Braille Tosses Complete Game in 9-5 Mercy Win Over C.W. Post
BROOKVILLE, NY - Sophomore Sean Braille (Plainview, NY) went the distance on the mound, while senior first baseman Joe DeMuria (Islip, NY) and freshman second baseman Ryan Johnson (Saugerties, NY) each went 3-for-5 to lead the Mercy College baseball team past host C.W. Post by a score of 9-5 on Sunday, March 26. The win was the Flyers' second straight as they took two out of three from the Pioneers over the weekend, improving to 2-11 overall and 2-1 in NYCAC play. C.W. Post fell to 3-14-1 overall and 1-2 in the league.
Each team posted a run in the first inning with Mercy getting a run-scoring double off the bat of sophomore designated hitter Kevin Kelly (Brewster, NY), who went 2-for-6 in the game with three driven in. Chris Yandoli (Merrick, NY) knocked in the run for the Pioneers.
After scoreless second and third innings, Mercy exploded for its biggest inning of the season in the bottom of the fourth, plating eight runs on eight hits to take a 9-1 lead. Kelly delivered the first big blow of the frame with a two-run triple and DeMuria added a two-run single.
C.W. Post got one back in the bottom of the fourth, but Braille held the Pioneers scoreless for the next three innings. The Pioneers cut the margin to 9-4 with a pair of runs in the eighth, but could only scratch across one more in the ninth as Braille worked out of a jam by fanning Brian Chenicek (Levittown, NY) to end the game.
Braille went all nine innings, striking out five and allowing 14 hits and four earned runs for his first win of the year. Junior short stop Craig Ross (Bellmore, NY), junior third baseman Steve Summer (East Meadow, NY) and junior right fielder Joe Mercado (Orlando, FL) each chipped in two hits for the Flyers, who collected 16 on the day.
Bobby Kay (Stony Brook, NY) took the loss for C.W. Post, allowing six earned runs in four innings. Brian Anderson (Nesconset, NY) went 4-for-5 with an RBI for the Pioneers.
The Mercy College baseball team will return to action on Tuesday, March 28, against the City College of New York at home. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.
