STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Mercedes – 6-8, 9 RBI, 4 R, 3 HR, 2 2B
• Praml – 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (game 1 win; 9-1)
• White – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (game 2 win; 6-1)
• Junior Cam Caraher (Plymouth, Mass.) – 4-6, 2 RBI, 4 R, 2 2B, BB
• Junior Mike La Rocca (Vero Beach, Fla.) – 3-5, 5 RBI, 3 R, HR, BB

KEY MOMENTS – GAME 1

• Southern New Hampshire moved out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Caraher led off with a base hit to right-center, stole second and third, and scored on Mercedes' RBI double to left.
• A La Rocca RBI single to center and an unearned run on an error following a Caraher base hit made it 3-0 in the third.
• Mercedes led off the fourth with a solo home run to stretch the lead to 4-0.
• The score was 4-1 going to the sixth when the Penmen struck for six to put the game out of reach. A two-out, two-run single from sophomore Anderson Moreno (Bronx, N.Y.)  started the scoring, before a La Rocca grand slam to right-center finished it and brought the score to 10-1.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – GAME 1

• La Rocca went 2-for-3 with a home run, five RBI and a run scored.
• Mercedes (two RBI, run, home run, double) and Caraher (run) were both 2-for-4.
• Sophomore Harry Vargas Segura (Bronx, N.Y.) and freshman Jake Pisano (Hamden, Conn.) each went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
• Moreno was 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI and a run scored.
• Freshman Dyrenson Wouters (Oranjestad, Aruba) went 0-for-3, but walked and scored a pair of runs.
• Junior Griffin Gilbert (Concord, N.H.) gave up a hit, struck out one and walked one in a scoreless inning.

KEY MOMENTS – GAME 2

• Southern New Hampshire jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first, with an RBI double from junior Nick Schwartz (Massapequa, N.Y.), a two-run double by Caraher and two-run homer from Mercedes doing the damage.
• SNHU scored three more times in the second, as a two-run single from Mercedes and an RBI base knock by freshman Kyle Lavigne (Bedford, N.H.) widened the gap to 8-0.
• RBI singles by Moreno and Schwartz in the third made it an even 10-0.
• The Penmen struck four more times in the fourth, as Mercedes smashed a two-run homer, before freshman Jake Risedorf (Barkhamsted, Conn.) hit an RBI double and a wild pitch scored junior Danniel Rivera (New Britain, Conn.) to extend the lead to 14-0.
• An RBI double from Mercedes and a run-scoring single by Lavigne in the fifth pushed the advantage to 16-0.
• It was 17-1 going to the ninth when SNHU hung a six-spot, highlighted by a grand slam off the bat of junior Dylan O'Sullivan (Manchester, N.H.).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – GAME 2

• Mercedes went 4-for-4 with seven RBI, three runs, two home runs and a double.
• Schwartz was 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI, two runs and a double.
• Caraher (three runs, two RBI, two doubles, walk), Lavigne (two RBI, run, two walks) and Risedorf (RBI, run, two doubles) were all 2-for-2.
• Moreno (RBI, two runs, walk), La Rocca (two runs, walk) and O'Sullivan (four RBI, run, home run) all went 1-for-2.
• Sophomore Zachary Ranney (Wallingford, Conn.) was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
• Rivera finished 1-for-4 with a pair of runs and two walks.
• Junior Trevor Anibal (Bedford, N.H.; RBI, run) and sophomore Frankie Sanchez (Kendall Park, N.J.; run) both went 1-for-1.
• Graduate student Josh Roberge (Chelmsford, Mass.) went 0-for-1 with an RBI and a run scored.
• Freshman Parker Lendrum (Exeter, N.H) struck out one in a hitless inning.
• Freshman Frankie DeMaro (Newburgh, N.Y.) allowed one run on three hits in an inning of work.
• Junior George Welch (Derry, N.H.) punched out a pair in a scoreless frame.
• Anibal relinquished one run on three hits, while striking out two and walking one, over one inning.

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire, ranked 15th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Top 25 and 26th in the Collegiate Baseball Division II Poll, extends the program's record winning streak and nation's longest current winning streak to 22 consecutive games.
• SNHU reduces its magic number to clinch the NE10 Northeast Division to two, but with its four remaining conference games all against second-place Franklin Pierce University, the Penmen need only one win in that series next weekend to claim the title.
• The Penmen, who outscored the Purple Knights, 53-8, in the four-game series, improve to 42-2 all-time versus Saint Michael's and have won 34 straight meetings, including 14 consecutive games in Colchester.
• SNHU has scored first in 21 of the 22 games during the winning streak, including the last 17-in-a-row. The Penmen have also scored in the first inning in seven of their last 10.
• Mercedes' three home runs give him six on the season and 14 for his career.
• La Rocca's homer is his seventh of the season and 15th of his career.
• O'Sullivan's long-ball is his first of the season and seventh of his career.
• Schwartz continues to lead the NE10 in hitting (.428) and RBI (51), while tying for fifth in home runs (8).
• Rivera has hit safely in 24 of his last 25, including 17 straight. He has 10 multi-hit games during his current streak.
• Mercedes extends his hitting streak to 10 games, during which he is 17-for-37 (.459) with 10 extra-base hits, including six home runs, 20 RBI, 12 runs scored and a .524/1.054/1.578 slash line.
• La Rocca has a hit in 14 of his last 16.
• The Penmen continue to produce at the plate, having scored 403 runs in 41 games (9.8). That effort already ranks third in the program's single-season record book. The top mark is 494 runs (2016).

UP NEXT

• The Penmen return to action Friday, April 28 (6 p.m.) when they play host to in-state rival Franklin Pierce University at Penmen Field.