DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Apr. 30, 2021) – Powered by six Mavericks recording multiple RBI on the day, the Mercy College baseball team earned 7-5 and 13-5 victories over ECC foe Lincoln University on Friday afternoon at Mercy Field.

The Mavericks (16-8, 12-4 ECC) are off to their best 24-game start since 1983 and continue their best ECC start in program history. The Lions (4-15, 4-9 ECC) have lost nine straight games.

Game 1: Mercy 7, Lincoln 5

The game remained scoreless until the top of the fifth when Lincoln took a 1-0 lead on two hits. The Lions added a run in the sixth inning to take a 2-0 lead.

Mercy tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth with two runs on two hits. Sophomore Nolan Giblin (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville Dewitt) led off the inning with a triple and was brought home by a Miguel Ortiz Sanchez (Bronx, N.Y./Monroe College) RBI single. Ortiz Sanchez later scored on a Francisco Paulino (Haina San Cristobal, Dominican Republic/Monroe College) fielder's choice to make it 2-2.

The Mavericks took a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning. Senior Cain Ruiz (Valley Stream, N.Y./Cornerstone University) singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Junior Ryan Saltzman (Old Bethpage, N.Y./Plainview Old Bethpage JFK) then singled to move Ruiz to third. Graduate student Anthony Murphy (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill) would plate Ruiz following a hit by pitch with the bases loaded.

The Lions answered with three runs in the top of the eighth to retake the lead at 5-3. Lincoln looked to have the game in hand but Mercy rallied with four runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead back for good at 7-5. Paulino walked to lead off the inning before Ruiz tripled to bring home Paulino. Ruiz later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 5-5. Giblin then delivered a double down the left field line that scored Saltzman for the go-ahead run. Ortiz Sanchez singled home Giblin to give Mercy a 7-5 lead.

Freshman Luis Ruiz (Weehawken, N.J./High Tech) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to give Mercy the win.

Ruiz went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI and Ortiz Sanchez went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Giblin went 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI and Saltzman went 1-for-3. Sophomore Anthony Burgio (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) pitched 7.1 innings with five runs allowed to earn a no-decision. Ruiz pitched 1.2 innings with no runs allowed to earn his first collegiate win.

Lincoln was led by Kashif Hill who went 1-for-4 with two RBI. Trevon Sutton pitched 7.2 innings to take the loss.

Game 2: Mercy 13, Lincoln 5

The score remained 0-0 until the bottom of the third when Mercy scored three runs to take a 3-0 lead. Saltzman, Giblin and Ortiz Sanchez started the inning with singles to load the bases. Murphy then singled to right field to bring home Saltzman for the first run. Junior Charles Lebron (Brooklyn, N.Y./Franklin Pierce University) then singled to left field, plating Ortiz Sanchez and Giblin to make it 3-0.

Mercy added seven runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it 10-0. Senior Kuzari Jocelyn (Brooklyn, N.Y./Abraham Lincoln) and Saltzman singled to start the rally and Giblin followed with a single to center field that scored Jocelyn to make it 4-0. Ortiz Sanchez brought home Saltzman with a single to make it 5-0 and Lebron plated Giblin with an RBI groundout to give Mercy a 6-0 lead. Paulino then recorded a two-run single, which made it 8-0 and junior James Mattutat (Huntington, N.Y./Walt Whitman) capped off the scoring with his first collegiate home run to make it 10-0.

Lincoln plated three runs in the top of the fifth to make it 10-3. Mercy answered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to bring the score to 13-3. Murphy brought in the first run on a bases-loaded walk and Lebron recorded another RBI groundout to make it 12-3. Ortiz Sanchez scored the final run of the inning on a wild pitch.

The Lions scored two runs in the sixth inning, but could not score again and the Mavericks came away with the win.

Lebron went 1-for-4 with four RBI and Giblin went 3-for-3 with three runs and one RBI. Ortiz Sanchez went 2-for-3 with three runs and one RBI and Murphy went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Paulino went 1-for-3 with two RBI and Saltzman went 3-for-4 with three runs. Jocelyn went 1-for-3 and Mattutat went 1-for-1 with a home run and two RBI. Junior Austin DeRosa (Seymour, Conn./Seymour) pitched 4.1 innings with three runs allowed to earn his fourth win. Senior Osvaldo Encarnacion (El Paso, Texas/The College of New Rochelle) pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Lincoln was led by Willie Hines who went 1-for-3 with three RBI. Rolando Alvarez pitched 3.1 innings to take the loss.

Head Coach Chris Schoen and the Mavericks resume action tomorrow when they host Lincoln at 3 p.m.