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4
Merrimack MER 12-16, 3-5 NE-10
5
Winner American Int'l AIC 8-11-1, 3-5-1 NE-10
Merrimack MER
12-16, 3-5 NE-10
4
Final
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American Int'l AIC
8-11-1, 3-5-1 NE-10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
Merrimack MER 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 12 3
American Int'l AIC 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 1 5 9 4

W: Bailey, Tim (3-1) L: Pinette (1-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball stuns Warriors, 5-4 in 11 innings

SPRINGFIELD, MA—The American International College baseball team (8-11-1, 3-5-1 NE-10) came back from a 4-0 deficit to earn a walk-off, 11 inning 5-4 victory over conference rival Merrimack (12-16, 3-5 NE-10) at AIC Park. Graduate right fielder Kyle McNiff (Westford, MA) had the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 11th frame.

Merrimack jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth frame after freshman right fielder Tom Lanzoni (Wallingford, CT) hit a triple to right center that was followed up by a sacrifice fly by junior second baseman Alan Pastyrnak (Bristol, CT). Senior first baseman Tim Curran (Weymouth, MA) then singled, and junior shortstop Casey Cotter (North Hampton, N.H.) doubled, knocking AIC sophomore starting pitcher Cam MacDonald (Weymouth, MA) out of the game. Junior designated hitter Joe Mantoni (Northbridge, MA) hit a ground ball to freshman third baseman Lucas Vallas (East Northport, N.Y.) who could not handle the ball, and then threw it wide of first base, allowing Curran and Cotter to both score unearned runs. Vallas was charged with two errors on the play.

The Warriors would add another unearned run in the seventh as Curran reached base on a fielding error, and then got to second when Mantoni was hit by a pitch. A single by junior center fielder Mark O'Flynn (Ipswich, MA) plated Curran.

However, the Jackets would respond with three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, led off by graduate second baseman Nick Devine (Holyoke, MA) doubling, and then sophomore designated hitter Dave Clark (West Springfield, MA) driving a single through the left side of the infield. Senior first baseman Julian Concepcion (Woodstock Valley, CT) then hit a soft grounder which allowed him to reach first; a throwing error then allowed him to advance to second and Clark to reach third. Sophomore catcher Dan Fenton (Agawam, MA) then lined a single up the middle to plate Clark, and senior left fielder Dennis Duffy hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Concepcion. The Jackets reloaded the bases, but McNiff was unable to bring in the tying run, flying to center on a 3-2 pitch.

The Jackets did tie the game the next inning, with Devine leading off with a four-pitch walk. Clark sacrifice bunted to move Devine over, and then Vallas atoned for his earlier errors by driving in Devine with a sharp liner through the left side.

AIC had several chances to win the game in the ninth inning, as junior shortstop Chris Amate (Hanover, MA) led off with a double down the third base line. Sophomore center fielder Dan Asselin (Chicopee, MA) hit a sharp grounder to first that was mishandled, but Amate was thrown out at home trying to score from second; the throw did allow Asselin to reach second base. McNiff was intentionally walked, but the Jackets could not muster any more offense.

Merrimack had two chances to score in the top half of the extra frames, leading off with a baserunner each time; in the 10th it was a single by freshman catcher Joe Burnham (Woburn, MA) while in the 11th Curran reached on a ball which was misfielded by Concepcion. Both were followed up with well executed sacrifice bunts to move the runners to second, but in both cases senior closer Tim Bailey (Chicopee, MA) was able to work out of the jam without allowing any further advance.

Bailey's brilliance on the mound, allowing just one hit and one walk in three innings of relief, set the stage for McNiff's 11th inning heroics. After Duffy popped out to shallow center, Amate was hit by the first pitch he faced. He stole second, then took third on a passed ball. McNiff then lined the 2-2 pitch into center field to win the game.

Bailey earned the win in relief, improving to 3-1 on the year; for the Warriors, junior relief pitcher Beau Batcherlor (Peabody, MA) was charged with a blown save for allowing the tying run in the eighth inning, and senior relief pitcher Chris Pinette (Norwood, MA) was charged with the loss, falling to 1-1, despite only allowing two hits and one walk in his 2.2 innings of relief, while fanning four.

The Yellow Jackets next head to conference foe Bentley on Saturday for a Northeast-10 doubleheader in Waltham, MA that begins at 12:00 PM.
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