and nine punch outs. He only allowed four hits and did not concede a run. Freshman Stephen Fleury (Wilbraham, Mass.) replaced the southpaw for his debut appearance with the Navy and Gold
• 9^th inning – With two more runs on the board, redshirt-sophomore Jeremy Blake-Johnson (Worcester, Mass.) came out of the pen for his first-ever appearance as well, and struck out the side to cap off the Warriors' first win of 2017

How It Happened (G2)

• 2^nd inning – Junior lefty PJ Browne (Rutland, Mass.) started in the nightcap and ran into trouble with two outs in the second. A single scored two Pioneer runs, and a three-run homer by Rob Andreoli staked LIU Post to a 5-0 lead
• 3^rd inning – Merrimack's offense immediately countered in the top of the third. Forgione hit a double to score Petrone and Hoalcraft followed with a single to score Merrimack's shortstop to make it a 5-2 game. Hoalcraft scampered home on a wild pitch, and later in the inning Ronai struck an extra-base hit that plated  Matt Nicholson (Rockland, Mass.) and made it a 5-4 game
• 4^th inning – Petrone started another huge inning for Merrimack, scoring the Warriors' first of seven runs in the fourth on a single from DiSarcina. Nicholson stepped into the box immediately after and ripped a double to left to give Merrimack its first lead, 7-5. Later in the inning and the bases loaded once again, Joyce hit a grand slam for his first-ever homer to make it 11-5 Merrimack. The Pioneers, however, chased Browne in the bottom half by scoring five runs in the inning. Redshirt-junior Michael Nocera (Bristol, Conn.) came in from the bullpen and limited the damage, as the score rested at 11-10 entering the fifth
• 7^th inning – The Pioneers tied the game in the sixth, and in the top of the seventh the Warriors nearly took the lead back, but senior catcher Chris Cimmino (Orange, Conn.) was thrown out at home to end the frame. Junior Joe Westerman (Maynard, Mass.) came on after a single in the bottom of the inning, and allowed in inherited runner to score on a sac fly as LIU took the lead back, 12-11
• 8^th inning – The Pioneers secured insurance markers with a two-run bomb in the eighth, which started a nine-run inning for the East Coast Conference representatives

Inside The Numbers

• G1: WP – Lupi (1-0) | LP – Lawrence (0-1)
• Merrimack's 18 runs against the Clippers marked the most for the program since a 20-run game against Nyack in the season opener of the 2010-11 campaign. The Warriors totaled at least 20 hits for a game for the third time in the last 13 years, with the most recent occurrence happening in the 2013 season.
• DiSarcina struck his first homer of the season, and snapped a 61-game stretck without a round-tripper. He entered the season with only one career home run, which came during his sophomore season against Bentley.
• Ronai collected his first four-bagger following a rookie season that saw him record five extra-base hits, all of which were doubles
• Joyce added another deep shot in the ninth to become the first Warrior to have a multi-homer game since Nicholson accomplished the feat as a sophomore last season. He already is the first Merrimack rookie to have a multi-homer season since Matt Brown '16 hit two long balls in 2013

Up Next
The Navy and Gold wrap up the Northeast Challenge with another doubleheader beginning at 9 a.m. against Dominican (N.Y.). The finale will begin at 12 p.m. against Felician, and live stats are available for that game.

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