Baseball Controls its Postseason Destiny Entering Final Week of the Regular Season

Matchup	Merrimack (22-17, 9-7 NE DIV) vs. Bentley (17-19, 7-10 DIV) // Assumption (17-25-1, 8-9 DIV) // Stonehill (16-18, 8-8 DIV)
Dates//Times	Tues., May 1 (3:30 p.m.) // Wed., May 2 (7 p.m.) // Thurs. – Fri., May 4-5 (3:30 p.m.) // Sat., May 6 (1 p.m.)
Venue	DeFelice Field (Tues.) // Trinity Stadium (Wed.) // Lou Gorman Field (Thursday - Saturday)
Multimedia	Live Stats | Video (Tue.) // Live Stats (Wed.) // Live Stats (G1) | Live Stats (G2) | Live Stats (G3) (Thurs.-Sat.)
Social	Twitter // Instagram

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College baseball program faces the stretch run of its regular season with five games in five days this week, all of which will come in divisional play. The Warriors begin the week with their series finale against Bentley at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon in Waltham. Merrimack will then host Assumption in its home finale on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. from Trinity Stadium in Haverhill, Mass. in the rubber game between the Warriors and Greyhounds. The Navy and Gold will then conclude the regular season with a three-game series with Stonehill, with single games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoon in Easton, Mass.

NE10 Championship Outlook:
The top-four programs in the Northeast Division standings will advance to the NE10 Championship, which begins with the first round one week from Tuesday. Merrimack is one game ahead of fourth place and holds a 1.5-game lead over fifth place with one week remaining in the regular season. If the Warriors win their first two games this week, the Navy and Gold will clinch a postseason berth.

1. SNHU – 14-3 NE DIV
2. Franklin Pierce – 11-5 NE DIV
3. Merrimack – 9-7 NE DIV
4. Stonehill – 8-8 NE DIV
5. Assumption – 8-9 NE DIV
6. Bentley – 7-10 NE DIV
7. Saint Anselm – 4-11 NE DIV
8. Saint Michael's – 4-12 NE DIV

Last Time Out:

• Merrimack battled division-leading Southern New Hampshire to a 7-7 deadlock through eight frames on Sunday evening in the series-deciding tilt from Holman Stadium. The Penmen rallied, however, scoring seven times in the top of the ninth to claim the series, 14-8
• The Navy and Gold saw another start work deep into a game as redshirt-junior Garrett Hudson saw his pitch rise over 130 as he worked into the eighth inning
• Facing a one-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth, senior Mike Hoalcraft got a one-out rally going with a wall-ball double to left field. He advanced to third on a wild pitch, and junior Anthony Garbarino knocked in the game-tying run on a 3-2 single to the opposite field
• Hoalcraft posted his best hitting performance of the season, going 3-for-4 at the dish and scoring a career-best three runs

'Mack Facts:

• The Navy and Gold honored their graduating class of seniors Jeremy Blake-Johnson, PJ Browne, Hoalcraft, Hudson, Anthony Lupi, Matt Nicholson, Ricky Smith and Joe Westerman prior to Sunday's game. The Class of 2018 enters this week with 91 career wins, becoming only the sixth graduating class at Merrimack to reach 90 career victories
• Browne continued to etch his name into the program record book last week, leading the Warriors to a win over first-place SNHU, 3-2, and tying the school mark with his 17^th career victory. The lefty already owns the program strikeout record, and is top three in school annals in innings pitched
• Merrimack is vying for its fourth consecutive trip to the conference tournament, qualifying for the NE10 Championship in each of the last three seasons
• As a team, the Warriors' .299 batting average through 39 games still ranks as the best in the Northeast Division. The Navy and Gold rank second overall in the league with 83 doubles. The Warriors' 38 doubles plays turned are also a division best
• Individually, Merrimack has names all over the NE10 leaderboard. Nicholson has continued his career season, ranking second in the league in batting average (.394) and third in RBI (39). The right fielder leads the team in both areas, which are also career highs
• The base-stealing duo of sophomore Joey Porricelli and Tyler Lyne became the first pair of Warriors with at least 20 thefts in a season since 2013. The former leads the league with 22 steals followed closely by the latter at 20. Merrimack is tied for the league lead with 81 stolen bases

Recent Series:

• The Warriors clinched a series victory over the Falcons just last week with a wild 19-14 victory in Waltham. Merrimack will go for the sweep tomorrow, which would be the second sweep of the Falcons in the last three years
• Wednesday's game is crucial as Merrimack and Assumption split their first two meetings of the year. The Navy and Gold won the most recent contest, 19-9
• Merrimack carries a six-game winning streak over the Skyhawks into the series beginning Thursday

Scouting the Opposition:
NE10 Rank in ()

	BENTLEY	ASSUMPTION	STONEHILL
Batting Average	.283 (6th)	.261 (10th)	.254 (13th)
Runs	238 (7th)	221 (8th)	164 (13th)
Hits	378 (7th)	394 (5th)	296 (13th)
Home Runs	21 (5th)	15 (6th)	9 (10th)
RBI	211 (6th)	200 (7th)	146 (13th)
ERA	5.39 (15th)	5.21 (12th)	4.77 (8th)
Strikeouts	291 (7th)	318 (4th)	229 (12th)
Fielding Percentage	.962 (6th)	.952 (13th)	.957 (10th)

 
Up Next:
If Merrimack advances to the postseason, the Warriors will play in the NE10 First Round one week from Tuesday. Opponents and an official first pitch will be announced at a later date.