THE BASICS:
- Score: Assumption 5, LIU Post 4 (Game one); Assumption 11, LIU Post 7 (Game two)
- Records: Assumption (10-6, 0-0 NE10), LIU Post (10-8, 0-0 ECC)
- Location: Brookville, N.Y. (LIU Post Baseball Field)
- The Lead: Matt Schneider (Dalton, Mass. / Wahconah Regional) knocked in the winning run in the ninth inning of game one and then came home as the go-ahead run of game two to lead a team effort by the Assumption Greyhounds two a sweep of both games against the LIU Post Pioneers on Sunday, taking game one 5-4 and game two 11-7.
HOW IT HAPPENED: GAME ONE
-Assumption worked the bases loaded on three walks in the top of the ninth, including an intentional walk to Derek Adamson (Chelmsford, Mass. / Chelmsford). With two outs, Schneider pinch hit for Philip Gaines (Cambridge, Mass. / Cambridge Rindge & Latin), who previously entered as a pinch runner and moved to left field. He took a pitch up and in to reach on a hit by pitch that scored the eventual winning run, putting the Hounds up 5-4.
-Manny PegueroMelo (Boston, Mass. / Xaverian) pitched the ninth. He hit back-to-back batters to set up runners on first and second with two outs. On a 3-1 pitch, PegueroMelo got Reynaldo Guillen to pop out to secure the Hounds' 5-4 comeback win.
-After giving up the lead in the top of the eighth, LIU Post tied the game in the bottom half prior to Schneider's heroics. Down 4-2, David Franchi singled home the runner on third to cut Assumption's lead to one. Christopher Wasson then singled to center. Wasson was eventually thrown out trying to replace Franchi on second, but the run came home to tie the game at four before Alex Richardson (Rehoboth, Mass. / Bishop Feehan) gunned him down.
-Mike Stiles held the Hounds to only one run through seven innings, but Brian Kavanagh relieved Stiles and immediately gave up the Pioneers' lead in the top of the eighth. Adamson knocked in Jared Brescia (Brentwood, N.H. / Exeter) from third on a fielder's choice to tie the game at two. A wide throw into second base on a steal by Adamson allowed Matt Lonardo (Cranston, RI / Cranston High School) to score and to put the Hounds on top for the first time in the game. Trevor McQuade (Westwood, Mass. / Xaverian) singled in Adamson to put Assumption up by two at 4-2.
-The Pioneers took an initial 2-0 lead in the third on a single by Michael Manzione followed by a double from Anthony Vaglica. Assumption cut that lead to one in the sixth thanks to an RBI-double by Brescia.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
-Brescia anchored the Assumption lineup at the top of the order, going 2-for-3 with two runs, two walks, one double and one RBI. Brescia entered the game with a .283 batting average and .457 on-base percentage.
-Schneider has really made a living as a pinch-hitter so far this season. He has pinch-hit in eight out of 10 appearances so far this season and has hit to a .357/.526/.571 slash line through game one. He is 4-for-7 as a pinch-hitter with three runs and one home run.
-Mike Keinz (North Branford, Conn. / Notre Dame) earned the win in relief, pitching three innings and giving up two runs on four hits and three walks. PegueroMelo earned his second save of the season and has continues to pitch well, throwing to a 2-0 record and a 1.59 ERA in 11 1/3 innings of relief.
HOW IT HAPPENED: GAME TWO
-Schneider came up big again in the ninth inning of game two. He started the inning with a double and later scored on a single by Adamson to give the Hounds a 7-6 lead. It was the start to a five-run ninth by the Hounds that also saw Kevin Quinlivan (Shrewsbury, Mass. / St. John's) pinch-hit for Dillon Zona (Shrewsbury, Mass. / Shrewsbury High School) and single in two runs. Quinlivan and Richardson then scored on back-to-back errors to give Assumption an 11-6 lead.
-The Hounds had previously erased a 6-4 deficit in the seventh inning. McQuade doubled down to left center to put the Hounds within one. Dillon Koster (Woburn, Mass. / Woburn / Marist College) singled up the middle to tie the game at six.
-LIU Post got to Hounds starter Mike Curtis (Wilmington, Mass. / Wilmington High School) for four runs through 4 2/3 innings. He left with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning when Andrew Moccia (Lynn, Mass. / Lynn Classical) came in and immediately walked Vaglica to put LIU Post within two at 4-2. Andy Camilo, who came into the game just 1-for-15, hit a bases-clearing double to put the Pioneers up 5-4.
-The Pioneers added one more in the sixth on an error before Kyle Autilio (Saugus, Mass. / Saugus High School) came in for the Hounds and shut them down, pitching 2 2/3 of shut out baseball while striking out four in the process. Colton King (Westerly, R.I. / Moses Brown Prep) allowed one unearned run in the ninth to close out the game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
-Schneider went 2-for-4 with an RBI, double and walk out of the three spot in game two. This came after producing the game-winning run on a hit by pitch in the ninth inning of game one. Brescia finished the day 3-for-9 with four runs through both games, while McQuade went 3-for-8 with a double and two RBIs.
-Autilio earned the win to improve to 1-1. He entered the game with a 15.75 ERA in four innings of relief, allowing eight runs on seven hits. King continued his dominant ways in game two, shrinking his era from 2.08 to 1.86 despite giving up one unearned run. He now has 10 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings of relief.
UP NEXT:
- The Hounds will host Post in their first game on the Assumption College campus this season on Tuesday, March 19, at 3:30 p.m.
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