McNeil, Bercume Lead Baseball to Split over Franklin Pierce
RINDGE, NH – After losing game one 5-0 to Franklin Pierce,
Ryan McNeil threw a complete-game, six-hitter, while Jeff
Bercume had a bases-clearing triple in a 6-2 victory over
the Ravens in game two Saturday.
Trailing 1-0 in the fifth, Merrimack exploded for five runs, on
just two hits, as Andrew Johnson scored on a wild
pitch, before Bercume plated Ray Walker, Steve
Buitkus, and Bob McCarthy with a one-out
triple to give the Warriors the 4-1 lead. Mike
Dooling then followed with an infield single, scoring
Bercume with the fifth run of the inning.
The Warriors tacked on to their lead in the sixth as McCarthy
singled home Matt Hogan with the sixth run of the
day.
That was all McNeill needed, as the right-hander, making his
second start of the year and first in the conference, scattered six
hits while earning the victory, his third of the season to improve
to 3-1 overall.
The loss was just the fourth in 13 conference games for the
Ravens, who entered this season as two-time defending regional
champs.
In the first game, Kyle Vazquez and Nate Sermini combined on a
four-hit shutout, while Derek Ingui hit two homers off Warrior
starter James Haughney (0-5), who went the
distance, allowing five runs while striking out seven.
Mike Andre had the lone Merrimack extra-base hit,
a two-out, second-inning double.
Vazquez struck out 10 batters in eight innings, while improving to
6-0 on the season.
Merrimack (12-15, 3-10 NE-10) hosts Franklin Pierce Monday at 3:30
p.m. in the rubber match of the three-game series.
