When and Where: February 26, 2022 – Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Ripken Experience)
Score: Game 1: Southern New Hampshire University 6, Mercy College 1
Game 2:  Southern New Hampshire 17, Mercy College 2
Records: SNHU 3-1, Mercy College 2-5
Myrtle Beach, S.C. – Senior Sam Henrie (Middleboro, Mass.) homered and redshirt sophomore Cristian Mercedes (Providence, R.I.) drove in a pair of runs as SNHU defeated Mercy College 6-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C.  The Penmen took the nightcap 17-2 to improve to 3-1 on the season-opening trip.
 
GAME 1: (W, 6-1) -9 inn.

• Redshirt sophomore Brandon White (Simsbury, Conn.) worked eight innings in his first start for the Penmen.  He scattered six hits, striking out six.
• The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning when redshirt junior Alex Kennedy (Braintree, Mass.) led off with a double.  Redshirt sophomore Danniel Rivera (New Britain, Conn.) followed with a single.  Mercedes knocked one over the fence, driving in two runs, but failed to touch home plate and was ruled out after a triple.  Henrie followed with a solo blast for a 4-0 lead.
• Kennedy ripped an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it 5-0.
• Graduate student Idelson Taveras (Lawrence, Mass.) walked, stole second, and ended up scoring the final run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh.
• Redshirt sophomore Albert Cuello-Batista (Manchester, N.H.) set down the Mustangs in order in the ninth inning in his first SNHU appearance.

GAME 2: (W, 17-2) -7 inn.

• The Penmen set the stage for a big game with three runs in the top of the first inning.  Rivera singled and Mercedes doubled him home.  A triple by redshirt sophomore Cam Caraher (Plymouth, Mass.) made it 2-0, and Caraher scored on a passed ball.
• SNHU extended the lead to 6-0 in the second inning, which included an RBI single by Rivera and a two-run single by Henrie.
• On the hill, redshirt junior George Welch (Derry, N.H.) set down 9 of the first 10, which included four consecutive strikeouts between the second and third innings.
• The Penmen sent 10 men to the plate in the top of the fourth inning, scoring five more runs.  Kennedy homered to start the frame to make it 7-0.  The inning features RBI singles by Mercedes and Henrie, a sacrifice fly by redshirt freshman Dylan O'Sullivan (Manchester, N.H.) and a steal of home by redshirt sophomore Nick Schwartz (Massapequa, N.Y.). 
• The Mustangs picked up a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 11-2, but would not score again in the contest.
• SNHU started the top of the fifth with consecutive extra-base hits by Schwartz (double), Rivera (triple), and Mercedes (double).   A single by senior Dakota Mulcay (Goffstown, N.H.) gave the Penmen at 14-2 lead.
• Henrie and Mulcay added RBI's in the top of the sixth to make it 16-2.
• Redshirt freshman Anderson Moreno (Brooklyn, N.Y.) reached on a single and error in the top of the seventh, scoring on a grounder by redshirt freshman Connor Burgess (Halifax, Mass.)
• Redshirt freshman Conner Wagstaff (Ellsworth, Maine) struck out the side in the eighth inning, and graduate student Tyler Brown (Littleton, N.H.) worked a perfect seventh for the Penmen.

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire, ranked 11th in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Poll, improves to 12-0 all-time against Mercy.
• Henrie's home run in the first game was the seventh of his career.
• Mercedes went drove in five runs in the doubleheader with five hits in eight at bats.
• Henrie also drove in five runs in the twinbill, including a 3-5, 4 RBI game two.
• Rivera went 4-of-4 with five runs scored and two RBI, part of SNHU's 21-hit attack in the nightcap.

UP NEXT

• The Penmen conclude the trip against St. Thomas Aquinas on Sunday at 9 a.m.
• SNHU opens its home slate Saturday, March 26 (12 p.m.) when it plays host to Stonehill College in doubleheader action at Penmen Field.

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