Ninth-Inning Rally Falls Short as Molloy Nips Mercy 6-5
Ninth-Inning Rally Falls Short as Molloy Nips Mercy
6-5
Linescore
A two-run, ninth inning rally wasn't enough as the Mercy
College baseball team fell to Molloy, 6-5, in an East Coast
Conference game played at Mavericks Field on Sunday. The game
concluded a five-game series between the two teams, in which Molloy
took four wins.
Senior southpaw Steve
Merslich (Flushing, N.Y./Francis Lewis) got the start
and was touched up for three runs in the first. He settled
down after that and pitched six innings in total, during which he
retired 10 straight hitters at one point. He was helped out on
defense by left fielder Mike
Gianzero (Highland Mills, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury), who
took a homerun away from Molloy's Rob LaRusso, making the
catch at the fence.
The Mavericks pushed a run across in the bottom of the third
without getting a hit. Senior shortstop Justin
Muscarella (Plainedge, N.Y./Island Trees) worked out a
walk and advanced to third on another walk and a fielder's
choice. He came in to score on a fielder's choice by
Julio Torres (Harlingen, Texas/Harlingen
South). This made the score 3-1 for Molloy.
The Lions added two more runs in the sixth to extend their lead to
5-1.
Mercy showed their resiliency by scoring twice in the seventh as
Andrew Bock (Malverne, N.Y./Valley
Stream North) got hit with the pitch and Muscarella singled.
Bock later came in on a sacrifice fly from Graig
Lauricella (North Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge).
Muscarella got home on another fielder's choice from Torres.
With the score standing at 5-3, Molloy pushed an insurance run
across in the eighth. The score remained there until the
Mavericks' half of the ninth. Muscarella led off the
inning with a walk and advanced to second. Centerfielder
Matt Walsh (Staten Island, N.Y./St.
Peter's Boys) ripped a single to center to score
Muscarella. Walsh made it to third as the ball went through
the legs of the centerfielder. Lauricella drove in Walsh with
a groundout to first. The scoring ended there as Molloy
escaped with a 6-5 win.
For Mercy, Marc Dern (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley
Stream North) collected two hits. Torres and Lauricella drove
in two runs apiece and Chris
Mignoli (Floral Park, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) and Billy Dring (Mahopac, N.Y./Lakeland)
each hurled a scoreless inning of relief.
The Mavericks return home on Tuesday, April 13 as they host the
College of Mt. St. Vincent. The first pitch is scheduled for
3:30pm.
