THE BASICS:
- Score: Assumption 12, Merrimack 0
- Records: Assumption (15-11, 3-5 NE10), Merrimack (12-12, 6-3 NE10)
- Location: Worcester, Mass. (Rocheleau Field)
- The Lead: MacGuire O'Sullivan (Durham, Conn. / Coginchaug Regional) earned his first win of the season and his first of his collegiate career by throwing seven shutout innings and Hunter Tralli (Berlin, Conn. / Northwest Catholic) hit a grand slam to lead the Assumption Greyhounds 12-0 over the Merrimack Warriors on Friday night at Rocheleau Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
-O'Sullivan fanned four batters through seven innings and stranded five hits while walking none to earn his first collegiate win. He allowed only one runner to reach third and also worked his way out of a jam in the fourth. After allowing back-to-back singles with one out, O'Sullivan forced Thomas Crowley to ground into a force play at third and then got Ben Nelson to groundout to short to end the inning.
-Tralli's grand slam came as part of a five-run sixth inning that put the Hounds up 10-0. Tralli turned on a pitch and sent it over the left field wall and into the trees for his fifth homer of the season and first since he homered twice in a 15-6 win over Nyack on March 10. Tralli had also not gotten a hit in his last six games.
-Matt Schneider (Dalton, Mass. / Wahconah Regional), Trevor McQuade (Westwood, Mass. / Xaverian) and Dillon Zona (Shrewsbury, Mass. / Shrewsbury High School) all pitched in plenty as well. Schneider went 4-for-5 at the plate with four runs and two doubles, while McQuade went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and Zona with three runs. McQuade singled in two runs to initially put the Hounds up 2-0 after one. Zona scored to put the Hounds up 5-0 in the fifth and Schneider scored to put the Hounds up 12-0 in the seventh.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- O'Sullivan improved to 1-3 on the year with a 4.50 ERA. He has now made three starts but appeared in eight games, picking up two saves so far on the year as well. Ryan Graham (East Bridgewater, Mass. / East Bridgewater High School) pitched the final two innings for the Hounds and allowed only two hits and one walk but did not allow a run to score.
-McQuade stretched his hitting streak to five games and continues to be on a tear. In the same five-game span, McQuade is hitting 10-for-21 (.476) with 11 RBIs, eight runs, two walks and a home run. Schneider is now batting .400 in 40 at-bats (16-for-40) so far this season and has six hits in his last two games, batting .750 (6-for-8) during that span with two doubles and five runs.
-Sean Thompson started and lasted only one inning, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks to move to 0-4 on the year. The Warriors' bullpen was not much better either, allowing 10 runs on 14 hits and six walks in seven innings of work collectively.
UP NEXT:
-The Hounds host American International in a doubleheader tomorrow, April 6, with the first game set to start at 12 p.m. The Hounds recently beat the Yellow Jackets 14-12 on Thursday.
STAY CONNECTED:
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