THE BASICS:
- Score: Molloy 9, Assumption 4 (Game One); Assumption 2, Molloy 1 (Game Two)
- Records: Assumption 6-6, Molloy 7-10
- Location: North Andover, Mass. (Merrimack College)
- The Lead: Assumption battled Molloy to eight innings in the first game where they lost steam, but rallied for an impressive second game where they won 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh.
HOW IT HAPPENED: GAME ONE
- Molloy kicked off the action in the very first inning with a single up the left side that drove in a run for the 1-0 lead. Assumption answered when Haley Drakoulakos (Lowell, Mass./Lowell High School) was smart on the bases and scored off a throwing error to tie the game 1-1. Brooke Murphy (Salem, N.H./Salem High School) stole second which forced Molloy to throw the ball down and then allowed Alyssa Beaton (Smithfield, R.I./Smithfield High School) to steal home to give the Hounds the 2-1 lead after the first inning.
- The Lions scored two in the top of the second to earn a 3-2 lead. The Hounds were unable to answer until the end of the third when Kayla Peabody (Mendon, Mass./Nipmuc Regional High School) singled to center field to send Murphy home for the tying run (3-3). Assumption continued in the bottom of the fourth with a single by Drakoulakos that scored Ally Hinojosa (Revere, Mass./Revere High School) for a 4-3 lead.
- Molloy scored in the bottom of the seventh off an error that tied the game at four. The Hounds were unable to produce in the bottom of the seventh and the game went into extra innings. In the eighth inning the Lions lit up and loaded the bases to have their first run of the inning walked in for a quick 5-4 advantage. They kept their momentum off an error that scored two runs and then a single that scored one more for the 9-4 victory with the Hounds not able to score in the bottom of the eighth.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Jenna Turato recorded the win with four strikeouts while Mia Nowicki (Chelsea, Mass./St. Mary's Lynn) threw 52 strikes for six strikeouts. Erin Barry (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) pitched the final three innings for one strikeout to 19 batters faced.
- Drakoulakos, Beaton and Peabody all recorded an RBI in the game while Murphy and Alyssa Bialakis (Boca Raton, Fla./St. John Paul II Academy) earned the only two doubles. Murphy led the Hounds going 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs and two stolen bases.
HOW IT HAPPENED: GAME TWO
- Both teams amped up the level of play for the second game holding each other scoreless for the first five innings. The Lions jump started the scoring with a single up the third base line that scored the runner on third for a late 1-0 lead. The Hounds answered back in the bottom of the fifth when Murphy singled to left field that scored Abigail Duggan (West Roxbury, Mass./Mount Alvernia High School) to tie the game at one apiece.
- Assumption held Molloy scoreless in the top of the sixth and seventh innings to give themselves one last attempt to win the game. Murphy got on base with a bunt toward the third base line and then stole second on a Drakoulakos fake bunt. Murphy then advanced to third on a wild pitch with Beaton up to bat. Beaton grounded out to the pitcher, but on the throw to first, Murphy ran home and beat out a tag to score the game-winning run for the Hounds to beat Molloy 2-1.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Mia Patriacca (Newton, Mass./Newton North) earned the win, facing 24 batters with 46 strikes and two strikeouts. Nowicki pitched the final inning with three batters and nine pitches for two strikeouts.
- Murphy recorded two stolen bases in the game while Julia Mazzeo (Milford, N.H./Milford) and Duggan both earned one. Murphy and Beaton earned the only two RBIs of the game, while Murphy went 2-for-4 at the plate.
UP NEXT:
- The Hounds are at Merrimack on Wednesday, March 20, for a double-header at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
STAY CONNECTED:
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