Worcester, Mass. -- The Assumption College baseball team split their final two games of the season on Saturday at Rochleau field, winning game one against Merrimack, 3-0, before dropping game two, 6-3.
Game one saw junior pitcher Frank Flynn (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter-Marian) have his best start of the season, pitching a complete game shutout with seven strikeouts on the day. The Greyhounds scored their first run in the bottom of the first when junior catcher Tim Quinn (Paxton, Mass./Saint John's) hit a groundout to third that scored senior shortstop Shawn Frigon (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter-Marian). On the very next batter, senior outfielder Mike Foley (Worcester, Mass./Saint John 's) hit an RBI-single to short to score sophomore second baseman Shane Keddy (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Tech), giving Assumption a 2-0 lead. Then, in the bottom of the sixth inning, senior outfielder Wally Derosier (Shrewsbury, Mass./Holy Name) hit a solo home run to right field to put the Greyhounds up 3-0. It was all Assumption needed to take game one. Freshman pitcher Conner McMahon (Westfield, Mass./Westfield) was strong for the Warriors, holding Assumption to five hits in eight innings.
In game two, Merrimack jumped on the Greyhound pitching early, scoring four runs in the first. Senior third baseman Mike Dooling (Milford, Conn./Joseph Foran) hit an RBI single to center field, sophomore pitcher Joe Mantoni (Hopedale, Mass./Hopedale) hit a two-RBI single to shortstop and freshman catcher CJ Flannery (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) had an RBI sacrifice fly to right to put the Warriors up 4-0.
The Greyhounds attempted to come back in the bottom of the third, as Keddy hit an RBI single to third base to score senior outfielder Blake Youngblood (East Freetown, Mass./New Bedford). After a wild pitch, Foley grounded out to first to score junior catcher Eddie McDonald (Arlington, Mass./Arlington Catholic), and the Hounds were down only 4-2. In the bottom of the fourth, senior first baseman Drew Dombkowski (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire) hit a solo home run to right field, and Assumption was down only one, 4-3. Merrimack would answer, scoring two runs at the top of the fifth to go up 6-3.
Assumption made several valiant attempts to respond. In the bottom of the sixth with runners at first and third, McDonald hit a deep fly ball to right field when Merrimack right fielder Paul Manganiello (Levittown, N.Y./Nassau CC) made a diving catch to end the inning. Frigon had a memorable twelve-pitch at bat that ended with a single to left, but the Greyhounds couldn't capitalize. Merrimack used a total of five pitchers to hold the Greyhounds to three runs on eight hits.
In a pregame ceremony, the team's graduating seniors were honored by fans, family, coaches and teammates. Frigon, Foley, Derosier, Youngblood and Dombkowski were joined by senior pitchers Joe Green (Worcester, Mass./Saint John's) and Zach Jacques (Jefferson, Mass./Saint John's) were recognized for their contributions to the program during their time here at Assumption, both to the Baseball program and to the greater Assumption community. Their leadership will be missed.
With the split, Assumption wraps up its season at 19-29 with a 10-16 record in the Northeast-10. Merrimack finishes at 14-27 with a 6-19 record in conference play. Congratulations to the whole team on the conclusion of their season.
