Senior Armand Rugel improved to 4-0 this season after giving up just two runs over 6.1 innings in Stonehill's 4-2 win over Merrimack tonight.

Rugel, Solomon hold Warriors to two runs on five hits as Skyhawks improve to 13-4-1

HAVERHILL, Mass. (March 27, 2015) – The Stonehill College baseball team opened Northeast-10 Conference play this evening with a 4-2 victory over Merrimack College at Trinity Stadium in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

Senior righthander Armand Rugel (Middletown, Rhode Island/Middletown) got the start for Stonehill and improved to 4-0 this season after lasting 6.1 innings and allowing just two runs on five hits while recording three strikeouts and three walks. Sophomore Aubrey Solomon (Groton, Massachusetts/Lawrence Academy) took over for Rugel in the seventh and picked up his fourth save of the season, striking out five without allowing a hit or a walk in his 2.2 impressive frames of relief.

Junior outfielder Chris Hoyt (Walpole, Massachusetts/Xaverian Brothers) led Stonehill offensively, as he went 2-for-5 at the plate with a double and two RBI. Sophomore third baseman Steve Lee (Braintree, Massachusetts/Braintree) went 2-for-4 and drove in one run, while senior shortstop Dan Fratus (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Plymouth North) and sophomore outfielder Ben Monte (New Haven, Connecticut/Guilford) added two hits and one run each.  

Junior Chris Hoyt went 2-for-5 at the plate and delivered a two-run double in the fifth.

Junior designated hitter Matt Brown (Belmont, Massachusetts/Worcester Academy) accounted for two of Merrimack's five hits and also drove in a run, while classmate Pat Florence (Lowell, Massachusetts/Groton School) went 1-for-3 with one RBI.

Junior Zach Schindler (Kingston, Massachusetts/Silver Lake) took the loss for the Warriors after giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits while striking out four through five innings. Freshman lefty Cam LaFleur (Brookline, New Hampshire/Hollis Brookline) quieted Stonehill's offense over the last four frames, as he struck out five and scattered five hits without allowing a run.

The Skyhawks opened the scoring in the top of the second on an RBI single by Lee, before tacking on three more runs in the fifth to go up 4-0. Senior catcher Eric Schneider (Camarillo, California/St. Bonaventure) led off the fifth with a single, and two batters later Monte doubled to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Hoyt came up next and plated both Schneider and Monte with a double, before coming around to score on a passed ball.

Merrimack cut into Stonehill's lead in the seventh, scoring twice on RBI singles by Brown and Florence, but Solomon came on to strike out the final two batters of the inning before cruising through the eighth and ninth.

Stonehill (13-4-1, 1-0 NE-10) and Merrimack (9-6, 3-1 NE-10) will cap their three-game weekend series on Sunday with a doubleheader at Trinity Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for noon.

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