DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 17, 2019) – Powered by wins on the mound from sophomore Jack Kelly (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) and junior James Jakuba (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Central Connecticut State University), the Mercy College baseball team earned 2-0 and 3-2 victories over University of New Haven on Sunday afternoon to extend their win streak to six games.
The Mavericks (8-9) have won six games in a row for the first time since 2000 and sweep the three-game set with the Chargers (6-7) who fall below .500 on the year.
Game 1: Mercy 2, New Haven 0
The opening game of the day remained scoreless until the bottom of the fifth when Mercy scored two runs on three hits to take a 2-0 lead. Freshman Ethan McMenamy (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) walked and later stole second before a groundout moved him to third with two outs. Freshman Ryan Saltzman (Old Bethpage, N.Y./Plainview Old Bethpage JFK) then drove in McMenamy with an RBI double to left center making it 1-0. Senior Joseph Sadallah (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) then followed with an RBI single to right center that scored Saltzman, giving Mercy a 2-0 lead.
That would be more than enough support for Kelly who allowed just two hits in six innings and struck out five to pick up the win. Junior Andrew Hernandez (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. John's University) pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to give Mercy a 2-0 game one win.
Saltzman went 1-for-1 with an RBI and Sadallah went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Junior John Mooradian (Marlboro, N.Y./Marlboro) batted 2-for-3 and McMenamy went 1-for-1. Kelly picked up his first win of 2019 and Hernandez recorded his fourth save of the year.
New Haven was led by Matt Chamberlain who went 1-for-3 with a double and Devon DiMascio went 4.2 innings with two runs allowed to take the loss.
Game 2: Mercy 3, New Haven 2
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the third when Mercy plated three runs on two hits to take a 3-0 lead. Saltzman singled to lead off the inning and was moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt by Sadallah. Saltzman then moved over to third on a passed ball and Mooradian walked and stole second to put runners on second and third. Senior Anthony Murphy (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) then walked to load the bases. After a fly out to center made two outs in the inning, senior Adonis Garcia (Bronx, N.Y./Monroe College) came through with a three-run double to left center that cleared the bases and gave Mercy a 3-0 lead.
New Haven finally got on the board in the top of the fourth with two runs on two hits and a Mercy error to make it 3-2. However, the Chargers would be held hitless and scoreless for the remainder of the contest by Jakuba to give Mercy a sweep over the No. 3 team in the East Region.
Saltzman went 2-for-3 with a run and Garcia went 1-for-3 with three RBI. Murphy went 1-for-2 and Mooradian went 1-for-1. Senior Nicolas Hagerty (New York, N.Y./Westchester CC) went 1-for-3 and Jakuba tossed a complete game with one earned run allowed and four strikeouts to pick up his second win.
New Haven was led by Chamberlain who went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Thomas Eletto went 3.0 innings with three runs allowed to take the loss.
Head Coach Chris Schoen and the Mavericks resume action on Friday, March 22nd when they host Queens at 3 p.m.
