Baseball Meets AIC in Non-League Play Wednesday (CONTEST MOVED TO TRINITY COLLEGE)

Matchup	Merrimack (5-8) at American International (7-5)
Dates//Times	Wednesday, March 20, 2019 (4:00 p.m.)
Venue	Hartford, Conn. // Murren Family Field (Trinity College)
Social Media	Twitter // Instagram

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College baseball program will play its first of four games scheduled against American International College this season on Wednesday afternoon when the Warriors visit Murren Family Field on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. for a 4 p.m. first pitch. The contest was originally scheduled to be played on AIC's campus, but unplayable field conditions forced the venue change. (UPDATED 3/20)

Five Things to Know:

• Merrimack won four of its seven games last week in Florida, including a 4-2 mark in regional play, to improve its record to 5-8 on the season. Merrimack claimed wins over Bloomfield, Southern Connecticut, Caldwell and Adelphi last week
• The Warriors' starting rotation has been their strength through the first quarter of the season. Sophomores Timmy Kalantzakos and Vin Zappulla have led the way, throwing over 20 innings apiece and posting sub-4.00 ERA's, respectively, through four starts. The former leads the squad with a 2.74 ERA while the latter's .209 batting average against is the best among Merrimack's rotation while Zappulla is the team leader with 18 strikeouts
• Senior Cam Monagle impressed in his first start in two years last week, throwing seven innings of one-run ball in Merrimack's victory over Adelphi. If he qualified, Monagle's 0.90 ERA over two appearances would rank fifth in the NE10
• At the dish, sophomore Michael Jamele continued to impress. In three games last week, the centerfielder hit at a .700 clip to improve his team-leading average to .382 over 34 plate appearances. Jamele leads or is tied for the team lead in doubles (4), OBP (.450), slugging (.500) and OPS (.950). The second-year Warrior ranks fifth in the league in hitting
• The majority of Merrimack's power has come from its junior class. Third-year performers Thomas Joyce, Joey Porricelli and Nick Shumski have accounted for all six of Merrimack's homers this year. Porricelli (26), Joyce (19) and Shumski (18) rank first, third and fourth on the team, respectively, in total bases. Porricelli and Shumski are also tied for the team lead with five steals apiece

Scouting the Opposition:

Merrimack (5-8)	Stat Category	American International (7-5)
.239	Batting Average	.228
.329	On-Base Percentage	.330
.328	Slugging Percentage	.287
5.58	Team ERA	5.54
89	Team Strikeouts	59
19	Total Stolen Bases	24
.965	Team Fielding Percentage	.935
Michael Jamele (.382)	Batting Average Leader	Josh Aviles (.361)
Joey Porricelli (3)	Home Runs Leader	Cam Defeo (1)
Porricelli (16)	RBI Leader	Two tied (6)
Timmy Kalantzakos (2.74)_	ERA Leader (Individual)	Nick Kennedy (0.68)
Vin Zappulla (18)	Strikeouts Leader	Kennedy (13)

 
Up Next:
The Warriors begin conference play this weekend with a pair of cross-divisional doubleheaders. Merrimack's first stop is against Pace University at Saturday afternoon beginning at 12 p.m. from Finnerty Field in Pleasantville, N.Y. The program will then make its way to Long Island to face Adelphi University for another 12 p.m. twinbill on Sunday afternoon from Bonomo Memorial Field.