NCAA Division II Baseball Result
Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Graig Lauricella

St. Thomas Aquinas Holds Off Mercy Baseball 7-4

DOBBS FERRY, NY - The Mercy College baseball team came from behind versus St. Thomas Aquinas to tie the game twice, but the Spartans pulled away late to take a 7-4 decision on Tuesday.

Freshman left fielder Graig Lauricella (North Massapequa, NY) went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in for the Mavericks. Senior catcher Roberto Martinez (Yonkers, NY) added a sacrifice fly and junior second baseman Ken Mundy (Valley Stream, NY) added an RBI ground out.

St. Thomas Aquinas (6-5) scored its first run in the top of the second inning when Dan McDermott scored from third on a wild pitch. The Spartans then added a pair in the fourth on a two-run home run off the bat of Vincent Malzahn to build a 3-0 lead.

Mercy (3-6) responded with a pair in the bottom of the fourth, getting a two-run double from Lauricella that cut the deficit to 3-2.  The Mavericks then knotted the game at 3-3 in the fifth on Martinez's sacrifice fly.

St. Thomas Aquinas got the run back in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Mike Triana, but Mercy answered again in the bottom of the frame on Mundy's ground out with Justin Muscarella (Plainedge, NY) on third base.

The Spartans got another sacrifice fly in the seventh, this one from John Mazzello, to go ahead 5-4, and added two more in the ninth on a double from Malzahn.

Jonathan Della Monica came on in relief in the ninth inning to close it out for St. Thomas Aquinas.

Junior left-hander Steve Merslich (Flushing, NY) went 6.1 innings for the Mavericks, allowing three earned runs and striking out three.

Mercy will return to action at Southeastern on Wednesday, March 12. The doubleheader will begin at 3:00 p.m.