HAVERHILL, Mass. – The American International College baseball team split a Northeast-10 doubleheader against Merrimack College Sunday afternoon, winning game-one 6-3 before falling in game-two 2-1. The games were played at Haverhill High School, which has a turf field

The Yellow Jackets are now 7-5 for the season and 1-1 in the NE-10, while the Warriors record moved to 12-6 overall and 3-1 in conference play.

The first game was scoreless until Merrimack pushed two runs across in the top of the fourth. Senior designated hitter Joe Mantoni (Northbridge, Mass.) doubled to right to score senior Mark O'Flynn (Ipswich, Mass.) and senior Casey Cotter (North Hampton, N.H.) beat the throw home as first baseman Matt Brown (Belmont, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice.

AIC answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the score at 2-2. Sophomore first baseman Mike Coyne (El Cajon, Calif.) tripled to right to lead off the inning and came around to score on junior catcher Dan Fenton's (Agawam, Mass.) sac-fly to get the Yellow Jackets on the board, and freshman second baseman Zach Kane (New London, Conn.) scored all the way from first on freshman shortstop Eddie Ritch's (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) double to center after singling to center himself.

The Yellow Jackets then loaded the bases in the sixth with two outs and the Warriors appeared to be out of the inning with a Fenton's grounder to short, but an error by freshman shortstop Frank Crinella (Springfield, Mass.) allowed junior left fielder Dave Clark (West Springfield, Mass.) and junior third baseman Cam MacDonald (Weymouth, Mass.) to score and extend the inning. Kane followed with a double to left the plated junior right fielder Dan Asselin (Chicopee, Mass.) and Fenton to give AIC a 6-2 lead.

Merrimack got one run back in the top of the eight when O'Flynn scored on a Brown's sac-fly, but that was all the Warriors could muster in the final three innings.

Junior Matt Lee (Stratford, Conn.) earned the decision after allowing three runs on eight hits with five strikeouts in seven innings of work, evening his record at 1-1 for the season. Senior Geoff McCowat (Sterling, Va.) got three straight outs in the ninth to earn his third save of the year.

Kane finished the game 2-for-3 with one double, two RBI and a run scored. Clark was also 2-for-3 with a double and scored once.

O'Flynn finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Mantoni was 2-foir-3 with an RBI. Junior Travis Terrill (Hudson, N.H.) took the loss after allowing four runs, two earned, on six hits with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

Freshman Harrison Paige (Springfield, Mass.) was on the losing end of a 2-1 pitchers' duel in game two, allowing two runs on six hits with no walks and six strikeouts while pitching all nine innings for AIC. His record is now 1-1 for the season.

Sophomore Tim Cashman (Rowley, Mass.) got the win after allowing one run on three hits with 12 strikeouts in 7.2 innings of work to pick up his first win of the season, and Mantoni fanned three batters in the final 1.1 innings to earn his second save.

Senior second baseman Alan Pastyrnak (Bristol, Conn.) led the game off with a single through the right side of the infield and then scored on O'Flynn's triple to left to give Merrimack a 1-0 lead.

Coyne tied the game at 1-1 when he scored on Fenton's single through the right side in the bottom of the fifth after being hit by a pitch, but O'Flynn answered in the top of the sixth as he led off the frame with a triple to center and scored on Cotter's ground out to short.

The Yellow Jackets loaded the bases in the eighth and ninth innings as they tried to at least pull even in the game, but Mantoni worked his way of the jam on both occasions as Merrimack held on for the win.

AIC is scheduled to return to action Wednesday when it hosts a Northeast-10 contest against Le Moyne College at 3:30 p.m. at AIC Park.