Baseball Rallies Late in Game Two to Complete Doubleheader Sweep of Saint Michael's Saturday

4/22/2017 12:00:00 AM

Links: Box Score (Game 1) | Box Score (Game 2)
Video: Nicholson/Smith Postgame Reaction

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College baseball team belted out 12 runs and utilized a shutout performance from junior Anthony Lupi (Dover, N.H.) on the hill to take its series opener with visiting Saint Michael's College on Saturday afternoon, before ending the doubleheader with a three-run seventh inning to comeback and win game two, 3-2, from the Warrior Baseball Diamond in Northeast-10 Conference play.

The Basics
Score (G1): Merrimack 12, Saint Michael's 3
Score (G2): Merrimack 3, Saint Michael's 2
Records: Merrimack (17-15-1, 9-2-1 NE Div.) | Saint Michael's (1-18, 1-11 NE Div.)
Location: Warrior Baseball Diamond | North Andover, Mass.      

Inning By Inning (G1)

• Bottom 1^st – The Warriors sent six batters to the plate and scored three runs in the first. Senior Cam DiSarcina (Shirley, Mass.) knocked in graduate student Mike Forgione (North Branford, Conn.) on a grounder to short to make it 1-0. Sophomore Matthew Ronai (Orange, Conn.) and junior Ricky Smith (Weymouth, Mass.) notched two-out run-scoring singles to increase the Warriors' advantage
• Bottom 3^rd – The Navy and Gold blew the game open in the third. Seven runs scored in the frame, making it a 10-0 game by the time the inning ended. Disarcina roped a RBI triple down the line in right, junior Matt Nicholson (Rockland, Mass.) contributed a two-run homer to straightaway centerfield and Forgione cleared the bases with two outs with a three-run double
• Top 5^th – Lupi was dealing through four innings, taking a perfect game into the fifth. He got the first out, but an error followed by a bloop single erased the attempt at perfection. The inning ended quickly, however, as the Purple Knights' baserunnner was picked off by Smith at first followed by Lupi's sixth and final punch out of the day
• Top 6^th – Lupi worked around one baserunner in the sixth to end his outing with six shutout innings, allowing only three Purple Knights to reach base
• 7^th-9^th – Redshirt-sophomore Jeremy Blake-Johnson (Worcester, Mass.), freshman Stephen Fleury (Wilbraham, Mass.) and freshman Dylan Stevens (Beverly, Mass.) all threw innings out of the pen, as Merrimack ended game one with a 12-3 win

Inning By Inning (G2)

• Top 1^st – Redshirt-sophomore Garrett Hudson took the ball in game two and loaded the bases immediately in the first. He nearly got out of it, as a liner to first was snagged by DiSarcina, who touched the first-base bag to double off the runner, but Saint Michael's next hitter sliced a double to left field to give the visitors at 2-0 lead
• Top 6^th  – Hudson settled into his outing after the first, blanking the Purple Knights over the next five innings including back-to-back perfect frames in the fifth and sixth to close his outing with a quality start
• Top 7^th – Senior captain Matt DiNello (Southington, Conn.) came on in the seventh and benefitted for a smooth line-out double play turned by classmate Paul Buckley (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) to erase a leadoff single and ushered on the bottom of the seventh with Merrimack still trailing by two
• Bottom 7^th – Nicholson worked a 2-0 count to start the frame and hit a line drive to left field for a leadoff single. Two batters later, junior Mike Hoalcraft (Fayetteville, N.Y.) pinch hit and struck a first-pitch fast ball to the fence in right field, putting runners in scoring position. Buckley followed with a grounder to third that was booted into foul territory, allowing Hoalcraft to score from second to tie the game. Smith then grabbed a bat and pinch hit, smacking a go-ahead single to left that scored Buckley
• Bottom 9^th – DiNello worked a scoreless eighth to pave the way for senior Nate Spielvogel (Brookline, Mass.), who posted one of the most dominant efforts of his career by striking out the side for his third save of the season

Game 1 Notes

• G1: WP – Lupi (4-2) | LP – Cooney (0-2)
• Nicholson's third-inning blast marked the first round-tripper at home this season for the Navy and Gold. For Merrimack's cleanup hitter, it was his first in 22 games and fourth overall this season
• Lupi's final line included six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out six Purple Knights. His effort brought the third-year hurler to a new career high in innings (43.2), while tying last year's total with his ninth appearance. His ERA stands at 2.47 – the lowest among Merrimack's starting rotation
• DiSarcina and Forgione combined to knock in six of Merrimack's 12 runs on the day. The duo joined Nicholson as Warriors who scored multiple runs, as well
• Head coach Nick Barese was able to dip into his bench with the sizable lead, which included home debuts for freshmen Ethan Sprague (Leominster, Mass.) and Connor Suech (Atkinson, N.H.)

Game 2 Notes

• G2: WP – DiNello (1-1) | LP – Farris (2-2) | S – Spielvogel (3)
• Despite ending the day with a no decision, Hudson's quality start featured just two earned runs allowed on four hits, with only one hit allowed past the first inning. His six punch outs marked the second most this season for the third-year righty
• DiNello continues to find his groove late in the season. He has thrown back-to-back shutout outings, increasing his scoreless inning streak to six
• Spielvogel has been one of the most dominant relievers in the NE10 this season, with opponents hitting .129 off the hard-throwing closer through 10 appearances and 9.2 innings of work. He has allowed one earned run this year, with multi-K efforts in five of his 10 outings
• Smith has turned a corner offensively, increasing his average to .284 on the year after Saturday with 14 RBI
• DiSarcina ended Saturday with 192 career hits, moving closer to becoming the third Warrior ever with 200 base knocks

Up Next
Merrimack celebrates Senior Day tomorrow, honoring  Buckley, Chris Cimmino (Orange, Conn.), DiNello, DiSarcina Tyler Lyne (Agawam, Mass.), Michael Nocera (Bristol, Conn.), Aidan O'Leary (Portsmouth, N.H.), Ryan Petrone (Leicester, Mass.), Spielvogel and Joe Velozo (Tewksbury, Mass.) before its series finale with the Purple Knights at 12 p.m. from the Warrior Baseball Diamond.   

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