New Haven, Conn. (March 16) -- The baseball team dropped a non-conference battle with Merrimack on Sunday afternoon, 3-0, at Frank Vieria Field on the campus of the University of New Haven. The loss drops the Hawks to 5-8.

Merrimack scored single runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh to put away the Hawks. Both starting pitchers held the two teams scoreless through four innings, but Merrimack struck in the fifth. After a Brendan Pyburn (Peabody, Mass.) single up the middle, Dennis Murtagh (Salem, Mass.) doubled to put runners on second and third. A sacrifice fly from Jeff Bercume (Leicester, Mass.) brought in Pyburn. Bob McCarthy (Chelmsford, Mass.) doubled with one out in the sixth, and Doug Heald (Tewksbury, Mass.) singled him in two batters later. A solo shot from Bercume put the Warriors up 3-0 in the seventh.

The Hawks used four different pitchers in the outing, as Andrew Long (Peabody, Mass.) went five and two-thirds innings allowing two runs on nine hits and two walks with a strikeout. Tim Ryan (Milton, Mass.) went an inning and one-third, giving up one hit, a walk and allowing one run. Mike O'Rourke (Norwood, Mass.) and David Giarrusso (Cranston, R.I.) threw a scoreless inning each with no hits in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.

Ryan O'Rourke (Norwood, Mass.), Melvin Purdue (Jonesboro, Ga.), and T.J. Murphy (Reading, Mass.) all went one-for-three on the day, and Ryan Gargan (Byfield, Mass.) went one-for-four to account for the Hawks' four hits.

The Hawks were stymied by a brilliant performance from Merrimack starting pitcher, Ryan O'Rourke (Worcester, Mass.), as he finished with a four-hit shutout, striking out 11 and walking one in a complete game performance.

The Hawks return to the field Tuesday afternoon, heading to Saint Rose for a 3:30 p.m. conference game.