Baseball Opens Divisional Play Wednesday at Bentley

Matchup	Merrimack (8-10, 0-0 NE Div.) at Bentley (4-12, 0-0 NE Div.)
Dates//Times	Wednesday, March 26, 2019 (3:30 p.m.)
Venue	DeFelice Field | Waltham, Mass.
Gameday Links	Watch | Live Stats
Social Media	Twitter // Instagram

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College baseball program will play its first Northeast Division contest of the season on Wednesday afternoon when the Warriors travel to Bentley University to begin their annual series with the Falcons. First pitch from DeFelice Field in Waltham, Mass. is set for 3:30 p.m.    

Five Things to Know:

• The Warriors opened conference play over the weekend with a pair of weekend doubleheaders at Pace and Adelphi. The Warriors swept the Setters on Saturday afternoon before falling twice against the Panthers on Sunday, salvaging a split on the weekend
• Junior third baseman Joey Porricelli enjoyed a superb week over five games last week, including the Warriors' midweek triumph at American International. Porricelli led Merrimack with an average of .429 to go along with an OPS of 1.310 over five games for the Warriors. The third baseman slugged .810 with an OBP of .500 to lead Merrimack's bats, scoring a team-high eight runs for his leadoff positions. Porricelli totaled a team-best nine hits over 21 at-bats, five of which went for extra bases including three doubles, one triple and his career-high setting fourth homer of the year.
• The Monroe, Conn. native also increased his career runs total to 99, needing one more to become the 12^th player in school history to touch home 100 times. Other near milestones include senior Matthew Ronai needing seven RBI to reach the century mark and move into 10^th all-time in school history
• On the mound, the sophomore tandem of Timmy Kalantzakos and Vin Zappulla both rank among the top 15 in the NE10 in ERA. Kalantzakos' 2.79 mark of 29.0 innings ranks 13^th in the league while Zappulla's 2.90 average over a team-leading 31.0 innings is good for 15^th. Opponents are hitting below .240 against both hurlers while Zappulla's 20 strikeouts rank second on the team
• If he qualified for the NE10 leaders, senior Cam Monagle would rank among the top five in ERA with his 1.59 ledger over 17 innings thrown. Other notable pitching marks include senior Riley Sorenson, who ranks in a tie for second in the league with three saves

Scouting the Opposition:

Merrimack (8-10, 0-0 NE Div.)	Stat Category	Bentley (4-12, 0-0 NE Div.)
.236	Batting Average	.242
.329	On-Base Percentage	.312
.333	Slugging Percentage	.332
5.25	Team ERA	7.02
126	Team Strikeouts	113
31	Total Stolen Bases	11
.965	Team Fielding Percentage	.965
Joey Porricelli (.307)	Batting Average Leader	Ryan Berardino (.313)
Porricelli (4)	Home Runs Leader	Two Tied (3)
Porricelli (18)	RBI Leader	Brandon Grover (15)
Cam Monagle (1.59)	ERA Leader (Individual)	Paul Frisoli (4.24)
Sean Thompson (21)	Strikeouts Leader	Ryan Corriveau (21)

Up Next:
The Warriors play Stonehill for three games this weekend, beginning on Saturday with a doubleheader. The twinbill will begin at 12 p.m. at the Harrington Athletics Village in Brighton, Mass., the home of the Boston College Eagles. The final game of the series will occur on Sunday at 1 p.m. from Saint John's Preparatory School in Danvers, Mass.