NCAA Division II Baseball Result
Sunday, March 30, 2008
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Steve Merslich |
Mercy Baseball Completes Series Sweep of Purple Knights with 5-4 Victory
BRIDGEPORT, NY - Junior southpaw Steve Merslich (Flushing, NY) went the distance and the Mercy College offense collected 11 hits en route to a 5-4 win over host Bridgeport in East Coast Conference (ECC) baseball action on Sunday. The win gives the Mavericks their first three-game series sweep of an ECC opponent since the 2001 season as they improved to 8-13 overall and 4-3 in the league. The Purple Knights dropped to 4-9 overall and 2-5 in ECC play.
Bridgeport built an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, taking advantage of a Mercy error and getting a two run double from Seth Desautel (Cumberland, RI). The Purple Knights stretched the lead to 3-0 in the second inning on an RBI double by Mike Buswell (Trumbull, CT).
After a scoreless third, Mercy came back with three runs in the fourth frame to tie the game at 3-3. Joe Benedict (Harrison, NY), Marc Dern (Valley Stream, NY), and Graig Lauricella (North Massapequa, NY) all knocked in runs for the Mavericks.
Mercy added two more runs in the fifth on an RBI ground out from Steve Summer (East Meadow, NY) and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Craig Ross (Bellmore, NY). Bridgeport cut the deficit to 5-4 in the bottom of the fifth, but Merslich allowed just two hits over the final four innings and worked out of trouble in the ninth to finish off his first win of the season.
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Graig Lauricella |
Merslich scattered nine hits in the complete game effort, allowing three earned runs and striking out four. Lauricella and Matt Walsh (Staten Island, NY) each went 2-for-5 on the day, while Ken Mundy (Valley Stream, NY) added a 2-for-4 effort. The Mavericks stole six bases in the contest, including three by Vinnie Tesoriero (Glen Head, NY).
The Mavericks return to action on Tuesday, April 1, when they travel to Dowling for another ECC game beginning at 3:30 p.m.
