NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (Interstat) — Greg Cristino homered twice and drove in six runs to lead Merrimack to a 12-6 victory over Quinnipiac on Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader.

Cristino, the Warriors first baseman, went 3 for 4 with a sacrifice fly, a solo homer in the fifth inning and a three-run homer in the sixth that broke the game open. His six RBIs matched a season high and powered Merrimack to its fourth straight win, improving the Warriors to 26-27. Quinnipiac fell to 23-28.

Garrett McGovern added a 3-for-5 performance with a home run and three RBIs, and Jayden Hamilton went 3 for 5 with two RBIs for Merrimack. The Warriors pounded out 13 hits, while the Bobcats managed seven.

Quinnipiac struck first in the top of the first when Caden Williamson doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Christian Smith. The Bobcats extended the lead in the third inning when Ian Nilsen homered down the left-field line, making it 2-0.

Merrimack answered in the bottom of the second. Hamilton doubled and scored on a single by McGovern. The Warriors then erupted for four runs in the third, taking a 5-2 lead. Cristino’s sacrifice fly, Hamilton’s RBI single and McGovern’s run-scoring single highlighted the inning, and Cole Yennaco added a sacrifice fly.

Quinnipiac tied the game in the top of the fifth. Williamson and Kyle Garbowski walked, and Christian Smith was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Alex Irizarry grounded out to drive in Williamson, and Jack Balcer followed with a sacrifice fly to score Garbowski, knotting the score at 5-5.

The game turned decisively in Merrimack’s favor in the bottom of the fifth. Cristino launched a solo home run to right-center field, putting the Warriors ahead 6-5.

In the sixth, Merrimack blew the game open. After a hit batter and a single, Cristino crushed his second homer of the day, a three-run shot to right field. McGovern followed with a solo homer to the same part of the park, extending the lead to 10-5.

Merrimack added two more runs in the seventh on a Cristino single and a Hamilton single, pushing the margin to 12-5. Quinnipiac scored twice in the eighth on an error and a fielder’s choice, cutting the deficit to 12-7, but the Bobcats could not get any closer.

James Pazdera pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief for Quinnipiac, allowing no hits but one earned run while striking out four. Colby Barker started for Merrimack and went four innings, yielding five hits and two earned runs with two strikeouts. Bobby Loper earned the win with two innings of one-run relief.

The most critical sequence occurred in the bottom of the sixth when Cristino’s three-run homer turned a one-run advantage into a commanding five-run lead. The outburst chased Quinnipiac reliever J.C. Franconere and effectively settled the outcome.

The two teams were scheduled to play the second game of the doubleheader later Saturday. Merrimack entered as a slight favorite in pregame betting lines, with an over-under of 12.5 runs for the opener.