Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 MANCHESTER, N.H. – No. 20 Southern New Hampshire University split a pair of 10-inning Northeast-10 baseball games Sunday afternoon. A walkoff single in the bottom of the 10th by Alejandro Diaz (Old Bridge, N.J.) gave the Penmen a 6-5 win over Bentley University at Penmen Field, while Merrimack scored twice in the ninth to tie the game and scored three times in the 10th en route to a 9-7 win at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.
The Penmen are now 29-9 overall and 15-4 in the Northeast-10 Northeast Division with the win. Bentley falls to 9-19 and 7-9 in the division, while the Warriors improve to 15-16 and 7-11.
In the opener, Diaz's heroics were set up by back-to-back one out walks by Zach Goldstein (Merrick, N.Y.) and Manny Cruz (Wolcott, Conn.). Following a Carson Helms (Farmington, Conn.) strikeout, Diaz hit a ground ball single up the middle to bring Goldstein home as the winning run.
Southern New Hampshire scored five runs over the first two innings to build a 5-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, Goldstein led off with a single, followed by a Cruz double to make it 1-0. SNHU tacked on two more runs in the frame as Lorenzo Papa (Stoneham, Mass.) snuck a two-run single through the right side. In the second, Helms and Diaz hit back-to-back RBI singles to make it 5-0.
Bentley got four runs back in the top of the fifth as it recorded two hits but also took advantage of three Southern New Hampshire errors. The Falcons tied the game in the eighth when Burton Deady doubled to plate Ryan O'Connor.
Helms and Papa each finished with three hits in the opener as the Penmen outhit the Falcons 13-6. Freshman Jake Walkinshaw (Seymour, Conn.) earned the win in relief, working the final 1.1 innings. SNHU starter Stephen Fortuna (Metuchen, N.J.) went six innings, striking out seven without a walk, and allowing four hits.
In the nightcap, Merrimack scored three times in the top of the 10th inning after it trailed 6-4 entering the ninth to earn the win. Sean O'Neill hit a sac fly to center to plate Frank Crinella, while Bobby Losanno delivered a two-run double to the gap in left center. SNHU got a run back in the bottom of the 10th when a Papa single scored Helms, but SNHU stranded a pair of runners.
In the ninth, O'Neill doubled to lead off the inning. The Penmen recorded the next two outs, but O'Neill scored when Losanno reached on a two-out error. Losanno scored on a triple by Dionys Quezada to tie the game.
Merrimack recorded four straight base hits to open the game and build a 4-0 lead after a half-inning. The Penmen grabbed a run in the first, scored two in the fourth, and took the lead with three runs in the seventh. Helms led off with a triple, then a Diaz double tied the game 4-4. A Ryan Gendron (Nashua, N.H.) single scored Diaz, while Goldstein's infield single scored Derek Bauer (Millis, Mass.) and made it 6-4.
Helms and Diaz each had three hits as the Penmen outhit the Warriors 16-10. Ian Searles (Wareham, Mass.) took the loss in relief, while Penmen starter David Gibson (Hanover, Mass.) went 8.2 innings, allowing eight hits and six runs (four earned), striking out six and walking one. After the four straight hits allowed to start the game, Gibson retired 18 of the next 19 batters faced, with the other one reaching via error.
Southern New Hampshire is idle until Friday when it travels to Stonehill College for a 3:30 Northeast-10 contest.
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