Six seniors were honored prior to the victory
Sabo was one of two Skyhawks to chip in two RBI |
EASTON, Mass. (May 5, 2018) – The Stonehill College baseball team won its final game of the season, 9-6, against Merrimack College on senior day in Northeast-10 Conference divisional play on Saturday afternoon.
For the Skyhawks, Harrison Sabo (Wilton, Connecticut/Wilton) went 3-for-4 with one run scored, two RBI and a double. Justin Nicklas (Foxboro, Massachusetts/St. Sebastian's) also contributed two RBI swinging 1-for-4 with one run scored and a double of his own. Matthew Rocco (Newington, Connecticut/Newington) also chipped in a RBI as he swung 2-for-5 at the plate and Alex Hurley (Rumford, Rhode Island/Worcester Academy) and William Kelleher (Mansfield, Massachusetts/Mansfield) each registered one RBI in the victory. Freshman pitcher Connor Williams (Glastonbury, Connecticut/East Catholic) tallied his first-collegiate win, while Joe Klingensmith (Topsfield, Massachusetts/Masconomet) notched his seventh save of his career. Prior to the game, Stonehill recognized its six seniors.
After retiring three straight, Stonehill scored first in the bottom of the first with one out as Sabo drove home Tyler Carey (Raynham, Massachusetts/Bridgewater-Raynham) with his 11th double of the season. In the top of the third, Merrimack tied up the game, 1-1, with a two-out single to left center scoring Anthony Garbarino from second. With Joey Porricelli and Tyler Lyne on base, Stonehill retired the side with a ground out back to the pitcher.
The Skyhawks responded in the bottom of the frame with a run to take the lead back, 2-1. With one out, Sabo singled to right field and Hurley walked putting runners on first and second for Kelleher. The junior connected for a single up the middle and Sabo scored, but the Warriors struck out a batter for the second out and picked off Hurley at second for the final out of the inning, stranding two on base.
Rocco went 2-for-5 with a run scored and a RBI |
Merrimack saw two more runs, one in each of the fifth and sixth innings to see its first lead of the game, 3-2. Stonehill chipped away in the bottom of the sixth to once again take back the lead, this time widening the lead by four, 7-3, with five runs. With back-to-back throwing errors by Merrimack, Stonehill saw two runs cross home and with one out, Rocco singled to right center driving in two runs after a throwing error by the right fielder. Rocco stole third and then was tagged out on his attempt to steal home plate for the second out of the inning. Carey walked to continue putting Skyhawks on base as Sabo tallied his third hit of the day scoring Carey from second, 7-3.
The seventh and eighth innings were busy, as Merrimack saw three more runs cross home and Stonehill tallied two more, 9-6. The Warriors tallied three runs off three hits in the seventh and eighth innings, while the Skyhawks registered two runs off four hits. The Skyhawks retired the side in the top of the ninth recording two fly outs and a ground out taking the win against the Warriors for a 1-2 series.
Stonehill ended the season 17-21-1 overall and a 10-15-1 Conference mark. The Skyhawks finished just shy of making the playoffs with their fifth-place finish out of eight in the Northeast Division.
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