MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College baseball team celebrated its annual Senior Day on Saturday afternoon, but the Hawks dropped a pair of tough decisions to Merrimack College, as the Warriors earned a 4-2 victory in game one followed by a 5-4 win in 13 innings in the nightcap.
Box Score Game 1 | Box Score Game 2
The Hawks (10-30, 5-20 NE10) and Warriors (22-17, 16-5 NE10) will meet again in Northeast-10 Conference action tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. in the final regular season home game of the season for Saint Anselm.
In a pregame ceremony, the baseball program honored its seven seniors in Matthew Flynn, John Lavoie, Jon McQuarrie, Nick Bragole, Cameron Latta, Autrey Gates and Joseph Levasseur for their contributions to Saint Anselm College and its athletic department.
Game One: Merrimack 4, Saint Anselm 2
The Hawks posted 10 hits in game one, but the Warriors prevailed with the 4-2 victory in the opener. Jason Turner went 2-for-5 with an RBI, while Aaron Crandall was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a pair of walks.
Max Wadington and Shaine Carpenter each went 1-for-5, while Matthew Flynn, Nick Bragole and John Marculitis added 1-for-4 days, with Marculitis scoring a run. Tyler McKeon and Jon McQuarrie each went 1-for-3, with McKeon adding the other run for Saint Anselm.
Joseph Levasseur got the start and went 6.1 innings while allowing four runs on 10 hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts. Zane Byrne gave up one hit and one walk, pitching the final 2.2 innings.
Matt Nicholson led the Merrimack offense, going 3-for-4 with a homerun. Matthew Ronai and Mike Forgione each went 2-for-4, while Joey Porricelli, Cam DiSarcina, Paul Buckley and Mike Hoalcraft added hits in the game.
Garrett Hudson earned the win for the Warriors, tossing six innings and allowing one run on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Matt DiNello gave up a run in two innings of work, while Nate Spielvogel worked out of trouble to pick up his fifth save of the season.
Merrimack scored the first run of the game on an RBI single by Joey Poricelli in the top of the third before Matt Nicholson homered in the top of the fourth to make it a 2-0 lead for the Warriors. The visitors rounded out their scoring with RBI doubles off the bats of Cam DiSarcina and Matthew Ronai in the top of the fifth to jump out to a 4-0 advantage.
Saint Anselm got on the board in the bottom of the sixth as John Marculitis walked and Shaine Carpenter singled to put runners on the corners with two outs. Jason Turner stepped in and lobbed a ball into left field that dropped in and allowed Marculitis to score, pulling the Hawks to 4-1.
The Hawks cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the eighth as Aaron Crandall drove in Tyler McKeon with an RBI single to center to make it a 4-2 game.
With one out in the ninth, Bragole singled to left and Marculitis singled through the left side to put two runners on. They both moved up a base on a wild pitch, but they would be stranded there as Merrimack's closer got the final out of the game.
Game Two: Merrimack 5, Saint Anselm 4 (13 INN)
In the second game of the day, the Hawks rallied to tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth, and both bullpens held the opposing team scoreless over the next 6.5 innings until the Warriors broke the tie with a run in the top of the 13th to sneak past Saint Anselm, 5-4.
Nick Bragole went 3-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored to lead the Hawks. Matthew Flynn, Max Wadington, John Marculitis, Shaine Carpenter and Jon McQuarrie each went 1-for-5, with Marculitis, Carpenter and McQuarrie also adding RBI's.
Autrey Gates earned a no decision, tossing 9.1 innings and allowing only four runs (three earned) on 10 hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Adam Krol gave up a hit in 0.2 innings before Preston Yerrington allowed only one hit in two innings of work. Jared Ferris suffered the setback, giving up one run on one hit in an inning.
Joey Porricelli went 4-for-7 with an RBI and a run scored, while Cam DiSarcina was 2-for-3 with an RBI, two runs scored and three walks to lead Merrimack. Aidan O'Leary added a 2-for-6 day, while Mike Forgione went 2-for-5.
Nate Spielvogel pitched the final 5.1 and gave up only one hit and one walk with nine strikeouts to earn his first win of the season in relief. Tucker Lord got the start, allowing four runs on seven hits with four walks and nine strikeouts of his own.
Merrimack wasted no time grabbing an early 2-0 lead as DiSarcina singled home Tyler Lyne and Matt Nicholson drove in DiSarcina with a groundout in the top of the first. Nicholson struck again in the top of the third as he hit a two-run triple into the gap in right center to make it a 4-0 lead for the Warriors.
Saint Anselm answered right back in their half of the third as back-to-back walks to Flynn and Wadington put two runners on with two outs. Nick Bragole and John Marculitis hit two-straight RBI singles, before Carpenter doubled to the gap in right center to score Bragole and make it a 4-3 deficit.
The Hawks tied the game in the bottom of the sixth as McQuarrie hit a two-out single to left center to plate Carpenter and knot the game at 4-4.
Both bullpens went to work, matching zeroes until the top of the 13th inning. After Ricky Smith walked and was sacrificed to second, Joey Porricelli singled to left field, plating Smith and putting the Warriors in front 5-4. Saint Anselm got a runner on as Aaron Crandall reached on an error, but Spielvogel closed out the win with another strikeout to end the game.
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