NE-10 TOURNAMENT: #2 Assumption Advances to NE-10 Championship Round
Greyhounds top 5th-seeded New Haven, 4-2, to reach championship round for first time since 2000
RINDGE, N.H. (May 9, 2009) - Second-seeded Assumption College has reached the championship round of the Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Tournament for the first time in nine years after posting a 4-2 victory over fifth-seeded University of New Haven this afternoon at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field on the campus of Franklin Pierce University.
Assumption (32-17-1, 20-9-1 NE-10), which set a program record for victories in a season with the win this afternoon, will play for the NE-10 championship for the third time in program history and the first time since 2000. The Greyhounds will seek their first championship since 1987 when it faces the winner of tonight's elimination game between New Haven (22-20, 16-14 NE-10) and top-seeded and host Franklin Pierce (34-16, 24-6 NE-10) tomorrow at noon. Assumption will have two shots at the title as it is the lone team without a loss in the double-elimination event. Franklin Pierce eliminated UMass Lowell (25-21, 15-15 NE-10) in today's opening game to survive to tonight's matchup.
Junior lefthander Michael Colebrook (Leicester, Mass./Saint John's) collected his fourth win of the season on the mound (4-3) for Assumption. He allowed the two runs, just one earned, on eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks over six innings of work. Junior Tim Dupuis (West Suffield, Conn./Suffield) pinned down his tenth save of the season, and second in as many days, with a scoreless ninth, striking out one while surrendering a hit.
Senior Steve Scannell (Worcester, Mass./Burncoat) paced the Greyhounds offense, hitting 2-for-4 with a double and run scored. Junior Matthew Jose (Warwick, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) batted 2-for-3 with a run scored, while senior Mike DiReda (Shrewsbury, Mass./Saint John's) was 1-for-4 with a home run. Senior Mike Baillargeon (Worcester, Mass./Holy Name) hit 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, an RBI and run scored.
Freshman Ryan Brockett (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) led New Haven by going 3-for-5 with an RBI and stolen base. Junior Kyle Donnelly (Oneonta, N.Y./Oneonta) was 2-for-4, while senior Kyle Bombace (North Branford, Conn./North Branford) finished 1-for-3 with a home run.
Junior lefthander Ian Solomon (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) took the loss (1-3) on the mound for the Chargers, surrendering four runs, three earned, on six hits with a pair of strikeouts and a walk over six innings.
Assumption jumped on the board in the bottom of the first as Scannell led off with a double down the leftfield line and scored on a ground rule double by junior Derek Migrants (Ayer, Mass./Ayer) with one out. New Haven got that run back in the third when freshman Ryan Pettoruto (Andover, Mass./Saint John's Prep) led off with an infield single and later scored on a two-out single up the middle by Brockett.
The teams traded runs in the fourth and fifth with solo homers by DiReda and Bombace before Assumption took the lead for good with a two-run fifth. Baillargeon delivered an RBI single up the middle and later scored on an error. Three Greyhounds pitchers held the lead over the final three frames to send them into Sunday's championship round.