Have Mercy: Baseball Tops Emerson via Run-Rule, 16-6

EAST BOSTON – Suffolk baseball ran past Emerson, 16-6, in eight innings. Seven Rams contributed at least one hit, with five multi-hit performances to lead to the Beantown bragging rights.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 16 | Emerson 6
RECORDS: Suffolk (15-12) | Emerson (5-18) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
A three-run triple off Briggs Loveland's bat gave Emerson a 3-0 edge in the top of the first.  

The Rams responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to level the playing field at 3-all. Emerson's pitcher Ty Bourne was handing out doubles as the first Suffolk bats at the plate produced a two-bagger, with the last three, Jonny Gilbride, Harry Painter and Alex Sorenti-Burns bringing in one run each to lock things at three.  

Suffolk got the go-ahead in the home half of the second. Joe Norris worked a walk to get the inning underway, took second on Garret Roberts base hit to left and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Painter brought Norris in on a 63 ground out to give the Rams a 4-3 lead.  

The Lions leveled the playing field in the top of the third behind a Suffolk fielding error and went up one in the fourth with a sac fly.  

The back-and-forth battled carried into the bottom of the fourth. Roberts knocked a one out double to left, advanced to second on a throwing error by Emerson's third baseman Avery Smith when Gilbride put the ball in play and scored thanks to Painter's ground out to third. Sorenti-Burns then brought in Gilbride with a base hit to left to send Suffolk in front, 6-5.  

Suffolk stretched its advantage to five in the bottom of the inning. Norris collected an RBI on a sac fly to center that plated Jack Mihalchik, who singled to left and swiped second, before Painter barreled a three-run triple to make it a 10-5 game.  

Emerson trimmed the margin back to four in the top of the eighth as Smith singled, stole second and third and scored on Anthony Santosuosso's base hit to center.  

The Rams got that run back and then some in the eighth to seal the mercy-rule victory. The scoring started as White worked a bases loaded walk. Norris plated Max Iorio, who walked, with a base hit, and Roberts recorded a pair of RBI on his third double of the day. A throwing error by the Lions left fielder allowed another run to come in before Gilbride's one-run single to left sealed the 16-6, eight-inning win for the Suffolk.  

PITCHERS PICTURE

• TJ Dimitriou earned the win. Suffolk's starter allowed five runs, three earned, on five hits and three walks with a pair of punchouts in 5.0 innings. 
• Ian Maude logged the save after throwing 3.0 innings of relief. He allowed one run on two hits and one walk with a pair of Ks. 
• Bourne let up eight runs, seven earned, on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 4.2 innings of effort. 
• Russell Silverman allowed eight runs, seven earned, on six hits and five walks and he fanned three batters in 2.2 innings of work.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Roberts went 4-for-5 with three doubles. He brought in two runs and scored four himself. 
• Gilbride added three hits, including one double, three runs, two RBI, and one walk. 
• Painter pitched in six RBI on two hits, a double and triple, and scored once. 
• Sorenti-Burns supplied a 2-for-3 effort with one double. He finished with two RBI, one run and one walk. 
• White tallied a 2-for-4 effort at the plate. He scored twice and brought in one run with one walk. 
• Norris registered two RBI, one hit, one walk, one run and one sac fly. 
• Mihalchik added one hit, one run and two stolen bases.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk moved to 28-1 against Emerson dating back to 2000. 
• The Rams have won 22 games in a row against the Lions. 
• As the home team Suffolk is 14-1 against Emerson. 
• The Rams are unbeaten, 3-0, versus the Lions in Eastie. 
• Suffolk is undefeated, 3-0, with Anthony Del Prete as skipper against Emerson. 
• The Rams have outscored the Lions 52-11 in the last three meetings.
• White logged his first collegiate hit. He finished with a pair of base knocks. The catcher also tallied personal-best in runs (2) and tied a career-high in RBI (1). 
• Gilbride stretched his hit streak to 10 games with a multi-hit performance in the last five outings. In that span he has 18 hits. 
• Roberts matched a personal-best three doubles. 
• Mihalchik tied a career-high two stolen bases. 
• Maude secured the first save of his collegiate career. He pitched a career-high 3.0 innings and matched a personal-best two punchouts. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk returns to Eastie tomorrow, Tuesday, April 16 for a CCC tangle with No. 1 Endicott. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m.