Baseball Outlasts Saint Anselm, 8-5, to Complete Second Straight Series Sweep

Links: Box Score

MANCHESTER, N.H.  – Freshman Cedric Gillette recorded his first career quality start by throwing six innings of two-run ball, senior Anthony Garbarino led a 12-hit day for the Warriors' bats with three base knocks along with two RBI and the Merrimack College baseball program pulled out an 8-5 win over Saint Anselm on Thursday afternoon at the Hawks' Sullivan Park. The victory increased the Warriors' winning streak to four games, gave the program its 11^th win over its last 12 games and secured the squad's third Northeast Division sweep of the spring.

Merrimack owned a 7-2 lead entering the bottom of the seventh, but three runs for Saint Anselm in that inning narrowed Merrimack's advantage over the game's final frames. Senior Trevor Cooley threw scoreless eighth and ninth innings to keep the Warriors in front, while Garbarino added a RBI base hit in the top of the ninth to generate some breathing room for the Warriors.

The Warriors held onto their one-game lead over No. 15 Southern New Hampshire for the top spot in the division, while Merrimack remained three games in front of third-place Franklin Pierce ahead of a pivotal three-game set with the Ravens beginning on Saturday.

The Basics
Score: Merrimack 8, Saint Anselm 5
Records: Merrimack (23-13, 12-2 NE Div.) | Saint Anselm (6-29, 1-13 NE Div.)
Location: Sullivan Park | Manchester, N.H.   

Rapid Recap

• Merrimack jumped on Saint Anselm for five runs in the second. With two runners in scoring position, freshman Michael Golankiewicz hit a double that took a deflection off the first-base bag that scored both runners. Garbarino followed with a single back up the middle that scored Golankiewicz. Later in the inning, the Warriors had the bases loaded with two outs when junior Thomas Joyce lined a single into right that plated two more runs and made it a 5-0 contest
• The Warriors tacked on two more in the top of the fourth after a sacrifice fly for senior Matthew Ronai and a run-scoring single for sophomore Thomas Crowley, all benefiting Gillette. Outside of an unearned run in the second, the rookie stranded four Hawks across the first four frames, including working out of a two-on-with-one-out situation in bottom of the fourth without allowing Saint Anselm to score
• Gillette notched the first quality outing of his career, relenting one more run in the sixth to complete a six-inning appearance with just one earned run allowed. The Hawks were able to score against Merrimack's bullpen, however, tallying three runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull within two, 7-5
• Cooley recovered after his first inning of work to toss two perfect innings of relief in the eighth and ninth frames. With the score still at 7-5 in the top of the ninth, Garbarino hit a single into center field that plated Crowley to generate Merrimack's insurance run

Top Performers // Notes

• WP: Gillette (2-0) | LP: Grygorcewicz (0-1)
• Gillette's Final Line (W): 6.0 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
• Making his first appearance in two weeks, Gillette collected the best outing of his career to date. The Andover, Mass. native set season highs in innings thrown and strikeouts, while lowering his season ERA by nearly three full runs
• Both Garbarino and Crowley tied for the team lead with three hits; for the latter, it marked his fourth three-hit game on the season to move into second on the team in that category. Junior Nick Shumski also added a multi-hit game with a pair of singles
• Garbarino was also impressive on the base paths, swiping a team-best three bases as part of a six-steal day for the Warriors. It set a new career high for the senior, and the team stole at least six bags for the sixth time in 2019
• For Merrimack's eight-player senior class, Thursday marked their 106^th win over the last four years, moving the group into a tie with the Class of 1997 as the winningest group in school history

Up Next:
The Warriors host Franklin Pierce for a three-game series at Trinity Stadium in Haverhill, Mass. beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 2 p.m. The series concludes on Sunday with a single contest beginning at noon, which will be celebrated as Senior Day.