Baseball Drops Non-League Contest at Saint Anselm, 7-4

Baseball Drops Non-League Contest at Saint Anselm, 7-4

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MANCHESTER, N.H.  – Following its Northeast-10 Conference sweep of the Saint Anselm Hawks on Saturday, the Merrimack College baseball team returned to Sullivan Park on Sunday afternoon for a non-conference battle with the Hawks. The Warriors brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, but the hosts held on for a 7-4 win to salvage one of four games this season against the Navy and Gold.

The Basics
 Score: Saint Anselm 7, Merrimack 4
Records: Merrimack (22-17) | Saint Anselm (11-30)
Location: Sullivan Park | Manchester, N.H.

Inning By Inning

  • Bottom 2nd – Senior Joe Velozo (Tewksbury, Mass.) took the ball on Sunday, and allowed Saint Anselm's first run to score on a sacrifice fly in the second. The Hawks added a second on an error at third base that made it a 2-0 game
  • Top 5th – After a passed ball gave Merrimack on run in the fourth, Merrimack tied the game in the fifth. Junior Mike Hoalcraft (Fayetteville, N.Y.) drove a double into centerfield with two runners on to score the tying run, making it a 2-2 game
  • Bottom 5th – The Hawks immediately answered with a solo homer to take the lead back, 3-2
  • Bottom 7th – Saint Anselm scored four runs off reliever Michael Nocera (Bristol, Conn.) to generate some insurance tallies. Freshman Stephen Fleury (Wilbraham, Mass.) entered the game to minimize the damage, but allowed two inherited runners to score. Saint Anselm led, 7-2, entering the eighth
  • Top 9th – One run scored for the Warriors in the eighth to bring their deficit down to four entering their final at-bat. Three straight singles loaded the bases and a groundout to first made it a 7-4 game with runners in scoring position. Junior Matt Nicholson (Rockland, Mass.) – Merrimack's leader in homers – pinch hit with a chance to tie the game, but popped up to short to end the game

Notes and Notables

  • WP: Dunn (3-5) | LP: Velozo (1-2)
  • Despite being saddled with the loss, Velozo threw his second quality start over his last three appearances (6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER). The fourth-year southpaw has allowed just four earned runs over his last 19 innings of work
  • Junior Ricky Smith (Weymouth, Mass.) led the offense with three hits on the day, his ninth multi-hit effort of the season
  • Hoalcraft notched a pair of base knocks from the cleanup spot, extending his hitting streak to five games

Up Next
 The Warriors host Bentley University tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in their rubber game of a three-game divisional series. The Falcons won a 12-inning affair in the series opener before the Warriors walked off with a 2-1 win in the second contest.  

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