BOX SCORE

When and Where: April 29, 2018 – Nashua, N.H. (Holman Stadium)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 14, Merrimack College 8
Records: SNHU 29-13 (15-6 NE10, 14-3 NE10 NE), Merrimack 22-17 (14-10 NE10, 9-7 NE10 NE)

The Southern New Hampshire University baseball team erupted for 10 runs over the final two innings, as it rallied for a 14-8 victory against Merrimack College on Sunday night at Holman Stadium in a game that took more than four hours to complete.

Southern New Hampshire trailed 6-4 in the top of the eighth inning when a walk to sophomore Ethan Harris (Middleton, Mass.) and single to center from senior Kyle Pangallo (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), followed by redshirt-sophomore Joshua Goldstein (Haverhill, Mass.) getting hit by a pitch, loaded the bases with one out. Sophomore Tom Blandini (Bow, N.H.) dug in looking for the big hit of the night and instead was hit, forcing in the run from third to trim the deficit to 6-5. Graduate student Thomas Buonopane (Peabody, Mass.) then delivered a two-run single through the left side and just like that, the Penmen led it, 7-6. A double steal would move a pair into scoring position, but Merrimack would nail down two huge outs to keep it a one-run game.

That would prove important in the bottom of the frame, as redshirt-junior Jake Walkinshaw (Seymour, Conn.) entered and allowed a double to Mike Hoalcraft, before Anthony Garbarino's two-out single tied the game and tagged Walkinshaw with his first run of the season.

SNHU responded in a big way in the top of the ninth, as senior Caleb Potter (Mentor, Ohio) led off by getting plunked, sophomore Jake Coro (Johnston, R.I.) doubled down the left-field line and freshman Idelson Taveras (Lawrence, Mass.) plated both runs with a base hit through the left side that snapped the tie and put the Penmen up, 9-7.

They would not stop there, however, as a one-out walk to Goldstein two batters later, followed by a double to right by Blandini, nudged the lead to 10-7. With two outs and first base open, Merrimack tried to limit the damage by issuing an intentional walk to redshirt-senior Ryan Sullivan (Hopkinton, Mass.), but it would have the opposite effect, as junior Joshua Zbierski (Stafford Springs, Conn.), who stepped into the box hitless on the night, blasted a grand slam that all but put the game away at 14-7.

After Walkinshaw allowed a leadoff single to Joey Porricelli in the ninth, the Penmen went to redshirt-sophomore Brendan Welch (Easton, Mass.), who would get out of the inning, but not before a wild pitch, a stolen base and passed ball brought in an unearned run for the Warriors.

Blandini was 2-for-3 with a walk, three RBI and two runs scored. Pangallo (run), Coro (walk, two runs) and Sullivan (walk, RBI, two runs) were all 2-for-5. Potter went 1-for-4 with a walk, RBI, and two runs scored, while Zbierski (four RBI, run) and Buonopane (two RBI) both were 1-for-5. Harris finished 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and an RBI, with Taveras going 1-for-1 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Grad student Shane McDonald (Blue Point, N.Y.) started and allowed six runs – five earned – on nine hits, while striking out eight and walking two, over six innings. Sophomore Wesley Tobin (Portsmouth, N.H.) fanned a pair over a perfect inning of work. Walkinshaw (3-0) earned the win and was charged with two runs – one earned – on three hits, punching out a pair, in an inning-plus. Welch struck out one in a hitless ninth.

It did not look like SNHU would need a late-inning rally after scoring three times the top of the first inning. Blandini began the game with a triple to right and scored two batters later on Sullivan's double down the left-field line before two-out singles from Potter and Harris each drove in a run to make it 3-0.

Merrimack more than matched that, however, with a five-spot in the second inning. Five hits, a walk, and a wild pitch added up to nine men being sent to the plate and the Warriors taking a 5-3 advantage. Tyler Lyne's two-out, two-run single through the right side would turn a one-run deficit into a one-run lead before Matthew Ronai added an insurance run with a base hit to left-center.

Merrimack would tack on an unearned run in the third, with the Penmen pulling within 6-4 in the fourth when Coro led off with a single to center, before a Pangallo base knock and a walk to Goldstein loaded the bases with one out and Blandini delivered a sac fly to center.

Notes:
- The Penmen have now won 18 of 23, including 10 of 11.
- Southern New Hampshire is outscoring opponents 102-31 over its last 11 contests.
- The magic number for SNHU to clinch the Northeast-10 Northeast Division now stands at two with four regular-season games remaining. The Penmen hold a two-and-a-half-game lead on Franklin Pierce University, which has five games left on its schedule against the bottom two teams in the division. Southern New Hampshire has clinched at least the No. 2 seed and a first-round home game in the NE10 Championship on Tuesday, May 8.
- Potter and Sullivan extended their hitting streaks to six games each.
- Zbierski's grand slam was his third home run of the season and the ninth of his career.
-Walkinshaw had not allowed a run over 15 innings to begin the season, before relinquishing the run in the eighth.
- Over the last 15 games, Pangallo is 27-for-58 (.466) with 19 RBI and 13 runs scored, while slashing .537/.621/1.158. During that stretch, he has raised his batting average 78 points to .345. 

Up Next:
The Penmen return to action Tuesday, May 1 (4/7 p.m.) when they play host to Saint Michael's College in a doubleheader that can clinch them the division. The first game will air on FOX College Sports.

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