Manchester, N.H. (April 28) -- Led by a five-hit, eight-inning effort from junior starting pitcher Zack LaRosa (West Hartford, Conn./Conard), the Assumption College baseball team cruised to an 11-2 victory over Saint Anselm College on Monday afternoon at Sullivan Park. The offense pounded out 20 hits in the victory, with six players registering multiple hits.
The win gives the Hounds a sweep of the three-game divisional series with the Hawks, including outscoring Saint Anselm by a 21-3 margin over the last two games alone.
Assumption jumped out to the 2-0 lead in the top of the second, started by a two-out RBI single to center by sophomore Tom Paine (Upton, Mass./Nipmuc) scored junior Greg O'Donnell (Northbridge, Mass./Northbridge) for the first run. O'Donnell reached on a leadoff single to center to start the inning. Paine came home on the next batter as freshman Matt Murphy (Wakefield, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) doubled to center for the 2-0 edge. The Hounds added to the lead two more runs in the fourth, powered by a leadoff homer by senior Ysander Figueroa (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Tech).
In the top of the fourth, Assumption made it a 7-0 game as Johnson roped a two-RBI single to right center to score Figueroa and senior Bret Clark (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Central). A bases-loaded hit by pitch accounted for the first run of the inning as the Hounds took control of the game.
The Hounds scored twice in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly to right by Paine, along with an RBI single thru the left side by Clark for the 9-1 edge. The teams traded runs over the next inning and the Hounds took the commanding 10-2 edge into the final inning of the series.
Assumption added a final run in the top of the ninth on an RBI single to right by junior Kelvin Sims (Manchester, Conn./East Catholic) to score sophomore Michael Panza (West Haven, Conn./Notre Dame) for the 11-2 lead.
LaRosa improved to 2-2 as he went eight while allowing just five hits with two runs allowed and six strikeouts. Freshman Jake Byrne (Grafton, Mass./Saint John's) pitched a perfect ninth, setting down the Hawks in order.
Tyler Buck took the loss for the Hawks to drop to 0-2 overall and he lasted just three innings while allowing nine hits and seven runs, including six earned.
Senior Michael Smith (Old Lyme, Conn./Old Lyme), junior Billy Johnson (Auburn, Mass./Holy Name) and Paine each posted three hits to lead the Assumption offense, along with two hits each from Figueroa, Murphy and Clark.
With the win, Assumption improves to 17-18 overall and 8-9 in divisional play, while Saint Anselm drops to 12-32 overall and 4-16 in the division as the Hawks have lost nine straight and are just 1-7 at home.
For the latest on Assumption College Athletics, follow the Hounds via social media on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. For more information, contact the Office of Athletic Communications at 508-767-7240.