Baseball Hopes to Advance to Winners Bracket of NE10 Championship Thursday vs. #20 Le Moyne

Matchup	Merrimack (27-18) vs. #20 Le Moyne (33-13-1)
Dates//Times	Thursday, May 10, (12:00 p.m.)
Venue	SNHU Baseball Field // Manchester, N.H.
Multimedia	Live Stats // Video
Social Media	Twitter // Instagram

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College baseball program will compete in the double-elimination portion of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship for the first time since 2013 on Thursday afternoon when the third-seeded Warriors meet the Southwest Division's top seed and No. 20 Le Moyne College for a 12 p.m. first pitch at the SNHU Baseball Field in Manchester, N.H.

Championship Central:

• Per NE10 policy, the following ticket prices will be charged to all fans attending tomorrow's game:
  • Adults - $6; Children/Seniors - $4; Students (with valid ID from NE10 institutions) - $1
  • Tickets are also cash only
• For full details on ticketing, travel, parking and other accommodations, head to Southern New Hampshire's Championship Central Page

Championship Weekend (double elimination)
Thursday, May 10
Game 5: (1SW) Le Moyne vs. (3NE) Merrimack - 12 p.m.  Live Stats | Video
Game 6: (2SW) New Haven vs. (1NE) Southern New Hampshire - 3 p.m.  Live Stats | Video
Friday, May 11
Game 7: Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser - 11 a.m.  Live Stats | Video
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner - 2 p.m.  Live Stats | Video
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 loser - 5 p.m.  Live Stats | Video
Saturday, May 12
Game 10: Game 9 winner vs. Game 8 winner - 1 p.m.  Live Stats | Video
Game 11: If necessary - 35 minutes following completion of Game 10  Live Stats | Video

Last Time Out:

• Merrimack clinched a spot in championship weekend thanks to a 5-3 upset in 11 innings at second-seeded Franklin Pierce on Tuesday night
• Facing a 3-2 deficit entering the top of the eighth, graduate student Tyler Lyne smacked a leadoff homer to left-center field to tie the game at 3-3
• After redshirt-junior Garrett Hudson took over in the eighth and threw three scoreless innings, Merrimack pulled ahead in the 11^th. Senior Matt Nicholson hit a leadoff triple and classmate Mike Hoalcraft reached second to put two on with two outs for junior Anthony Garbarino. The Ossining, N.Y. native lined a two-run double into right field, which proved to be the game-winning hit.
• Senior captain Anthony Lupi took over in the bottom of the 11^th, and stranded two runners in scoring position to gather his first career save and send Merrimack to the next round
• For a full recap on last night's win, click here

NE10 Championship History:

• Tuesday's win snapped a four-game losing streak in the NE10 Championship and marked the program's first since a win over New Haven in 2013 that forced a winner-take-all NE10 Final on the last day of NE10 Championship weekend five years ago
• The Warriors are now 26-24 all-time in the NE10 Championship, owning the second most wins among current NE10 members
• Merrimack's 18 appearances in the NE10 Championship is by far the most among the remaining teams in the tournament. Le Moyne owns the next closest with eight berths
• The Warriors have made the finals seven times and won three, with the most recent occurrence coming in 1999

'Mack Facts:

• The Warriors learned on Wednesday that six members of the program earned all-conference recognition, the most honorees since 2013. Nicholson and junior Matthew Ronai earned first-team nods. Lyne and senior PJ Browne received second-team recognition, sophomore Joey Porricelli landed on the third team and freshman Vin Zappulla was an all-rookie selection
• For a full write-up on the all-league accolades, click here
• If Browne were to take the ball this week, he has a chance to secure more program accolades. Already the school record holder in strikeouts, the southpaw boasts 17 career wins and 239.0 innings pitched and needs one victory and 6.1 innings to break the previous marks in both statistics
• As a team, the Warriors' .298 batting average is tied with Le Moyne's .298 clip for the top average in the NE10 entering tomorrow's action. The Warriors led the league with 97 steals and ranked fourth with 132 extra-base hits
• Individually, Merrimack has only seen four seasons with at least 70 hits, but three members of the current team are closing in on that mark. Lyne will take the field Thursday with 69 base knocks to lead the team and the NE10, Porricelli owns 66 and Nicholson sits on a career-high 65
• Lyne's career ledger has brought the fifth-year outfielder to 197 career hits to close in on becoming the fifth Warrior in school history to reach the 200-hit milestone
• The base-stealing duo of sophomore Lyne and Porricelli became the first pair of Warriors with at least 20 thefts in a season since 2013. Lyne added his 27^th steal last night, which is the third most in a single season in school history. Porricelli finished tied for second with 24 steals
• Merrimack's 18 road victories are the most for the program this century, besting the 16 wins two seasons ago

Scouting the Opposition:
NE10 Rank in ()

Team Links	Schedule/Results  Roster Statistics	Schedule/Results Roster Statistics	Schedule/Results Roster Statistics
Batting Average	.290 (3rd)	.298 (1st)	.271 (8th)
Runs	336 (2nd)	352 (1st)	258 (7th)
Hits	470 (4th)	484 (1st)	367 (10th)
Home Runs	38 (2nd)	46 (1st)	17 (7th)
RBI	290 (2nd)	314 (1st)	214 (7th)
ERA	3.00 (2nd)	3.63 (5th)	2.36 (1st)
Strikeouts	485 (1st)	394 (3rd)	309 (8th)
Fielding Percentage	.970 (3rd)	.977 (1st)	.973 (2nd)

 
Up Next:
If Merrimack loses, the Warriors will play an elimination game tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. against the loser of Thursday's game between SNHU and New Haven. If the Navy and Gold win, Merrimack will play the victor of the Penmen and the Chargers in the winners bracket with a chance to reach Saturday's NE10 Final with another win. Depending on results, the Warriors could play two games tomorrow.