Merrimack Warriors baseball
| Merrimack Warriors | |
|---|---|
| 2026 Merrimack Warriors baseball team | |
| Founded | 1980 |
| University | Merrimack College |
| Head coach | Brian Murphy (5th season) |
| Conference | Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference |
| Location | North Andover, Massachusetts |
| Home stadium | Warrior Baseball Diamond |
| Nickname | Warriors |
| Colors | Blue and gold[1] |
| NCAA tournament appearances | |
| Division II: 1990, 1996, 1999, 2018 | |
| Conference tournament champions | |
| Northeast-10: 1990, 1995, 1996, 2018 | |
| Conference regular season champions | |
| Northeast-10: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999 | |
The Merrimack Warriors baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, United States. The team competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I and is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.[2]
History
The Merrimack baseball program was started in 1980. They joined the Northeast-10 Conference in 1985. While the first few seasons were dismal, the 1988 season saw the team go 9-7 in the NE-10 and 24-15 overall but they finished it off with a win in the ECAC North tournament.[3] This was their first winning season since their inaugural season. They would follow this up next season by going 19-17-2 overall and winning their second straight ECAC North tournament title.
Under head coach Ed Morrison, the Warriors won the NE10 tournament in 1990 as the 4th seed to clinch their first NE-10 title and reach the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time in program history.[4] Morrison left after the 1992 season and was replaced by Barry Rosen. The Warriors won the regular season title four straight years from 1994 to 1997, with a ECAC title occurring in 1995 to go along with NE-10 tournament championships in 1995 and 1996. They reached the NCAA Tournament in 1996 for the second time in program history. The 1999 team won their fifth regular season title and despite losing in the tournament final, they received an invite to the NCAA Tournament.[5]
The team did not make a major run again until 2013, when they went 30-19 and made it to the NE10 championship final, losing to New Haven. The 2018 team beat New Haven to win the NE-10 title and make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nearly two decades. In 2020, the Warriors joined NCAA Division I with the Northeast Conference. Their season was cut short after going 6–9 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, their first full season as a D-I program, they went 19–22. The 2024 team had their first winning season as a D-I program at 33–26 and advanced to their first NEC tournament and made it to the Semifinals before losing to Long Island.
In 2025, the Warriors joined the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.[6]
Head coaches
| Years | Coach | Overall record | Regular season titles | Conference titles | NCAA appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980-1980 | James Licciardi | 14-6-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984-1992 | Ed Morrison | 111-174-1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1993-2003 | Barry Rosen | 207-231-2 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 2004-2010 | Joe Sarno | 118-179 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011-2014 | Jim Martin | 82-100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015-2021 | Nick Barese | 153-130 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2022-present | Brian Murphy | 87–121–2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
source[7]
Conference Memberships
- 1985-2019: Northeast10
- 2020-2024: Northeast Conference
- 2025-Present: Metro Athletic Conference
Player/Coaches Awards
NEC Rookie of the year
- Dawson Bryce (2024)
ECAC Rookie of the year
- Dawson Bryce (2024)
NE10 Player of the year
Source:[8]
- Jerry Parent (1995)
- Casey Cotter (2013)
- Frank Crinella (2014)
- Joey Porricelli (2019)
NE10 Rookie of the year
- George Evangelista (1988)
- Jamie Newell (1992)
- Frank Crinella (2013)
Bob Bellizzi NE10 Coach of the Year award
- Ed Morrison (1988,1990)
All Americans
- David Miles (1992) (A)
- Jerry Parent (1995)
- Chris MacDonald (1995, 1996) (A)
- Garret Larkin (1996)
- David Melchionda (1997)
- Joe Mantoni (2013) (A)
- Casey Cotter (2013)
- Frank Crinella (2014)
- Matthew Ronai (2018) (A)
- Joey Porricelli (2019) (A)
- Thomas Joyce (2020) (A)
Merrimack Athletics hall of fame
The following is a list of people associated with the Merrimack men's Baseball program who were elected into the Merrimack college Athletic Hall of Fame (induction date in parentheses)
- James Licciardi (1993)
- Donald Weinbach (1993)
- Ryan P. O'Rourke (2019)
- Jeff Bercume (2022)
Warriors drafted to the MLB
| Player | Position | Draft year | Round | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Crinella | INF | 2015 | 39th | Baltimore Orioles |
| Joe Mantoni | Pitcher | 2013 | 18th | Cincinnati Reds |
| Ryan O'Rourke | Pitcher | 2010 | 13th | Minnesota Twins |
| John Guilmet | Pitcher | 1997 | 34th | Detroit Tigers |
| Garrett Larkin | 3rd base | 1996 | 19th | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Jerry Parent | Out Fielder | 1995 | 31st | Milwaukee Brewers |
| George Evangelista | 3rd Base | 1990 | 47th | Texas Rangers |
Postseason Results
Division II
Merrimack has participated in the NCAA Division II baseball tournament four times.
| Year | Round | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | First Round | Sacred Heart | L 10-6
L 19-2 |
| 1996 | First Round
Second Round |
Adelphi
New Haven Adelphi |
L 8-2
W 2-1 L 9-2 |
| 1999 | First Round
Second Round |
UMass Lowell
Adelphi Umass Lowell |
W 3-1
L 7-6 L 12-2 |
| 2018 | First Round | Le Moyne | L 3-2
L 10-5 |
ECAC Tournament
The warriors appeared in the ECAC tournament 3 times and were victorious all 3 times.
| Year | Coach | Overall record | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Ed Morrison | 24-15 | Champions |
| 1989 | Ed Morrison | 19-17-1 | Champions |
| 1995 | Barry Rosen | 28-13 | Champions |
References
- ^ "Merrimack College Brand Guidelines". Retrieved February 22, 2017.
- ^ "Baseball - Merrimack College Athletics". merrimackathletics.com. Retrieved 2025-12-25.
- ^ https://ecacsports.com/sports/2016/5/21/sports-bsb-Championships-PastChampionsIII.aspx
- ^ "2025 NE10 Baseball Record Book (Updated) (PDF) - Northeast 10 Conference" (PDF). northeast10.org. Retrieved 2025-12-25.
- ^ "Merrimack College Athletics". Archived from the original on 2017-09-03. Retrieved 2025-12-25.
- ^ https://www.merrimack.edu/news/merrimack-college-accepts-invitation-to-join-metro-atlantic-athletic-conference/
- ^ Merrimack season records https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/merrimack.sidearmsports.com/documents/2017/7/27/Baseball_Year_by_Year_Results.pdf
- ^ NE10 baseball archives https://northeast10.org/documents/2025/1/31//Baseball_Record_Book_2023_24_2.pdf