Baseball Sees NCAA East Regional Run End vs. Wilmington, 10-5, Friday Afternoon

Links: Box Score

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.  – The Merrimack College baseball program saw its remarkable 2018 season come to a close on Friday afternoon, as the sixth-seeded Warriors suffered a 10-5 defeat against seventh-seeded Wilmington in an elimination game at the 2018 NCAA East Regional from Finnerty Field on the campus of Pace University. Merrimack finished its campaign with a program-record 31 victories, won its first NE10 Championship in 22 years and by doing so, reached the program's fourth-ever NCAA Tournament.

The Basics
Score: Wilmington 10, Merrimack 5
Records: Merrimack (31-21) | Wilmington (34-20)
Location: Finnerty Field | Pleasantville, N.Y.

East Regional Championship (double elimination)
Thursday, May 17, 2018 | at Finnerty Field (Pleasantville, N.Y.)
Game 1: No. 3 Le Moyne (34-15-1) def. No. 6 Merrimack (31-20) | 3-2
Game 2: No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (37-13) def. No. 7 Wilmington (Del.) (33-20) | 8-3
Game 3: No. 4 Southern New Hampshire (35-15) vs. No. 5 Franklin Pierce (32-13) 
 
Friday, May 18, 2018 | at Finnerty Field (Pleasantville, N.Y.)
Game 4 No. 7 Wilmington (Del.) def. No. 6 Merrimack | 10-5
Game 5: No. 1 New Haven (37-10) vs. No. 4 Southern New Hampshire (35-15) | 3:00 p.m. 
Game 6: No. 3 Le Moyne (34-15-1) vs. No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (37-13) | 7:00 p.m. 
 
Saturday, May 19, 2018 | at Finnerty Field (Pleasantville, N.Y.)
Game 7: No. 7 Wilmington vs. Loser Game 5 | 11:00 a.m. | Elimination Game
Game 8: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 6 | 3:00 p.m. | Elimination Game
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 | 7:00 p.m. 
 
Sunday, May 20, 2018 | at Finnerty Field (Pleasantville, N.Y.)
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 | 12:00 p.m. | Elimination Game
Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9 | 4:00 p.m. | Elimination Game
 
Monday, May 21, 2018 | at Finnerty Field (Pleasantville, N.Y.)
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11 | 12:00 p.m. 
Game 13 (if necessary): Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11 | 4:00 p.m. 

Rapid Recap

• The Wildcasts – playing as the home team after winning a coin toss – plated four runs in the first inning. Wilmington scored twice on RBI triples, while also seeing singles in a groundout result in a pair of runs
• Five more runs in the bottom of the third extended the lead for the victors of the CACC, 9-0, as the Wildcats saw their first four batters reach on three singles and a hit batsman. Freshman Timmy Kalantzakos entered the game at that point, but a two-run single off of the rookie enabled Wilmington to increase its lead past 7-0
• The combination of Kalantzakos and junior Daniel Amidon allowed just one run the rest of the way, giving the Warriors' offense opportunities to rally. Merrimack scored its first two runs in the fifth, with a two-RBI double by sophomore Joey Porricelli plating classmate Nick Shumski and senior Ricky Smith
• Merrimack put two runners in scoring position with one out of the sixth after a double by junior Cory Wasylow, but could not score. An inning-ended double play in the seventh silenced a scoring chance with the bases loaded, but Merrimack did push a run across in the eighth via a two-out base hit from Shumski
• Facing a 10-3 hole in the top of the ninth, the Warriors' bats loaded the bases with two outs. Two consecutive balks allowed junior Matthew Ronai and sophomore Thomas Joyce to touch home, but the comeback attempted halted there as Wilmington ended the game with a strikeout

Top Performers

• WP: Rumford (8-3) | LP: Lupi (5-5)
• Merrimack ended up outhitting Wilmington, 11-10. Four of the bottom five hitters in Merrimack's lineup posted two-hit afternoons (Joyce, Wasylow, Smith and Shumski)
• Kalantzakos pitched four innings of relief and allowed just one earned run. Amidon entered the game in the seventh, retiring six of the seven batters he faced without allowing a hit

NCAA Regional History:

• Friday capped the fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history
• Merrimack has now played in 10 games over its four tournament appearances, while Friday's contest marked the first ever in the NCAA Tournament against Wilmington

'Mack Facts:

• The 2018 season will go down as one of the best in school history, owning a program-record for wins (31), and snapping the Warriors' 22-year NE10 Championship drought
• Senior PJ Browne concluded his career as the program's record holder in innings pitched (256.1), wins (18) and strikeouts (266)
• Graduate student Tyler Lyne put forth one of the most impressive offense seasons ever at Merrimack, vaulting into the top spot across multiple school records. Lyne will leave the program as its all-time leader in runs (142) and triples (15). In 2018, Lyne broke the single-season hits record (83) and stole the most bases (34) by a Warrior in 29 years