Box Score BASEBALL DEFEATS MERRIMACK
4-1
PLEASANTVILLE, NY - The Pace University baseball team, behind a
solid performance from starting pitcher junior Zach Dayton (North Falmouth, MA/Falmouth)
(North Falmouth, MA/Falmouth), defeated
the Warriors of Merrimack College by the score of 4-1 in
Northeast-10 Conference action this afternoon at Finnerty Field.
With the win, the Setters improve to 22-12 on the season and 12-3
in the NE-10, while the Warriors fall to 12-17 overall, 9-8 in
conference play.
Dayton (3-1) had a solid outing on the mound for Pace as he
tossed seven strong innings, allowing just one run on five hits,
while striking out three. His counterpart sophomore Ryan O'Rourke
(Worcester. MA) (3-4) pitched all eight innings, allowing four runs
on 11 hits and walking three, to go along with eight strikeouts.
Scoreless through the first three innings of play, the Warriors
got on the board first in the top of the fourth as junior Jeff
Bercume (Leicester, MA) came in to score on a grounder by classmate
Bob McCarthy (Chelmsford, MA). Merrimack loaded the bases to begin
the inning, but was able to plate just that one run, as Dayton
would go on to induce the inning ending double play.
The Setters would answer quickly in their bottom half of the
fourth, as senior Chris Brown's (West Kingston, RI/South
Kingston) two-run homerun over the left field wall brought
home classmate Matt Rigoli (Parsippany, NJ/Parsippany) (Parsippany,
NJ/Parsippany), putting Pace on top 2-1. The Setters would
add their third run in the very next inning as junior transfer
Joe Cotone's (Yorktown Hts., NY/Lakeland) (Yorktown Heights, NY/UMass/Lakeland)
RBI single to left brought in senior Joe Barracato (Westbury, NY/W.T. Clarke)
(Westbury, NY/W.T. Clarke). Pace would later add one final
insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on Brian
Kraminitz's (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater Raritan Regional)
RBI single to left that brought home Brown.
Sophomores Frank Luongo (West Harrison, NY/Harrison) (West Harrison,
NY/Harrison) and MacKenzie King (Blairstown, NJ/North Warren Regional) (Blairstown,
NJ/North Warren Regional) were solid out of the pen as
each tossed an inning of relief to finish off the Warriors. Luongo
was able to get out of a jam in the eighth as Merrimack threatened
with runners on second and third, while King struck out of pair in
a perfect ninth.
Sophomore Brendan Pyburn (Peabody, MA) had a solid day at the
plate for Merrimack going 3-for-4. Rigoli, Brown, Cotone, Kraminitz
and senior Jack Cawley (Bronx, NY/Iona Prep) (Bronx, NY/Iona Prep) all
had multi-hit games for Pace as the Setters pounded out 11 hits on
the day.
Pace will be back in action tomorrow, Wednesday, April
16th, as the Setters will play host to the Ravens of
Franklin Pierce University (25-7/10-5 NE-10) in a pivotal
Northeast-10 Conference match-up. The Ravens, a perennial national
and regional powerhouse, are ranked in four different national
polls, as they are #8 in the pingbaseball.com DII Poll, #11 in the
NCBWA Division II National Poll, #16 in the Collegiate Baseball
Magazine NCAA Division II Poll and #1 in the NCBWA DII Northeast
Regional Poll. Pace is currently receiving votes in the NCBWA DII
National Poll, while ranking third in the NCBWA DII Northeast
Regional Poll. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Finnerty
Field on the Pleasantville campus of Pace University.
