| Matchup |
Merrimack (25-14, 14-3 NE Div.) at
Assumption (24-16, 9-8 NE Div.) |
| Dates//Times |
Tuesday, April 30, 2019 // 3:30 p.m. |
| Venue |
Rocheleau Field // Worcester, Mass. |
| Gameday Links |
Live Stats / Watch / Twitter / Instagram |
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College baseball program faces Assumption College tomorrow for the fourth and final time in the regular season. First pitch from Rocheleau Field in Worcester, Mass. is set for 3:30 p.m. The contest will serve as the rubber game of the Warriors and Greyhounds three-game Northeast Division series, with each program winning once each entering Tuesday.
Merrimack begins the final week of the regular season with a one-game lead in the Northeast Division. A victory on Tuesday will guarantee that Merrimack will finish no lower than second in the division, and host next week's Tuesday's opening round game of the NE10 Championship.
Five Things to Know:
- The Warriors won five of six games last week to set themselves up to fight for the Northeast Division's regular season crown. Merrimack took two of three games against Franklin Pierce over the weekend, winning the season series against the Ravens for the first time in six years. Merrimack improved to 13-4 in the month of April, as well. The Warriors swept Saturday's doubleheader against Franklin Pierce – including a 3-2 walk-off victory in Saturday's finale in 13 innings – before celebrating Senior Day on Sunday afternoon
- Merrimack was also unveiled as the No. 6 ranked team in the East Region in the NCAA's first regional poll of the spring. The NCAA Regional Advisory Committee selects eight program (five at-large selections and three automatic qualifiers) to advance to the 2019 East Regional.
- The Warriors jumped into sixth place offensively after their weekend series, hitting .269 as a team. Merrimack also boasts a top-four pitching staff in the NE10 in terms of team ERA (3.51), and the Warriors .973 team field percentage not only leads the NE10, but it ranks first in the East Region and currently is among the top 25 field percentages nationwide
- Freshman Michael Golankiewicz enjoyed a productive week, hitting at a .391 clip with a team-best eight RBI to earn his second NE10 Rookie of the Week honor in three weeks. Junior Nick Shumski hit over .400 with 11 hits during Merrimack's 5-1 week, raising his career-best batting average to .297. Shumski also set a new career high for base hits, finishing the week with 47 total knocks. Junior Thomas Joyce begins the week ranking fourth in the NE10 in RBI (36) while classmate Joey Porricelli increased his league lead in steals to 31, posting the third 30-steal season in school history. Porricelli is within nine steals of setting a new all-time steals record and seven of breaking the program's single-season mark
- Senior Riley Sorenson threw 16 innings last week, allowing just one run over two quality starts that included a complete-game shutout that earned the team captain NE10 Pitcher of the Week status. He has joined an impressive quartet of Merrimack starters – sophomores Timmy Kalantzakos and Vin Zappulla as well as senior Cam Monagle – that all rank among the top 10 in the league in ERA. Monagle's mark of 1.26 ranks second both in the conference and nationally, while Kalantzakos and Zappulla rank seventh and ninth in the NE10, respectively
Scouting the Opposition:
| Merrimack (25-14, 14-3 NE Div.) |
Stat Category |
Assumption (24-16, 9-8 NE Div.) |
| .269 |
Batting Average |
.277 |
| .357 |
On-Base Percentage |
.383 |
| .370 |
Slugging Percentage |
.378 |
| 3.54 |
Team ERA |
4.57 |
| 280 |
Team Strikeouts |
296 |
| 97 |
Total Stolen Bases |
40 |
| .971 |
Team Fielding Percentage |
.964 |
| Thomas Joyce (.320) |
Batting Average Leader |
Trevor McQuade (.304) |
| Porricelli (6) |
Home Runs Leader |
Hunter Tralli (5) |
| Joyce (36) |
RBI Leader |
Derek Adamson (29) |
| Cam Monagle (1.26) |
ERA Leader (Individual) |
Cole Chudoba (2.37 |
| Timmy Kalantzakos (56) |
Strikeouts Leader |
Chudoba (67) |
Up Next:
The Warriors will play for the NE10 Northeast Division Regular Season title this weekend when Merrimack visits No. 15 Southern New Hampshire for a three-game series beginning Friday night at 6 p.m. The Warriors then return to SNHU on Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at 3:30 p.m.
