Worcester, Mass. -- Down five runs early, the Assumption College baseball team rallied back to stun the visiting Warriors of Merrimack College on Tuesday, winning 7-5.
The game did not begin well for the Greyhounds, as they surrendered five runs by the end of the second inning. Merrimack senior third baseman Mike Dooling (Milford, Conn./Joseph Foran) had an RBI in the first and two more in the second to lead the charge. Freshman starting pitcher Alek Morency (Nashua, N.H./Nashua) was tremendous for the Warriors, surrending only two hits and one run in six innings while striking out six Greyhounds.
But the Hounds would hang tough. Senior pitcher Zach Jacques (Jefferson, Mass./St.John's) entered the game in relief, pitching five shutout innings to keep Merrimack from adding to their lead. Junior catcher Tim Quinn (Holden, Mass./St. John's) had an RBI single in the fourth to cut the lead to four, with Merrimack up 5-1. Then in the bottom of the eighth, the Assumption bats came alive.
Junior third baseman Travis Smith (Coventry, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) singled to score senior leftfielder Wally Derosier (Shrewsbury, Mass./Holy Name), putting the Greyhounds within three. Freshman designated hitter Nick Napoli (Medford, Mass./Boston College) then singled to drive in two more runs. Now down by one, sophomore second baseman Shane Keddy (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Tech) doubled to centerfield, driving in a run to tie the game at five. Senior center fielder Blake Youngblood (East Freetown, Mass./New Bedford) drove Keddy in on the very next at bat on a single to right field to give Assumption the lead. After a stolen base by Younblood, senior shortstop Shawn Frigon (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter-Marian) singled to drive Youngblood home.
Freshman pitcher Cody Rocha (Fall River, Mass./B.M.C. Durfee) pitched 1 1/3 shutout innings for the win.
With the victory, Assumption snaps a six-game losing streak, bringing their record to 6-19 while Merrimack falls to 8-16. The Greyhounds travel to Merrimack on Thursday looking to build on today's win.
