Nashua North baseball scores early, often to beat Merrimack

MERRIMACK – Friday’s high school baseball game between Merrimack and Nashua North was all about aggression.

North was aggressive at the plate, on the bases and on the mound; Merrimack wasn’t. The Titans turned their aggressive play into an early lead and cruised to a 12-2 win over the Tomahawks.

Kyle McCarthy pitched six innings to get the win, allowing one earned run on five hits with five strikeouts. The junior, who was making his first start of the season, attacked Merrimack’s hitters, throwing early strikes, and it took too long for the ’Hawks to adjust.

“I was very happy with Kyle,” North coach Wil Henderson said. “We talked on the bus about being aggressive and trying to put them on their heels early. To get two runs (in the first) was very good and then (McCarthy) went out and started throwing strikes.”

Merrimack coach Ryan Anderson felt his team needed to be quicker to realize that McCarthy was hitting the strike zone early.

“McCarthy threw a great game, going strike one, strike two,” Anderson said. “Our hitters, you see a kid doing that, you’ve got to get in the box and be ready to hit. Later in the game, we were a little more aggressive.”

The Titans also battled at the plate and on the bases, taking advantage of some control problems by Merrimack sophomore Stephen Wyman. He gave up just four hits in three-plus innings, but walked three, hit a batter and allowed seven runs, four of which were earned.

After playing a 10-inning game on Monday, and with their No. 2 pitcher out with a shoulder injury, the ’Hawks were short on pitching.

“His control wasn’t great,” Anderson said. “He needs to be down in the strike zone more. It will get there.”

North (3-0) got right to it, as Louis Tarantino led off the game with a walk, stole second, and scored on a double by Shannon Martin. With Matt Fortin at the plate, Martin went to third on a balk and came home on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.

Fortin eventually walked and Merrimack (0-3) looked like it was in big trouble, but Wyman got Kalvin Rodriquez to ground into a double play and got Jake Mellin to ground out to end the inning.

The second inning started the same way, with Dylan Kost drawing a walk and Andrew Jackson following with a single. An error loaded the bases and Parker Jamerson hit a fly ball that Merrimack rightfielder Tom Hudon had to run in to catch.

Hudon made a strong throw to the plate, and it appeared catcher Mickey Gasper did a good job blocking the plate and getting the tag down, but Kost was called safe to make it 3-0. Tarantino followed with a squeeze bunt that scored Jackson.

North added an unearned run before the inning was over to go ahead 5-0.

“That was very helpful, any time you can get a lead,” Henderson said. “We did a pretty good job putting the ball in play. I think we’re coming, we’re getting better. We’re not where we want to be.”

Martin finished with two hits and two RBIs, and Tarantino also drove in two runs. Jackson had two hits and scored two runs and Liam Curran also scored twice.

Shane Williams scored both Merrimack runs, one in the fourth and one in the sixth, and had two hits. Taylor Black added a RBI double while Gasper and Dylan O’Brien also had hits for the ’Hawks.

“You try to take some of the things we did wrong,” Anderson said. “There are several teaching moments. We need to communicate better.”

Merrimack, which lost its first two games of the season by one run each, is off until Tuesday, but then plays three games in three days, starting with a game against Bishop Guertin at Holman Stadium. North will host Salem on Monday.