Manchester, N.H. (April 13) -- On Sunday afternoon in a doubleheader delayed due to rain in the area in the morning, the Assumption College baseball team earned a split with No. 11 Southern New Hampshire as the Hounds took game two by a 6-3 final for the win. Earlier in the day, the Penmen picked up the 5-4 win over Assumption to sweep the three-game divisional series from the Hounds.

In game one, the Hounds got on the board first with a two-run homer by senior Ysander Figueroa (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Tech) for the 2-0 lead in the top of the third. Sophomore Michael Panza (West Haven, Conn./Notre  Dame) scored on the play after reaching base on a walk earlier in the inning. The Penmen cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth as third baseman Riley Palmer scored on a throwing error after reaching base on a leadoff single to center.

Assumption extended the lead out to 4-1 in the top of the first as a two-RBI single to right by junior Greg O'Donnell (Northbridge, Mass./Northbridge) scored Figueroa and sophomore Tom Paine (Upton, Mass./Nipmuc). After SNHU made it a 4-2 game in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly RBI, the Penmen tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth. Second baseman Mike Mastroberti scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-3, followed by first baseman Alejandro Diaz scoring on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Aceto to tie the game at 4-4.

Freshman Ben Smith (Bellingham, Mass./Bellingham) came in to pitch for Assumption to start the bottom of the seventh in relief of senior Cody Rocha (Fall River, Mass./B.M.C. Durfee), who went six innings in the start. The Penmen capitalized for the go-ahead run in the inning as left fielder Al Stanton scored on a single up the middle by Diaz for the 5-4 lead. Stanton reached base earlier on a one-out walk.

Rocha went six innings for the Hounds, scattering six hits with four runs and six strikeouts. Smith took the loss for the Hounds to drop to 0-1, going one inning with one hit and one run.

SNHU starter Mike Robert went just one inning, followed by 5.1 innings of relief from Lucas Olen. Ian Searles picked up the eventual win though to improve to 2-0 as he went 1.1 innings of two-hit relief. Ben Criscuolo picked up the final four outs, including three strikeouts, to pick up his seventh save of the year for the Penmen.

In game two, Assumption jumped on top right away with a three-run first. Freshman Mike Coggeshall (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) drove in Figueroa with a sacrifice fly for the 1-0 lead, followed by a two-RBI double to left by freshman Jake Byrne (Grafton, Mass./Saint John's) for the 3-0 advantage. RBI hits by Byrne and Paine in the third made it a 5-0 lead, chasing SNHU starter Joseph Zanghi in the process. The Hounds increased the lead to 6-0 in the top of the fifth with an unearned run by junior Billy Johnson (Auburn, Mass./Holy Name). Johnson reached on a Penmen error and stole second to get into scoring position.

Assumption senior starter Patrick Coleman (Newark, Del./Salesianum St. Elizabeth) pitched into the ninth inning, but was pulled after a triple to right scored Palmer to make it a 6-1 lead for the Hounds. SNHU scored two more off of Assumption relievers Bill King (Worcester, Mass./Holy Name) and Nick Fenuccio (Keene, N.H./Keene) before Figueroa came in to pitch for his third save of the season. He picked up the final three outs for the Hounds to preserve the 6-3 victory, including a pair of strikeouts.

Coleman picked up the win to improve to 1-0 after eight innings of five-hit ball. Zanghi took the loss for the Penmen, dropping to 0-1.

Byrne finished 2-for-4 with three RBI, along with a 1-for-3 day by Johnson with two runs scored and two walks. Mastroberti finished at 3-for-4 to lead the Penmen offense.

With the split, Assumption is now 10-14 overall, while Southern New Hampshire sits at 28-8.

Assumption is back in action on Tuesday, April 15th as the Hounds host Merrimack for a Northeast-10 divisional game beginning at 3:30 p.m. at Rocheleau Field.

For the latest on Assumption College Athletics, follow the Hounds via social media on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. For more information, contact the Office of Athletic Communications at 508-767-7240.