Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Merrimack

Box Score - Game 1; Box Score - Game 2

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The American International College baseball team split a doubleheader with Merrimack Sunday afternoon at AIC Park, winning game one 4-2 and losing game two 14-1. The Yellow Jackets are now 4-12 on the season and 2-4 in the Northeast-10, while the Warriors record moved to 5-11 overall and 2-2 in conference play. Freshman Dillon Fontaine (Amenia, N.Y.) allowed two runs on eight hits with six strikeouts over eight innings in game one to improve his record to 2-0 on the season.

The Yellow Jackets jumped on the Warriors early in game one, scoring all four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Seniors Jason and Jeff Rustico (Plantsville, Conn.) got things going with back-to-back singles and later scored on a double off the bat of junior Kevin Farrell (Wilbraham, Mass.) to give AIC a 2-0 lead. Junior Dan Fey (Plymouth, Mass.) then doubled to center field to score senior David Dest (Somers, Conn.), who was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning, and Farrell.

Fontaine cruised through the first four innings, but was was touched for two runs in the top of the fifth. Junior Mike Andre (Medford, Mass.) singled to start the inning and later scored on junior Dustin Sullivan's (Southington, Conn.) single down the right field line. Sullivan then scored from first on sophomore Brendan Pyburn's (Peabody, Mass.) double to left field for the final run of the game.

Freshman Sean Stevenson (Holyoke, Mass.) tossed a scoreless ninth to pick up the save. Senior Josh Sohn (West Simsbury, Conn.) tossed a complete game for the Merrimack with eight strikeouts in eight innings.

Farrell finished 2 for 4 at the plate with one run scored and two RBIs for AIC and freshman Dan Mooney (Bennington, Vt.) went 2 for 3 at the dish. Andre was 3 for 4 for Merrimack, while junior Jeff Bercume (Leicester, Mass.) and Pyburn each went 2 for 4.

The Warriors' offense exploded for 14 runs in game, including seven in the top of the fourth. Graduate student Brett Cooley (Somers, Conn.) allowed just one hit through the first three innings, but was unable to get a single out in the fourth as he was hit for seven runs on seven hits. The big blow of the inning was a bases-clearing double to left-center field that gave Merrimack a 4-0 lead.

Sophomore Ryan O'Rourke (Worcester, Mass.) was dominant in his six innings pitched as he struck out nine in six innings to record the win. Bercume was a perfect 6 for 6 at the plate with three RBIs and two runs scored and Andre went 3 for 6 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Dest went 2 for 4 with a run scored for AIC.

The Yellow Jackets will next host Southern New Hampshire Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.