ALBANY – Senior shortstop Zachary Halloran went 3-for-4 with a double and senior catcher John Cole drove in three runs to lead The College of Saint Rose to a 7-4 victory in the opener of a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader versus Merrimack at Bob Bellizzi Field at the Plumeri Sports Complex today. However, the visiting Warriors (10-9/6-7 NE-10) scored seven times in the eighth inning and held off a Saint Rose (9-21/4-10 NE-10) attempted comeback from four runs down to take the nightcap 7-6.

Saint Rose took a 4-0 lead in the opening frame of the first game and never trailed. The Golden Knights loaded the bases with three consecutive singles and scored two runs courtesy of a Merrimack error. Cole then delivered a two run base hit to right field.

The Warriors cut their deficit in half with a run in the third and another in the fourth, before junior first baseman Grant Smith delivered a run scoring single in the fifth that made it 5-2 Saint Rose. After Merrimack pulled to within in 5-4 in the sixth, sophomore center fielder Jesse Burba came through with an RBI base hit in the home half and the Golden Knights tacked on one more in the seventh courtesy of a Merrimack miscue.

Senior southpaw Jake Kozar allowed just two earned runs on five hits and fanned six throughout 7.0 innings of work to run his record to 3-1 on the year. Burba, Smith and junior right-fielder Garret Keenan all had two hits for Saint Rose, while sophomore right fielder PJ Farnham and sophomore catcher Ray Walker finished with two hits apiece for the Warriors.

In the nightcap, the Golden Knights jumped out a 3-0 lead with a run in the third and two more in the fourth when Halloran set the stage by belting a leadoff triple to right field. He then came across via a base hit off the bat of senior catcher Derek Marshall. Two batters later, Marshall crossed home on a Merrimack error.

That appeared to be enough for junior right-hander Doug Dulin who did not allow a runner into scoring position until the seventh when the Warriors wound up pushing across seven runs on six hits and two Saint Rose errors.

The Golden Knights rallied with three runs in the ninth, but wound up stranding the tying run on second base.

Dulin suffered the tough-luck loss after allowing three earned runs on five hits and fanning eight throughout 7.1 innings of work. Burba went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI and Marshall finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored.

Sophomore center fielder Tim Curran stroked a two RBI double and junior third baseman Mike Dooling followed with a two-run base hit to account for most of the Merrimack damage in the eighth.

Up next, the Golden Knights are scheduled to visit NE-10 rival Adelphi University for a noon doubleheader on Long Island tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Warriors have a home league twin-bill versus Saint Anselm on Sunday at noon as well.

Box Score - Game 1; Box Score - Game 2