Links: NE10 Release
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – On the eve of the program's first berth to the double-elimination portion of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship in five years, the Merrimack College baseball program learned that six student-athletes earned all-league recognition on Wednesday headlined by a pair of first-team performers in senior outfielder
Matt Nicholson and junior designated hitter
Matthew Ronai.
The six honorees marked the most for the program since 2013, which is also the last time the Warriors appeared in championship weekend. Graduate student
Tyler Lyne earned second-team honors as did senior pitcher
PJ Browne, sophomore
Joey Porricelli landed on the third team among a deep field of third baseman and freshman
Vin Zappulla rounded out the group with an all-rookie nod.
Nicholson's career season garnered the starting right fielder his first all-conference selection of any sort. The first teamer led the Navy and Gold in all three triple crown statistics, hitting .361 with six homers and 42 RBI. All three numbers marked career highs for the Rockland, Mass. native, while he ranked among the top five in the NE10 in both average and RBI. Nicholson also posted career bests in all three slash numbers, including a team-best .962 OPS to go along with personal highs in hits (65), runs (36), extra-base hits (18), triples (4) and steals (6). In school lore, he ranks fifth in homers (19), fourth in total bases (264) and ninth in RBI (103)
Ronai collected his second all-league selection in as many years, landing on the first team for the first time. Merrimack's primary DH and No. 3 hitter slashed .347/.412/.465 on the year and set a new career high with 59 hits through 43 appearances. The Orange, Conn. native enters this weekend's tournament tied for the team lead with 15 doubles, which also set a new career high for the junior. Ronai was one of three Warriors with at least 20 multi-hit games on the season and owned a 22-game reached-base streak earlier this season, which is tied for the longest on the year for any Warrior.
Browne's career season ended with the southpaw's second all-league honor and first since his freshman campaign. The Rutland, Mass. native led the staff in nearly every pitching category including ERA (2.24), innings pitched (68.1), strikeouts (62) and opponent's batting average against (.223). The left-hander also led the Warriors with nine quality starts. Browne set a new program record for strikeouts earlier this season, and has seen that total rise to 239. He also is among the program's all-time leaders in wins (17), and after last night's performance, he sits just 6.1 innings away from becoming Merrimack's all-time leader in IP.
Another Warrior to enjoy a career campaign, Lyne landed on the second team as one of the top outfielder's in the NE10. Lyne notched his second all-conference selection in his career, ranking second on Merrimack by hitting at a .356 clip and boasting an .877 OPS. The Agawam, Mass. native set a career best with 15 doubles, which also ranked second in the NE10, and 51 runs scored, which ranked third league wide. Lyne swiped a conference-leading 27 bases, which is the third most in program history and second highest total of the last decade. The center fielder tied for the team lead in both extra-base hits (20) and multi-hit games (23), while leading the team and NE10 with 69 hits. He needs three more base knocks to become the fourth player in school history with 200, and by doing so he would become the fourth ever to total a 70-hit season.
Porricelli settled in as Merrimack's leadoff hitter and built off his all-rookie campaign last year. The Monroe, Conn. native owns career bests in hits (66), runs (52), RBI (25), steals (24), extra-base hits (20) and doubles (15), while hitting the first three triples and first two homers of his career. Porricelli trails only Lyne for the league lead in thefts, ranks second in runs, tied for second in doubles and fifth in hits. He currently is one of 10 NE10 athletes with at least 20 extra-base hits, and is tied for the team lead with 23 multi-hit efforts.
Zappulla emerged as one of the Warriors' go-to arms during league play to secure an all-rookie team spot. The representative of Staten Island, N.Y. posted a 3.68 ERA over 10 appearances and eight starts, throwing in 49.0 innings. The rookie struck out 43 batters and finished second on the team with four victories. He ranked among the top three on the staff in ERA, innings thrown and punch outs.
