WILSON, N.C. (Feb. 18, 2018) – Powered by a team-high six RBI on the day from junior Anthony Murphy (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill), the Mercy College baseball team exploded for 20 runs in 9-7 and 11-3 victories over Barton College on Sunday afternoon at Nixon Field.
The Mavericks (3-1) are off to their best four-game start since 2014, while the Bulldogs (5-8) fall three games under .500 with the losses.
Game 1: Mercy 9, Barton 7
Mercy wasted little time in getting their bats going as sophomore John Mooradian (Marlboro, N.Y./Marlboro) led off the game with a double to left field. Junior Miguel Ortiz Sanchez (Bronx, N.Y./Monroe College) then brought Mooradian home on a single to left field to give the Mavericks a 1-0 lead. Murphy would bring home Ortiz Sanchez later in the inning on a groundout to give Mercy their second run. Senior Shaine Carpenter (Florham Park, N.J./Saint Anselm College) continued the onslaught as he singled to center bringing home Joseph Sadallah (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) make it 3-0. Carpenter later scored on a wild pitch to put Mercy ahead 4-0 after their first at bat.
The Mavericks continued to add onto their lead in the second inning when Ortiz Sanchez hit a two-run single to right field that brought home Mooradian and junior Gerardo Reyes (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Brookdale CC), giving Mercy a 6-0 lead.
Barton finally broke through with two runs in the bottom of the third to make it 6-2. The Mavericks quickly answered with a run in the top of the fourth as Murphy came through with an RBI double to left center that plated Ortiz Sanchez increasing the Mercy lead to 7-2. The Bulldogs responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to make it 7-4.
The Mavericks added on another run in the top of the fifth as Reyes singled through the left side, allowing Josue Perez (Bronx, N.Y./Monroe College) to score. Mercy held an 8-4 lead until the bottom of the sixth when Barton scored two more runs to get within two, 8-6, after six innings.
A Mooradian sacrifice fly in the seventh inning gave Mercy a three-run lead and the Mavericks would survive a leadoff home run in the bottom half of the inning to earn the win.
Mooradian went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI and Ortiz Sanchez went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs. Murphy went 1-for-4 with two RBI and Carpenter batted 1-for-3 with an RBI. Reyes went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Josue Perez batted 2-for-4. Junior Oscar Marcial (New York, N.Y./A. Philip Randolph) pitched one inning of scoreless relief to earn his first win of the season.
Game 2: Mercy 11, Barton 3
The Mavericks continued to swing the bats well in the second game, recording 16 hits and 11 runs. Mercy once again jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first as Murphy singled home Ortiz Sanchez and senior John Young (New Hyde Park, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) smacked an RBI single that put the Mavericks ahead 2-0.
Mercy added on four more runs in the top of the second to build a 6-0 lead after two innings. Murphy doubled home two more runs and senior Ralph Pasols (Middletown, N.Y./Orange CC) drove home a run with a single to third. Young capped off the scoring in the inning with his second RBI single of the game.
Murphy hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning for his fourth RBI of the game, which gave Mercy a 7-0 lead. Barton got on the board with three runs in the fourth, but the Mavericks answered with three runs of their own in the top of the fifth to make it 10-3. Junior Anthony Mammano (East Norwich, N.Y./St. Dominic's) got into the action with his first RBI single of the season and Pasols brought two more players home with a single through the left side. Mercy capped off their scoring in the top of the sixth when Sadallah singled home a run to make it 11-3 and the Mavericks would hold on for the series win.
Murphy went 2-for-2 with four RBI and Pasols batted 2-for-4 with three RBI. Young hit 3-for-5 with two RBI and Sadallah went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Mooradian batted 2-for-5 with two runs and sophomore Scott Kelnhofer (New Hyde Park, N.Y./New Hyde Park) finished 2-for-2 off the bench. Junior Fernando Figueroa (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Monroe College) made the start on the bump and went 2 1/3 innings with no runs allowed to get a no-decision. Freshman Noah Krzyzak (Pine Bush, N.Y/Pine Bush) pitched three innings out of the bullpen with no earned runs allowed to pick up his first win as a Maverick.
Head Coach Chris Schoen and the Mavericks resume action on Thursday, February 22nd when they play Stonehill College in Myrtle Beach at 5:30 p.m.
