Junior Scott Hackett was a combineed 3-for-8 with a double
and RBI in today's doubleheader with Merrimack (PHOTO BY Richard
Orr).
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Merrimack Sweeps Stonehill
in Split Doubleheader
Pyburn delivers two-out,
two-run single in tenth to lift Warriors to game one win; Three
Merrimack pitchers combine on shutout victory in game two
EASTON, Mass. (April 1,
2010) – Merrimack College swept a split doubleheader
with Stonehill College in Northeast-10 Conference baseball action
at Lou Gorman Field this afternoon. The Warriors scored twice in
the top of the tenth inning to post a 3-1 extra innings NE-10
victory in game one, before posting a shutout in a 4-0 decision in
a non-conference clash in game two.
Seven Merrimack pitchers combined
to hold Stonehill to just one run over 18 innings of play as the
Skyhawks left a combined 20 runners on base, including 13 in the
extra innings loss in game one.
Senior Matt Hogan (Andover,
Mass./Andover) paced the Merrimack offense, which posted
just eight hits on the afternoon, by hitting 2-for-6 with a stolen
base and run scored. Sophomore Pat Charette (Carver,
Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) finished 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Senior Rob Von Stein
(Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) was a combined 3-for-5 at the
plate for Stonehill with a double. Junior Scott Hackett
(Bangor, Maine/Bangor) batted 3-for-8 with a double and
RBI.
Merrimack 3, Stonehill
1 (10 innings) – Game 1
Boxscore
Senior Brendan Pyburn
(Peabody, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) delivered a two-run single
with two out in the top of the tenth to provide the difference in
Merrimack's 3-1 NE-10 victory in game one.
Merrimack used just four hits in
the game, taking advantage of three Stonehill errors in posting the
Conference win. Sophomore Paul Manganiello (Levittown,
N.Y./Nassau CC) paced the Warriors offense as he hit
2-for-3 with two stolen bases and two runs scored. Pyburn finished
1-for-5 with the two RBI.
Senior righthander Ryan
McNeil (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield) picked up the win
(3-0) in relief for Merrimack, working around two hits and three
walks with two strikeouts in 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Classmate Dylan Ellis (Gloucester,
Mass./Gloucester) got the start and allowed the one earned
run on six hits with seven strikeouts and a walk over 6.2 innings.
Senior lefthander Ryan O'Rourke (Worcester, Mass./St.
John's Shrewsbury) collected his second save with a
one-two-three tenth.
Junior Scott Hackett
(Bangor, Maine/Bangor) helped lead Stonehill by going
2-for-4 with a double and RBI. Senior Mitch Davis (Bow,
N.H./Bow) was also 2-for-4 with a double and run scored,
while classmate Rob Von Stein (Trumbull,
Conn./Trumbull) finished 2-for-4 with a double. The
Skyhawks left 13 runners on base in the contest, including the
bases loaded with one out in the ninth.
Sophomore Michael Von Stein
(Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) took the loss in relief for
Stonehill, yielding two earned runs on two hits with two strikeouts
over two innings. Sophomore righthander Bryan Galligan
(Brockton, Mass./Brockton) went the first eight-plus for
the Skyhawks, allowing just an unearned run on two hits with five
strikeouts and three walks. He got stronger as the game wore on,
retiring ten Merrimack batters in a row before Pyburn reached on an
error to lead off the ninth. Galligan sat down the side in order in
the sixth, seventh and eighth.
Sophomore Pat Charette
(Carver, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) led off the tenth with
a pinch hit single through the left side. He was lifted for a pinch
runner before Manganiello was hit by a pitch to put two runners on.
The two runners advanced into scoring position on a Von Stein wild
pitch and then came around to score when Pyburn laced a single into
right center with two out. O'Rourke came on and induced three
ground balls to end the game.
Merrimack opened the scoring with
an unearned run in the third when Manganiello scored on a throwing
error by Galligan on a play at the plate off a chopper to the right
of the mound by junior Paul Arce (West Hartford,
Mass./Hamden Hall). Stonehill evened the game with a
two-out rally in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Davis and
Hackett to chase Ellis.
Both teams loaded the bases but
came away empty in the ninth. Merrimack had the bases loaded with
none out after a pair of errors and a hit batter. Von Stein got the
first out when Pyburn was unable to score on a short drive to right
by junior Mike Dooling (Milford, Conn./Joseph
Foran) when Stonehill senior rightfielder Thomas
Marino (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) charged in nicely
and threw Pyburn out at the place on a force out. Von Stein then
escaped the jam with a double-play.
The Skyhawks loaded the bases in
the home half with one out after a leadoff double from Von Stein
and two intentional walks around a sacrifice bunt. McNeil buckled
down and escaped unscathed with a pop up and foul out to set up the
decisive tenth.
Merrimack 4, Stonehill
0 – Game 2
Boxscore
Three Merrimack pitchers combined
to scatter eight hits over nine shutout innings as the Warriors
completed the doubleheader and regular season series sweep of
Stonehill with a 4-0 win in the nightcap.
Hogan hit 2-for-4 with a stolen
base and run scored to lead the Merrimack offense. Charette batted
1-for-3 with two RBI, while O'Flynn finished 1-for-1 with a
walk, two sacrifice bunts, a run scored and two RBI.
Freshman righthander Brett
Julien (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) picked up the win (1-0)
on the mound for the Warriors, scattering five hits over seven
shutout innings with two strikeouts and a walk.
Sophomore Rich McHugh
(Pembroke, Mass./Thayer Academy) was 2-for-4 at the plate
for Stonehill. Junior Brenden Shepard (Boxford,
Mass./Masconomet) hit 1-for-3, while junior Angelo
Bruno (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) finished 1-for-4 with a
double.
Sophomore lefthander Matt
Olsen (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) took the loss (1-2),
allowing two unearned runs on two hits and five walks with a
strikeout in 6.1 innings of work for Stonehill.
Merrimack, the designated home team
for the contest originally slated to be played in North Andover,
Mass., scored the only runs it would need with a two-run fifth. The
Warriors took advantage of two Stonehill errors as Arce and
O'Flynn reached on Skyhawk miscues to lead off the inning.
They were sacrificed into scoring position, before scoring on a
two-out single by Charette. Merrimack added a pair of insurance
runs in the eighth on a two-run single from Flynn.
Stonehill (7-9, 3-2 NE-10) is back
in action on Saturday when it visits American International College
for a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader starting at noon. The
Skyhawks return to Gorman Field on Monday to host Southern New
Hampshire University for a Northeast-10 makeup of their rained out
game from March 16 at 3:30 p.m. Merrimack (8-3, 5-1 NE-10) hosts
Adelphi University for an NE-10 doubleheader on Saturday at noon.
