Junior Angelo Bruno hit 2-for-2 with a pair of walks and drove in two of Stonehill four runs on the afternoon. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Merrimack Tops Stonehill, 11-4

Seven-run fifth inning and 12-hit attack fuel Warriors win

Boxscore

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (March 28, 2010) – Merrimack College used a seven-run fifth to key an 11-4 victory over Stonehill College in Northeast-10 Conference baseball action at Warrior Diamond this afternoon.

Senior Ed Medeiros (Seekonk, Mass./Seekonk) led Merrimack as he hit 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs scored after entering the game as a reserve. Senior Brendan Pyburn (Peabody, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) and sophomore Tim Curran (South Weymouth, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) both hit 2-for-4 with a stolen base and RBI, while Curran also scored a run. Sophomore P.J. Farnham (Andover, Mass./Andover) finished 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Senior righthander Ryan McNeil (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield) picked up the win on the mound (2-0), allowing three earned runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and five walks over 6.2 innings.

Junior Angelo Bruno (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) paced Stonehill as he hit 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, a stolen base and two RBI. Senior Mitch Davis (Bow, N.H./Bow) was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, run scored and RBI, while sophomore Michael Magnussen (Carver, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) finished 2-for-4 with a stolen base and run scored.

Sophomore lefthander Eric Haughn (Pembroke, Mass./Pembroke) suffered the loss (1-1), allowing three runs, just one earned, on three hits and four walks with two strikeouts in four-plus innings of work. Merrimack made the most of two Skyhawk errors, scoring just four earned runs on the day.

Senior Mitch Davis had a pair of hits, a stolen base and RBI. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr.)

One of those two Stonehill errors keyed Merrimack's seven-run fifth as all seven runs scored after the inning should have ended. Farnham led off with a walk and later scored on what should have been an inning-ending double play ball from senior Matt Hogan (Andover, Mass./Andover). Curran followed with an RBI single to left. Medeiros laced a two-run single up the middle, while junior Paul Arce (West Hartford, Conn./Hamden Hall) and Farnham added RBI singles.

Stonehill opened the scoring with a two-run first. Davis led off with a single and later scored on a single through the right side by senior Ryan Healey (Lynn, Mass./Lynn English). Bruno followed with an RBI single up the middle to drive in sophomore Rich McHugh (Pembroke, Mass./Thayer Academy), who reached on a walk.

Merrimack got one of those runs back in the home half of the first with a sacrifice fly to right. Stonehill regained its two-run lead in the fourth as Magnussen led off with a single to right and later scored on a groundout by Davis.

After Merrimack's seven-run fifth made the score 8-3, the Warriors sealed the win with three in the eighth. Freshman Mark O'Flynn (Ipswich, Mass./Ipswich) drove in a run with an infield single, Pyburn plated a second when he reached on a fielder's choice, before the final run scored on a throwing error.

Stonehill rounded out the scoring with a run in the ninth without the benefit of a hit. Merrimack junior reliever Mike Dooling (Milford, Conn./Joseph Foran) loaded the bases with three walks before Bruno drove in junior Scott Hackett (Bangor, Maine/Bangor) with a sacrifice fly to right.

Stonehill (7-7, 3-1 NE-10) and Merrimack (6-3, 4-1 NE-10) are scheduled to conclude their two-game Conference series on Tuesday at Lou Gorman Field in Easton at 3:30 p.m., before returning to Warrior Diamond for a non-conference clash on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.