STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• La Rocca – 5-9, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 2B, BB
• Sophomore Anderson Moreno (Bronx, N.Y.) – 4-8, 5 RBI, 4 R, 2 HR, 2B, BB
• Junior Cam Caraher (Plymouth, Mass.) – 2-5, 2 RBI, 4 R, HR, 3 BB
• Junior Danniel Rivera (New Britain, Conn.) – 2-5, 2 R, 2B, 3 BB
• Redshirt-junior Cristian Mercedes (Providence, R.I.) – 3-8, 6 RBI, R, HR, 2B
• Senior Jeffrey Praml (Bridgewater, N.J.) – 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (game 1 win ; 8-1)

KEY MOMENTS – GAME 1

• Southern New Hampshire went ahead in the bottom of the first with some two-out damage. La Rocca collected a hard-hit single up the middle to extend the inning before junior Nick Schwartz (Massapequa, N.Y.) mashed a ball off a tree in straightaway center field to put SNHU up, 2-0.
• Bentley sliced the deficit in half in the top of the second when Tim Zupkus belted a leadoff home run to center.
• The Penmen extended their lead in the bottom half of the frame, sending nine to the plate en route to hanging a six-spot. It started when sophomore Harry Vargas Segura (Bronx, N.Y.) stroked a hustle double down the left field line and Rivera walked, before Moreno hammered one toward the SNHU bullpen for a three-run bomb that made it 5-1. The Penmen kept it coming, with La Rocca doubling to left and scoring on a base hit to left from Schwartz, before Caraher launched his third homer in the last two games to right to bring the score to 8-1.
• SNHU added another run in the third when Rivera drew a two-out walk, moved to second on a Moreno single, stole third and scored on a wild pitch.
• After Bentley used a three-run fourth to pull within 9-4, the Penmen scored two in the home half on a two-run single from Mercedes.
• Southern New Hampshire made it 13-4 in the fifth on an RBI double from freshman Kyle Lavigne (Bedford, N.H.) and a wild pitch one batter later.
• Vargas Segura led off the sixth by demolishing a baseball deep to left for a solo home run. After sophomore Jorge Burgos (Santo Domingo, D.R.) was hit by a pitch, Moreno followed with another no-doubter to left increase the lead to 16-4.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – GAME 1

• Moreno went 3-for-5 with five RBI, two runs scored and a pair of home runs.
• Schwartz (three RBI, three runs, home run), Lavigne (RBI, run, double, walk), Vargas Segura (RBI, two runs, home run, double) and La Rocca (two runs, double, walk) were all 2-for-4.
• Rivera finished 1-for-2 with two runs scored, a double and a pair of walks.
• Caraher was 1-for-2 with a pair of RBI, three runs scored, a home run and three walks.
• Mercedes (two RBI) and freshman Dyrenson Wouters (Oranjestad, Aruba) were both 1-for-4.
• Graduate student Zachary Gitschier (Lowell, Mass.) walked one and struck out one in a hitless seventh.

KEY MOMENTS – GAME 2

• Southern New Hampshire scored first again in game two, with La Rocca singling to left-center to plate Moreno, who doubled to left, to make it 1-0 in the bottom of the first.
• Bentley grabbed the lead with a pair in the top of the third on a Liam Sears RBI single and a Tyler Gonzalez run-scoring double.
• SNHU tied it in the home half when Vargas Segura and Rivera led off the frame with walks and moved up to second and third, respectively, on a Moreno sacrifice bunt, before La Rocca collected another RBI with a groundout to first that scored Vargas Segura.
• The Penmen went back on top, 3-2, in the fourth when Wouters hit a two-out single to left, stole second and went to third on an errant throw, and scored on a double to the gap in left-center.
• The Falcons knotted it in the fifth on a solo shot to center from Sears.
• Bentley went ahead with a three-run sixth on RBI doubles from Brian Lindsay and Tommy Bolton, as well as a sac fly by Joe Cacciatore that made it 6-3.
• SNHU tied it in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the frame, as Caraher was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Wouters drew a walk, before Mercedes crushed a three-run blast to left that pulled the Penmen even at 6-6.
• The game remained tied into the bottom of the ninth when Moreno drew a leadoff walk and immediately raced around to score on a double to the gap in right-center off the bat of La Rocca.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – GAME 2

• La Rocca finished 3-for-5 with three RBI and a double.
• Mercedes was 2-for-4 with four RBI, a run scored, a home run and a double.
• Moreno (two runs, double, walk), Wouters (two runs, walk) and Caraher (run) were all 1-for-3.
• Rivera (walk) and freshman Jake Pisano (Hamden, Conn.) each went 1-for-4.
• Junior Brandon White (Simsbury, Conn.) started and was charged with five runs on eight hits, while striking out four and walking three, over five-plus innings.
• Sophomore Frankie Sanchez (Kendall Park, N.J.) gave up just one run on two hits over four innings, while punching out four and walking one, though he did allow a pair of inherited runners to score. He earned the win to improve to 2-1.

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire, ranked 23rd in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Top 25 and receiving votes in the Collegiate Baseball Division II Poll, has now won 17-in-a-row.
• Bentley leads the all-time series with SNHU, 41-38, but the Penmen have won 10 of 12, including eight straight.
• SNHU has scored first in 16 of the 17 games during the winning streak, including the last 12-in-a-row. The Penmen have also scored in the first inning in six of their last eight, including five straight.
• Schwartz' home run was his seventh of the season and the 16th of his Penmen career. Moreno's long-balls were his second and third of the season, and of his career. Caraher's homer was his third in two games, his sixth of the year and the 14th of his career. Segura's was his third in his first season with the Penmen, while Mercedes' was his first of the season and ninth of his career.
• Schwartz continues to lead the NE10 in hitting (.417) and RBI (44), while tying for fourth in home runs (7).
• Rivera has hit safely in 21 of his last 22, including 14 straight.
• La Rocca has a hit in 10 of his last 11, including nine-in-a-row. Wouters has a hit in 14 of 16, including four straight.
• The Penmen continue to produce at the plate, having scored 344 runs in 36 games (9.6).

UP NEXT

• The Penmen wrap the four-game set with Bentley at Penmen Field on Sunday (April 16) at 1 p.m.