WORCESTER, Mass. — The Holy Cross baseball team cruised to a 13-1 non-conference victory over Merrimack on Wednesday, April 5 at Fitton Field. 

Starting pitcher Nate Chudy dazzled on the mound with a career-best 14 strikeouts, doubling his previous career high. He did not give up a hit through his first 5.2 innings of work. 

STATS LEADERS
Holy Cross (10-20): 
Chudy (W, 6.2 IP, three hits, one run, 14 strikeouts)
Toomey (3-for-4, two doubles, three RBI, two runs scored)
Scanlon (3-for-4, two doubles, two RBI, two runs scored)
Manning (2-for-3, double, two RBI, three runs scored)
Casserly (2-for-3, home run, two runs scored)

Merrimack (7-16):
Golankiewicz (1-for-3)
Athanasiadis (1-for-1)
Scanlon (1-for-1)

THE DECISION: 
W: Chudy (1-3)
L: Broderick (0-3)

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• After Chudy struck out the side in the top of the first, the Crusaders batted around in the bottom of the first, scoring six runs. Freshman right fielder Jack Toomey hit a two-run double to start the scoring, and sophomore shortstop Brendan Jones was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it a 3-0 game. Freshman second baseman Oliver Brown drove in a run with an infield single and sophomore left fielder Connor Cooney drove in two runs with a base hit to extend the lead to 6-0. 
• An RBI single by freshman designated hitter Lucas Manning and a double by sophomore first baseman Sean Scanlon extended the lead to 8-0 in the third inning. 
• Three straight doubles by Manning, Scanlon and Toomey scored three more runs for Holy Cross in the fifth inning for an 11-0 advantage. Toomey later scored on a wild pitch to build a 12-0 lead. 
• Merrimack secured its first hit of the night with two outs in the sixth inning, but Chudy struck out the next batter to end the threat. 
• Junior catcher Patrick Casserly hit a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth. 
• An RBI groundout gave Merrimack its first run of the day in the seventh inning, but they could not cut into the Crusader lead further, with the game ending in the seventh inning.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE: 

• Scanlon (11) and Toomey (10) now have both hit double-digit doubles on the season.
• Holy Cross stole six bases on the day, a season high.   

DUE UP: 

• The Crusaders hit the road for a three-game Patriot League series against Navy on Saturday, April 8 and Sunday, April 9. 

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