On Wednesday afternoon, the baseball team (13-12, 6-2 Ivy) dominated Merrimack (13-16, 8-7 MAAC) in a 10-0 victory. The Bears have won six of their last seven games and stand second in the Ivy League.
Just days after splitting a weekend doubleheader against Harvard (5-17, 4-4 Ivy), the team entered the Merrimack matchup hungry for a win. On the other side of the pitch, Merrimack entered the game ready to dethrone the Bears on their home grass following a series loss against Fairfield (14-12, 9-3 MAAC) this past weekend.
Brown set the tone early when pitcher Dylan Reid ’26 retired all three batters he faced in the first inning with one strikeout. The Bears’s offense did not waste any time taking advantage of Merrimack’s shaky pitching.
“Overall (the pitching team) have been throwing strikes. They’ve been letting the defense work and not giving too many freebies to the other team,” said Head Coaching Chair Frank Holbrook after the game. “I think that’s been the biggest key to success.”
To open the top of the inning, infielder Mark Henshon ’26 drew a walk and immediately began pressuring the Warriors on the base paths, toying with the pitcher with steal attempts from first base.
As Henshon danced off of the bag, outfielder Alex Benevento ’28 launched a ball deep into the left-center gap. As the ball rolled into the outfield, Henshon raced all the way home to give Brown an early 1-0 lead.
Benevento kept up the offensive pressure, sneaking his way to third base after another off-target Merrimack pitch skipped past the catcher. Outfielder Mika Petersen ’26 lined a ball into shallow right field to bring Benevento home and bring the Bears’s lead to 2-0.
Following Brown’s two-run first inning, both teams remained quiet for two innings.
At the top of the fourth, pitcher Bryan Yang ’28 took to the mound and delivered a clean inning. He struck out Merrimack hitters and forced a harmless pop-up that was easily handled for another quick defensive outing.
Brown’s offense then broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth.
A hit brought outfielder Logan Meusy ’26 to first base, and he advanced all the way to third after Merrimack mishandled the ball during a steal attempt.
With a runner just one base away from glory, Bruno capitalized. Catcher Andrew Hanlon ’27 drilled a ball to the right side that bounced off of a Merrimack player’s glove, allowing Meusy to waltz home. Bruno’s offensive onslaught did not stop there. With one out on the board, Henshon grounded a ball to the right side to bring Hanlon home.
Benevento then followed with a grounder to the left side, allowing infielder Matt Luigs ’29 to score and close the inning with a 5-0 lead.
The Warriors’s hits remained few and far between, but in the eight inning they posed one of their first real scoring threats. Two singles helped Merrimack load the bases with one out. But the Warriors’s rally was swiftly halted when pitcher Camren Piwnicki ’29 forced a ground ball that Luigs fielded cleanly, firing to first for an out.
Brown again proved their offensive superiority with a five-run scoring series in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Luigs drew a walk and later stole second base — his 13th stolen base of the season. Henshon walked after, and Benevento was hit in the shoulder by a pitch to load the bases. After a pitch flew past the Merrimack catcher, Luigs ran home. Petersen then ripped a single into center field to help both Henshon and Benevento score.
Infielder Christian Butera ’28 delivered the final blow. With Dillehay on third and Petersen on second, Butera lined a hit into right field to bring both runners home. The runs brought the score to 10-0, invoking the mercy rule and ending the game one inning early.
“I think (we have) a lot of confidence in each other, just knowing that, if you don’t get it done, someone else is going to pick you up,” Meusy said after the game. “(It) allows us to be relaxed and come through in those moments.”
Harry Guo is a senior staff writer and on the vertical video and design teams. He is from Andover, Massachusetts, and plans on concentrating in Business Economics and International and Public Affairs. In his free time, he enjoys writing poetry and playing poker.
