When and Where: April 18, 2021 – Colchester, Vt. (Duffy Field)
Game 1 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 8, Saint Michael's College 0 (7 inn.)
Game 2 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 24, Saint Michael's College 4 
Records: SNHU 12-0 (12-0 NE10), SMC 1-12 (1-11 NE10)

Graduate students Wesley Tobin (Portsmouth, N.H.) and Nick Artymowicz (Seaville, N.J.) combined to allow three hits over 12 shutout innings and redshirt-freshman Christian Mercedes (Providence, R.I.) went 6-for-7 with five RBI to lead a blistering-hot offense, as the 12th-ranked Southern New Hampshire University baseball team took two more from Saint Michael's College on Sunday at Duffy Field. SNHU blanked the Purple Knights, 8-0, in game one and then exploded for a 24-4 victory in the second game.

LINKS: GAME 1 BOX SCORE | GAME 2 BOX SCORE

STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Tobin (3-0) – 7.0 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 11 strikeouts, 0 walks (game 1)
• Artymowicz (3-0) – 5.0 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 7 strikeouts, 2 walks (game 2)
• Mercedes – 6-7, 3 doubles, 5 RBI, 4 runs, 2 walks, stolen base
• Redshirt-freshman Michael LaRocca (Vero Beach, Fla.) – 5-9, 3 doubles, triple, home run, 5 RBI, 6 runs, walk
• Redshirt-freshman Danniel Rivera (New Britain, Conn.) – 5-9, 2 RBI, 5 runs, 2 walks, 5 stolen bases 
• Sophomore Bryce Reagan (Amherst, N.H.) – 3-5, double, 3 RBI, 3 runs, walk
• Graduate student Marcus Chavez (Queens, N.Y.) – 3-6, double, 2 RBI, 3 runs, 3 walks
• Graduate student Joshua Goldstein (Haverhill, Mass.) – 2-5, double, triple, 4 RBI, 3 runs, 2 walks, stolen base
• Sophomore Kieran Dowd (E. Islip, N.Y.) – 3-8, 2 RBI, run, walk

KEY MOMENTS - GAME 1

• The teams were locked in a scoreless duel until the fifth inning when Southern New Hampshire put up four runs. Chavez snapped the deadlock with a two-run double to center before LaRocca hammered a two-run homer to center just two batters later to make it 4-0.
• A Goldstein RBI groundout and Dowd RBI single made it 6-0 in sixth, while a two-run single in the seventh from redshirt-freshman Ryan Baumann (Brookhaven, N.Y.) ran the score to 8-0.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE - GAME 1

• Tobin set down 14-in-a-row from the second to the sixth inning and 18 of the final 19 he faced.
• Mercedes went 3-for-3 with a double, walk and two runs scored, as well as a steal.
• LaRocca was 2-for-4 with a double, home run, pair of RBI and two runs scored.
• Rivera turned in a 2-for-5 performance with a pair of runs scored and three stolen bases.
• Goldstein went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks, an RBI, a run scored and a steal.
• Chavez hit 1-for-3 with a double, walk, two RBI and a run.
• Dowd was 1-for-4 with an RBI.
• Baumann finished 1-for-1 with the two RBI.

KEY MOMENTS - GAME 2

• SNHU instantly put the pressure on in the top of the first, loading the bases with two out. Junior Idelson Taveras (Lawrence, Mass.) drew a walk to push across the first run before Mercedes unloaded the bases with a three-run double to left that made it 4-0.
• A five-run spot in the third ran the score to 9-0. Reagan's two-run single to right started it. After he scored on an error, RBI singles from Rivera and Dowd would finish off the inning.
• After a Goldstein sacrifice fly in the fourth made it an even 10-0, the Penmen erupted for six runs in the fifth, highlighted by a two-run triple from Goldstein. Rivera followed immediately with a run-scoring single to extend the advantage to 16-0.
• Southern New Hampshire was not done, however, scoring eight times in the sixth. Freshman Cam Caraher (Plymouth, Mass.) stroked a two-run double to right-center, with a Mercedes RBI single and a sac fly by redshirt-sophomore Alex Kennedy (Braintree, Mass.) making it 20-0. A two-run error and a two-run triple from LaRocca ballooned the lead to 24-0.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE - GAME 2

• Mercedes (2 doubles, walk, 5 RBI, 2 runs) and Rivera (2 walks, 2 RBI, 3 runs, 2 steals) were both 3-for-4.
• LaRocca (2 doubles, triple, walk, 3 RBI, 4 runs) and Reagan (double, walk, 3 RBI, 3 runs) both went 3-for-5.
• Chavez (2 walk, 2 runs) and Caraher (double, 2 RBI, 2 runs) each were 2-for-3.
• Dowd went 2-for-4 with a walk, RBI and a run scored.
• Taveras (walk, RBI, 2 runs) and Baumann (run) went 1-for-2.
• Goldstein finished 1-for-3 with a triple, three RBI and pair of runs scored.
• Junior Taylor Lepard (Toronto, Ontario) was charged with four runs on five hits over three innings of relief, while striking out six and not walking a batter.
• Redshirt-sophomore Ricky Alexy (Needham, Mass.) struck out two and walked a batter in a hitless ninth.

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire, ranked 12th in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Poll, is 12-0 for the first time since 2016.
• The Penmen are outscoring their opponents, 133-24, over the first 12 games of the season.
• SNHU has won 16 straight and 24 of its last 25, dating back to last season.
• LaRocca's home run was his second of the season and the second of his career.
• Tobin produced the same exact pitching line earlier this season in an 8-0 win at Stonehill on March 27. 
• Artymowicz has struck out 30 batters in just 16 innings of work this season. His 16.88 strikeouts per nine innings leads the NE10.
• Rivera now has a six-game hitting streak, while Chavez, LaRocca and Goldstein have hit safely in five straight games. Rivera, Chavez and LaRocca have recorded a hit in nine of their last 10, while Goldstein has a hit in eight of his last nine.
• Taveras snapped a six-game hitting streak in game one and has now hit safely in seven of eight.

UP NEXT

• The Penmen return to action Saturday, April 24 (12 p.m.) when they play host to Bentley University in a doubleheader at Penmen Field.

For the latest on Southern New Hampshire University athletics, follow the Penmen via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Instagram. You can also sign up to receive text message alerts and e-mail newsletters about your favorite Penmen teams.