MANCHESTER, N.H. – The fourth-seeded Saint Anselm College baseball team dropped its Northeast-10 Conference Quarterfinal game to the top seed and No. 9 nationally, Southern New Hampshire University by a 14-2 score on Tuesday.
With the loss, the Hawks will see their season come to a close at 22-23. The Penmen improve to 38-8 on the season and will advance to the double elimination portion of the NE10 postseason, starting on Thursday, May 12.
Senior Kyle Maurice (Exeter, N.H.) led the Hawks offense with two hits on the day. Senior Jack Dunklee (Wilbraham, Mass.) and juniors Brady Doran (Greenville, S.C.) and Mike Borrelli (Salisbury, Mass.) registered one hit apiece for Saint Anselm.
Sophomore Matthew Michel (Haverhill, Mass.) suffered just his second loss in 2022 after allowing eight runs on eight hits in three innings of work. Junior Avery Mosseau (Bedford, N.H.) gave up five runs on three hits in 3.1 innings pitched while senior David Hunter (Middleton, Mass.) closed out the remaining 1.2 innings. Hunter conceded just two hits and one run in his outing.
As a team, Saint Anselm ranks fifth in slugging percentage as .456. The Hawks set a program record for home runs with 57, breaking the team record that stood since 2001. The team's .370 on-base percentage ranks sixth all-time. The squad scored the third most runs (306), is tied third with 86 doubles, ranks sixth with nine triples, and drove in 274 runs, which is second most. Saint Anselm's 22 wins are the most since the 2012 season and are the sixth most in a single season. Hawks pitching fanned 303 batters this season which is third best in team annals.
Maurice closed a historic season with a .396 batting average which is third best in a single season. His slugging percentage of .730 is second highest while his on-base percentage is tied for fifth. His 63 hits are tied for seventh best and his 45 runs scored are third in team annals. Maurice slugged 14 home runs in 2022, good for second and drove in 48 runs which is third most. Maurice's 24 home runs in a Hawks uniform is third-highest.
Doran put the Hawks in business in the top of the first inning as he laced a double to right center field. However, he would be stranded at second as Angus McCloskey got a pair of strikeouts to strand Doran.
Southern New Hampshire sent nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the first inning, coming around to score five times. Danniel Rivera and Cristian Mercedes reached to lead off the inning with a walk and a hit by pitch. Sam Henrie put a ball in play which advanced Rivera to third but the Hawks could not turn the double play, allowing Henrie to reach. Nick Schwartz singled to open the scoring followed by another RBI single from Dakota Mulcay. Three more RBI hits from Cam Caraher, John Chacho, and Alex Kennedy pushed the score to 5-0. Michel would get Idolson Taveras to ground out to close the inning.
Borrelli opened the top of the second with a single and would reach second on a walk by sophomore Nolan Elmore (Brentwood, N.H.). McCloskey once again worked out of trouble with a pair of strikeouts.
After nearly getting the Penmen to go in order in the second inning, Henrie hit a two-out solo home run to extend the lead to 6-0.
Southern New Hampshire tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third. Chacho reached on a fielder's choice before scoring on a double by Kennedy. He would score on a single by Taveras which gave the Penmen an 8-0 lead.
Saint Anselm worked back-to-back walks in the top of the sixth inning and both runners would advance on a passed ball. However, McCloskey got out of the two-out jam with ground out.
A pair of singles for Rivera and Mercedes put runners on second and third for Henrie who drove in another run with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 9-0.
The Penmen scored another four runs in the bottom of the seventh and sent 10 batters to the plate in the frame. A single by Rivera plated one run before Mercedes recorded a sacrifice fly. Henrie drove in another with a single and Mulcay brought home one with a bases loaded walk.
Dylan O'Sullivan pushed the lead to 14 with a pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the eighth.
Saint Anselm would cross the plate twice in the top of the ninth inning as Maurice singled to lead off the frame. Senior Mike Pierro (North Andover, Mass.) drew a walk and traded places with Elmore, who reached on fielder's choice. Junior Will Panarello (Barrington, R.I.) worked a walk which brought Dunklee to the plate. He ripped a double down the right field line to score Maurice and Elmore and made the score to 14-2. A fly out to center field would close the contest.