LAWRENCE, Mass. – Quinnipiac kicked off its last series of the year against the Merrimack Warriors on Friday with high stakes. With a win, they would keep their MAAC playoff hopes alive, but with a loss, they’d be eliminated from contention.
GAME ONE:
The first inning started fast for Quinnipiac as senior Christian Smith hammered an RBI double and fellow senior Alex Irizarry picked up an RBI single off Merrimack starter James Bosari, making it 2-0 for Quinnipiac. The Warriors would quickly respond with junior Brooks Craigue hitting a solo shot off Quinnipiac starter, Andrew Rubayo, to make it a 2-1 game.
After two scoreless innings, the bats came alive. First year Chase Camac drove in junior Jack Balcer with an RBI infield single, the redshirt sophomore Cole Constable capitalized with an RBI groundout, bringing in James Marino. First year Peyton Vancas would bring Camac home off a single, capping off a three-run fourth In the bottom of the fourth, after two Warriors reached base, sophomore Jayden Hamilton hit a three-run homer to left field, making the score 5-4.
During the fifth, the Warriors picked up multiple singles from Frammartino, making him 3-for-3 to this point in the contest, and Cristino, which led to a two-run single from first-year Garrett McGovern to give the Warriors their first lead of the game. After two more Warriors scored, sophomore Matt DeShiro broke open the game with a grand slam, giving Merrimack an 11-5 lead.
The Bobcats weren’t done just yet, as after Camac, Marino, and Balcer each reached base in the sixth, redshirt sophomore Cole Constable belted a grand slam to left field, his second home run this season, cutting the deficit to two with the score being 11-9. Constable drove in a total of five RBIs in the game, finishing 2- for-4 on the day.
In the final two frames all the momentum Quinnipiac had after Constable’s homer was crushed as Brooks Craigue would go on to make it 12-9 after hitting his second solo shot of the game. The Bobcats would make it closer with a Christian Smith two-run home run, but it was all for not as Cole Yennaco would step up and shut the door on Quinnipiac.
The loss officially eliminated the Bobcats from the MAAC playoffs, the third time in the last five years as a program. The Bobcats would look to get back into the series and end 2026 on a high note with a double header on Saturday.
Games Two and Three:
In game one of the double header, Quinnipiac would get out to an early 2-1 lead off Smith sacrifice fly and a home run by sophomore Ian Nilsen. In the third, Quinnipiac starter Nick Balcom would load up the bases and Merrimack pounced, putting up four runs and running Balcom out of the game.
The Bobcats would get two more back in the fifth, making it 5-4 Merrimack, but after that, the Bobcats bats went cold. The Warriors would go on to score seven unanswered runs along with home runs by Cristino and first year Garrett McGovern to extend the Warrior’s lead to 12-4. Ultimately, the Warriors would go on to take game one 12-6.
Just thirty minutes later, game two would get underway. In a bit of deja vu, Quinnipiac took an early lead off an Irizarry three-run home run. Quinnipiac would extend its lead further when Luke Zeisloft would smash his first home run of the season. Zeisloft, who to that point had just over fifty career at bats for the program, was mobbed in the dugout as he gave them a 4-1 lead.
Unfortunately for the Bobcats, that’s all they could muster in game two, as Merrimack would go on to score 13 unanswered runs to secure a 14-4 victory in seven innings. To multiply the pain of this, Merrimack’s Jack DePalma would hit a three-run home run to seal the game.
“It’s one of those years…” stated head coach John Delaney postgame. “It sucks that it comes down to that point, to the last game of the season, but we battled through the end and I can’t thank the players enough.”
With the loss, Quinnipiac would conclude its 2026 season earlier than expected. It would also mean the end of the road for major pillars of the program. 12 seniors and graduate students played their last game on Saturday.
“It’s one of the best classes I’ve ever coached.” Delaney stated. “The tradition they’re going to leave on with the guys staying here is going to have an impact over the years.”
While Merrimack heads to the MAAC Playoffs, the Bobcats will head into the long offseason and look forward to 2027, where Delaney believes that the program is in a “good spot”. Only time will tell, as the long offseason for the Quinnipiac Baseball team has begun.
