DiSarcina Powers Baseball to Series Sweep of Assumption; Warriors Clinch NE10 Championship Berth

4/28/2017 12:00:00 AM

Links: Box Score
Video: DiSarcina Postgame Comments

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Senior first baseman Cam DiSarcina (Shirley, Mass.) went 5-for-5 with two home runs and three doubles, junior starter PJ Browne (Rutland, Mass.) threw six shutout innings and the Merrimack College baseball team swept its Northeast-10 Conference series with the Assumption College Greyhounds, 16-1, on Friday afternoon from the Warrior Baseball Diamond. With the win, Merrimack clinched a top-four finish in the Northeast Division and a spot in the NE10 Championship.

The Basics
Score: Merrimack 16, Assumption 1
Records: Merrimack (20-16, 12-3 NE10 NE) | Assumption (15-21, 6-9 NE10 NE)
Location: Warrior Diamond | North Andover, Mass.

Inning By Inning

• Bottom 1^st – DiSarcina started the bats off strong, lining a two-run home run to left field the hit the top of the fence and bounced over for the round-tripper.
• Bottom 3^rd – Merrimack's No. 3 hitter led off the third with a double, and scored on a RBI single from sophomore Matthew Ronai (Orange, Conn.). One more run came across in the third on a double from senior Paul Buckley (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) and the Warriors led 5-0
• Bottom 4^th – Ronai faced a two-on, two-out situation the next inning, and drove a two-bagger to the furthest part of the ballpark to increase Merrimack's lead to 8-0 through four
• Top 6^th – With only two strikeouts through five innings, Browne's last frame included a pair of punch outs as he ended his outing with six shutout innings
• Bottom 6^th – As the second batter in the inning, DiSarcina thought he had drawn a walk on ball three, but was forced to return to the batter's box. It worked out just fine for the Preseason All-Region selection as the first baseman socked a no-doubter over the right-field fence for his second long ball of the day. The Warriors added on three more runs to increase their advantage to 12-0
• Bottom 7^th – Merrimack began to employ reserves and a three-run seventh inning occurred via RBIs from freshman Thomas Joyce (Newton, Mass.), freshman Nick Shumski (Salem, N.H.) and senior Ryan Petrone (Leicester, Mass.)
• Bottom 8^th – DiSarcina's emphatic day at the plate concluded with a run-scoring double down the left-field line, scoring the Warriors' 16^th and final run of the day

Notes and Notables

• WP: Browne (3-2) | LP: Lambert (2-2)
• DiSarcina's day: five hits, five runs, four RBI, three doubles, two home runs, one walk and 15 total bases (four shy of the single-game high nationwide this season)
• DiSarcina – a player who has played all over the diamond in his career including a full-time spot at first base for the first time this season – increased his batting average from .292 to .319 in one day on Friday. He tied his career high with his 17^th double, and broke a new career with his second and third homers. He increased his team lead in RBI to 32 and is tied for second in that category in the league
• Record book watch: Already with the program's doubles record (56), DiSarcina is within reach of the program leads in at-bats (623), total bases (283), RBI (125) and hits (199). With one base knock tomorrow against Saint Anselm, he will become the third player in program history with 200 career hits
• Browne's effort featured six unblemished innings, and including his last start which also occurred against the Greyhounds, he has now thrown 15 consecutive shutout frames against Assumption
• Ronai – Merrimack's leading hitter – also posted a strong day at the play by going 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. His .374 average is tied for third in the NE10

Up Next
Merrimack heads on the road tomorrow for a divisional doubleheader against Saint Anselm beginning at 12 p.m. from Sullivan Park in Manchester, N.H.

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