Ft. Pierce, FL – Misericordia University, currently ranked 25^th in the nation, spoiled the opening game of Keystone College's spring break trip by notching an 8-6 victory over the Giants on the Thursday night.  The Cougars, who won the Freedom Conference championship before being eliminated from the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals by Keystone last spring, improve to 4-3 on the season while the Giants remain winless in four contests.
 
Misericordia took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Chris Boroch scored as Kyle Lindsay grounded into a double play before adding four, two-out runs in the second to build a five-run advantage.  Boroch hit an RBI single before Nick Hair plated a pair of runners with a triple before crossing the plate on a wild pitch.
 
Keystone got a run back in the home half of the second when Alex Herceg (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) singled home Chris Muniz (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth), but Misericordia extended their lead to 7-1 with a pair of runs in the fourth inning as Lindsay recorded a two-run base hit.
 
After Ricky Riscica (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) singled home Andre Castro (Kingston, NY/Kingston) in the fifth inning, Keystone used a four-run bottom of the sixth inning to cut their deficit to one run at 7-6.  Muniz and Lymbel Guerrero (Lynn, MA/Lynn Classical) collected base knocks that drove in Tyler Gurman (Bronx, NY/Lehman) and Dan Denton (Newtown, PA/Council Rock North), respectively, before Herceg delivered a two-run double that plated Rick McLaughlin (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) and Muniz. 
 
That would mark the end of the scoring for the Giants though and the Cougars tacked on an insurance run in the top of the eighth as Hair collected his second RBI triple of the evening and Corey Lee earned his second save of the season after pitching a scoreless final 2.2 innings for Misericordia.
 
Misericordia starting pitcher Ryan Dorosh (2-0) earned the win after allowing six runs, four of which were earned, on nine hits while striking out 10 Giants in 6.1 innings of work.  Boroch, Hair, and Miles Westrich had two hits apiece for the Cougars, who recorded 11 hits on the day and committed two errors.
 
Keystone starter Rob Blanc (Sandy Hook, CT/Trumbull) (0-1) was charged with the loss after surrendering seven runs on seven hits while fanning five Misericordia batters in six innings of work.  Jake Granteed (West Pittston, PA/Wyoming Area) struck out three batters in two innings on the hill while allowing one run on three hits before handing the ball off to Adam Sosnowski (Dickson City, PA/Mid-Valley), who struck out two while giving up one hit in a scoreless inning on the mound.

Gurman, Muniz, and Herceg each went 2-4 to lead Keystone's offense, with Herceg driving in three runs and Muniz scoring twice.  The Giants collected 10 hits in the game and committed one error.
 
Keystone will return to the diamond on Saturday afternoon when they take on Arcadia University in a doubleheader.  First pitch of the twin bill is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Ft. Pierce.