LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. (Apr. 11, 2018) –Powered by two home runs and four RBI on the day from freshman Zak Kain (Dingmans Ferry, Pa./Delaware Valley), the Mercy College baseball team exploded for 26 runs on the day in earning a pair of 13-1 victories over Lincoln University on Wednesday afternoon.
The Mavericks (14-18) snap a four-game losing streak with the wins and have their most wins in a season since 2014, while the Lions (0-15) remain winless on the year.
Game 1: Mercy 13, Lincoln 1
Mercy got off to a good start in the opener, taking a 5-0 lead after their first at bat. Sophomore John Mooradian (Marlboro, N.Y./Marlboro) doubled to start the game and later scored on a throwing error by the Lincoln catcher to make it 1-0. Junior Adonis Garcia (Bronx, N.Y./Monroe College) then doubled home junior Anthony Murphy (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) to give the Mavericks a 2-0 lead. Senior Shaine Carpenter (Florham Park, N.J./Saint Anselm College) plated Kain after reaching on an error by the third baseman, giving Mercy a 3-0 lead. Junior Gerardo Reyes (Bayamon, P.R./Brookdale CC) scored Garcia on an RBI single to right center, increasing the score to 4-0. Carpenter scored the final run of the inning on a fielder's choice by senior Ralph Pasols (Middletown, N.Y./Orange CC).
It remained 5-0 until the top of the fourth when Pasols scored on another Lion error and junior Miguel Ortiz Sanchez (Bronx, N.Y./Monroe College) singled home sophomore Scott Kelnhofer (New Hyde Park, N.Y./New Hyde Park) to put the Mavericks ahead 7-0. Mercy tacked on four more runs in the fifth inning with Kain leading off the inning with a home run to left field. Carpenter later hit an RBI double that made it 9-0 and Reyes plated Carpenter in the next at bat with a double of his own to bring the score to 10-0. Ortiz Sanchez brought home Reyes on a single to center field that made it 11-0.
Mercy concluded their scoring in the sixth inning with two runs to build a 13-0 advantage. Garcia singled home Murphy and Reyes hit a sacrifice fly in the inning to give the Mavericks a commanding lead. Lincoln would plate a run in their final at bat but could not get any more as Mercy held on for the win.
Ortiz Sanchez went 3-for-5 with two RBI and Reyes went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Garcia batted 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI and Carpenter went 1-for-4 with two RBI. Kain batted 1-for-3 with three runs and an RBI. Junior Fernando Figueroa (Bayamon, P.R./Monroe College) made the start on the mound and pitched four scoreless innings to pick up his first win as a Maverick. Freshmen Demetri Mesimeris (Commack, N.Y./Commack) and Carmine Szynal (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) and senior Tyler Cinelli (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) combined to toss three innings with no earned runs allowed.
Aidan Gomes went 3-for-3 with a run to lead Lincoln. Marcos Castillo went five innings with six earned runs allowed to take the loss.
Game 2: Mercy 13, Lincoln 1
Mercy once again jumped out to an early lead, scoring four runs in the top of the first on two hits and two Lincoln errors. Mooradian scored the first run of the game after an error by the catcher on a steal attempt. Murphy brought home Ortiz Sanchez on a single to second base that made it 2-0 and Kain concluded the scoring in the inning with a two-run home run to center field.
Lincoln scored an unearned run on a passed ball in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-1, but the Mavericks would score three more runs in the second inning to build a 7-1 advantage. Mooradian tripled to left field to bring home junior Alonso Tenya (Lima, Peru/Westchester CC). Ortiz Sanchez scored Mooradian on a groundout to make it 6-1 and Kain brought home the final run of the inning on a single to right center that scored Murphy.
Mooradian recorded another RBI single in the third to increase the Mercy lead to 8-1. The Mavericks added four more runs in the sixth inning to take a commanding 12-1 lead. Junior Nicolas Hagerty (New York, N.Y./Westchester CC) drove in a run with a hit by pitch with the bases loaded and Tenya brought a pair to the plate with a single. Ortiz Sanchez drove in the final run of the inning on a bases-loaded walk that scored Hagerty.
Hagerty singled home the final run of the game in the top of the seventh to make it 13-1 and the combination of junior Odalis Perez (New York, N.Y./Sullivan CC), sophomore Matteo Finocchi (Staatsburg, N.Y./FDR), freshman Adam Jaramillo (Carrollton, Texas/Creekview), sophomore Andrew Hernandez (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. John's University), junior Oscar Marcial (New York, N.Y./A. Philip Randolph) and senior Juan Perez (Bronx, N.Y./Iowa Lakes CC) allowed just two hits and an unearned run to pick up the win.
Kain went 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI and Tenya went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Pasols went 3-for-5 with a run and Hagerty went 1-for-4 with two RBI. Murphy batted 2-for-4 with three runs and an RBI and Garcia went 2-for-4 with two runs. Mooradian went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI and Finocchi pitched 1.1 innings of relief to earn the win.
Lincoln received a hit from Willie Hines and Kashif Hill and Jordan Whisler pitched 4.0 innings with six earned runs allowed to take the loss.
Mercy resumes action on Friday, April 13th when they host Queens at 3 p.m.
