THE BASICS:
- Score: No. 6 Felician 6, No. 7 Assumption 5
- Records: Felician (31-22, 24-8 CACC), Assumption (26-20, 14-12 NE10)
- Location: Hooksett, N.H. (Penmen Field)
- The Lead: The No. 7 Assumption Greyhounds fought to tie the game every time they went down in their pursuit of the NCAA Championship, but like in the opening round against No. 2 Southern N.H., the Hounds unfortunately ended Friday's matchup with No. 6 Felician with nothing to show for it. A single by Anthony Condito in the top of the ninth scored the game-winning run for the Golden Falcons and eventually eliminated the Hounds from the East Regional, 6-5.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
-The Golden Falcons started their rally with back-to-back walks to put two men on with no outs against the Hounds. James McNamara (Westford, Mass. / Westford Academy) got one out on a fielder's choice that moved both runners into scoring position and then another on a fly out to center. Condito then turned on a ball and slapped it through the right side, scoring the runner on third to give his team the 6-5 lead that would stand as the game-winning run.
-The Hounds fought to tie the game just a half-inning prior to Condito's heroics, coming back from a two-run deficit created in the sixth on a two-run home run by Ronnie Sessa. Down 5-3, Hunter Tralli (Berlin, Conn. / Northwest Catholic) hit a solo homer in the seventh, while Trevor McQuade (Westwood, Mass. / Xaverian) singled and an error on the play allowed pinch-runner Dillon Zona (Shrewsbury, Mass. / Shrewsbury High School) to tie the game at five. It was the fourth time either team tied a game that also featured five lead changes.
-Assumption had tied the game on three of those occasions. Before Sessa's home run, Matt Lonardo (Cranston, RI / Cranston High School) hit a solo homer in the fourth to tie the game at three. Dillon Koster (Woburn, Mass. / Woburn / Marist College) tied the game at two in the third on an RBI-single to center. Koster also gave the Hounds an initial 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first before Felician on a sacrifice fly and later on an error to go up 2-1 in the third.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
-Koster led the Hounds at the plate and for much of the tournament, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one walk. Against Southern N.H. in the opening round, he went 2-for-4 with one run, giving him a .571 average throughout the tournament. No Felician player had more than one hit, but Condito and Sessa each had two RBIs.
-Alex Richardson (Rehoboth, Mass. / Bishop Feehan) had one hit against Felician, giving him three throughout the tournament. Richardson played a vital role against Southern N.H., knocking in two runs along with one double. The senior finished his season 8-for-18 (.444) through his final five games.
-Nick Nardull improved to 3-2 by earning the win in 1 2/3 innings in relief and after coming into a hostile situation with one runner on and only one out after the Hounds tied the game in the eighth. McNamara fell to 1-4 after earning the loss in three innings of relief, allowing the one run on one hit and three walks. McNamara cruised through his first two innings of work, setting down six batters in a row.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT
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