#2/8 Franklin Pierce Takes Two from Baseball Saturday
Links: Box Score (G1) | Box Score (G2)
RINDGE, N.H. – The Merrimack College baseball team was tied with No. 2/8 Franklin Pierce late into the first game of Saturday's doubleheader and led by as many as six runs in game two, but the nationally ranked Ravens won both contests from Pappas Field to sweep the season series with the Warriors.
The Basics
Score (G1): #2/8 Franklin Pierce 5, Merrimack 4
Score (G2): #2/8 Franklin Pierce 13, Merrimack 8
Records: Merrimack (25-17, 9-8 NE Div.) | #2/8 Franklin Pierce (40-4, 16-1 NE Div.)
Location: Pappas Field | Rindge, N.H.
NE-10 Postseason Outlook:
The top-four teams in the Northeast Division advanced to the NE-10 Championships, with the top-two seeds hosting the third and fourth seeds in first-round games on Tuesday, May 10.
1. Franklin Pierce (16-1)
2. Southern N.H. (16-3)
3. Stonehill (9-7)
4. Merrimack (9-8)
5. Assumption (7-10)
6. Bentley (6-12)
7. Saint Michael's (4-13)
8. Saint Anselm (3-16)
How It Happened (G1)
Senior lefty Zach Schindler (Halifax, Mass.) got the ball in the opener for the Warriors, working through the first four innings with just two Ravens' runs coming across, one of which was unearned. He recorded one strikeout during that span.
Facing a 2-0 deficit, the Navy and Gold got one run back in the third. With Matthew Ronai (Orange, Conn.) standing on third base, senior Bobby Losanno (Peabody, Mass.) drove a single into right field to plate the rookie. That started a string of three consecutive innings that the Warriors put a runner in scoring position, but could only score once in that span.
In the sixth, the Warriors once again generated a scoring situation, but unlike the fourth and fifth frames, were able to get a run in. Junior Cam DiSarcina (Shirley, Mass.) placed a one-out double in the right-center gap to start things off. Later in the inning with two outs and runners at the corners, sophomore Matt Nicholson (Rockland, Mass.) struck a single up the middle to score DiSarcina and tie the game, 2-2.
The Ravens answered back with a two-run homer in the bottom half to take the lead back, 4-2, before it was the Warriors turn to counter in the top of the seventh. Losanno and Tyler Lyne (Agawam, Mass.) reached based on singles before DiSarcina roped a single down the right-field line. An error by the Ravens' outfielder allowed DiSarcina to take a second and Lyne to score from first, tying the game back up at four-all.
Schindler gave way to junior Matt DiNello (Southington, Conn.) in the seventh. The third-year reliever loaded the bases after an intentional walk to Jay Jabs, the conference's leader in home runs, but struck out the next two batters to prevent any runs from scoring. In the eighth, however, the Ravens pushed a run across on a two-out single to take a 5-4 advantage and won by that same margin.
How It Happened (G2)
The second game developed into an offensive slugfest. Back-to-back singles from Mike Forgione (North Branford, Conn.) and Lyne combined with a throwing error put runners in scoring position immediately for the Warriors. DiSarcina scored Forgione on a sacrifice fly and Sean O'Neill (Norwood, Mass.) followed by plating Lyne on a single and the Warriors led, 2-0, after their first at-bats.
Entering the top of the fourth, Merrimack's lead stood at 2-1. Ronai led the frame off with a single and sophomore Ricky Smith (Weymouth, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to chase the Ravens' starter. Losanno greeted the reliever with a double down the leftfield line to score Ronai. Smith scored on a while pitch while Losanno crossed home on a ground-rule double by Forgione to make it a 5-1 game. Two more runs scored courtesy of an error by Franklin Pierce and a run-scoring single by Mike Hoalcraft (Fayetteville, N.Y.), as the Warriors held a 7-1 advantage.
Junior Perry Kulaga (Lincroft, N.J.) ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth. Hampered by four errors, Kulaga saw five runs cross the plate in the inning. Four of the five were unearned, with the Chris Lavorgna's two-run single with the bases loaded serving as the big hit in the inning.
Kulaga left the game after two more Franklin Pierce runs scored in the sixth. Sophomore Joe Westerman (Maynard, Mass.) came out of the bullpen to replace the Warriors' starter. The second-year hurler allowed three runs to score before getting out of the inning, with the Ravens up by four, 11-7.
The hosts tacked on two more runs, while the Warriors added one in the ninth, to make it a 13-8 final.
Up Next
The Warriors host Bentley in their home finale on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. from the Warrior Baseball Diamond.
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