NCAA Division II Baseball Result
Saturday, April 7, 2007
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Steve Merslich |
Mercy College Baseball Splits With New Haven
Steve Merslich Tosses Complete Game Shutout
in Nightcap
Gm 1 Box Score | Gm 2 Box Score
DOBBS FERRY, NY - Junior left-hander Steve Merslich (Flushing, NY) went the distance to give the Mercy College baseball team an 8-0 shutout of New Haven in game two of an East Coast Conference (ECC) doubleheader on Saturday, April 7. The Chargers took the opener by a score of 10-6.
Merslich, who scattered six hits and struck out four batters on the day, worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning. The Mercy offense then erupted for seven runs in the bottom half, sending 11 men to the plate and collecting five hits. The big blow was a three-run home run to right center field from freshman short stop Justin Muscarella (Plainedge, NY). Senior right fielder Eugene DeMayo (Olive Bridge, NY) also had an RBI double and freshman left fielder Julio Torres (Harlingen, TX) added a sacrifice fly.
The Flyers (2-20, 2-8 ECC) added a run in the third inning, taking advantage of an infield error to stretch the lead to 8-0. Merslich would work out of two more big jams, getting a strikeout with the bases loaded in the fourth, and then stranded two more runners in the sixth.
The win was Merslich's first as a Flyer. Muscarella and senior catcher Roberto Martinez (Yonkers, NY) each finished the game 2-for-3, while first baseman Steve Summer (East Meadow, NY) went 2-for-4. Ken Appel was 2-for-3 for New Haven.
Mercy jumped ahead in game one, getting an RBI ground out from Summer, but New Haven answered in the second as Appel led off with a solo home run that knotted the contest at 1-1.
The Chargers (19-8, 9-2 ECC) added four runs in the third, getting a three-run home run from Michael Moras and a solo shot by Ryan Aiken. They posted two more in the fourth and another in the sixth, stretching the lead to 8-1.
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Justin Muscarella |
The Flyers got one back in the bottom of the sixth on a solo home run from Summer. After New Haven came back with a run in the eighth on a run-scoring double by Moras, Mercy responded again with an RBI single off the bat of freshman catcher Marc Dern (Valley Stream, NY) that cut the deficit to 9-3.
New Haven scored again in the ninth on an RBI single from Kyle Bombace before the Flyers rallied in the bottom of the frame. Designated hitter Dominick Callegari (Kings Park, NY) led off with a walk and stole second base. Martinez followed with a double to plate Callegari. Two batters later, sophomore second baseman Ken Mundy (Valley Stream, NY) was hit by a pitch. He and Martinez would advance on a wild pitch and both scored on an infield error, cutting the margin to 10-6, but Vince Lehman got the final out of the game for New Haven on a fly ball.
Dan Blake earned the win for New Haven, allowing two earned runs and striking out eight over the first seven innings. Left-hander Tom Maletta (Forest Hills, NY) gave Mercy three innings of solid relief, allowing one earned run and fanning two.
Mercy will return to action on Wednesday, April 11, against St. Thomas Aquinas College in a contest to be played at Rockland Community College beginning at 2:00 p.m.
