Worcester, Mass. (April 2) -- Head coach Ralph DeLucia of the Assumption College softball team notched his 400th career win at Assumption as the Hounds earned a sweep over Northeast-10 foe Stonehill at the WPI Softball Field on Thursday. Assumption claimed a 5-3 victory in game one, followed by a six-inning, 18-10 showing in game two.

The Hounds improve to 10-4 on the season while opening their NE-10 slate 2-0. The Skyhawks fall to 6-8 overall and slip to 0-2 in the league.

Game One: Assumption 5, Stonehill 3

Junior Jess Underwood (Hudson, N.H. / Alvirne) started in the circle for the Hounds in game one, registering her third complete game of the season. She registered just four hits and one walk while tallying a career-high six strikeouts. Six retired batters matches her previous career high, set last season (4/3/14) at Merrimack. Underwood improves to 4-1 on the season with the win.

After two scoreless innings, the Hounds got on the board in the bottom of the third. Sophomore Cassidy Colby (Charlton, Mass. / Shepherd Hill) opened the frame with a double to right center, followed up by a deep RBI single to right-center by junior Kayli Moniz (Fairhaven, Mass. / Fairhaven) for the 1-0 advantage. Moniz crossed the plate shortly thereafter when senior Ashley Impagliazzo (Glocester, R.I. / LaSalle Academy) singled to right.

Senior Jess DiPilato (Worcester, Mass. / Holy Name) ripped another single through the left side to score Impagliazzo and sophomore Ashley Clark (Pawtucket, RI / Tolman) for the 3-0 lead.

Stonehill narrowed the gap to two following a solo, left-field homer off the bat of Cayleigh McCarthy in the top of the fifth before the Hounds added two more in the bottom of the sixth in response.

Back-to-back singles by freshman Stephanie Menard (Cranston, R.I. / Cranston HS West) and senior Andrea Crowley (Norfolk, Mass. / Ursuline Academy) followed by a ground out left pinch runners Nicole Duplease (Leominster, Mass. / Leominster) and Marissa Gifford (North Attleboro, Mass. / North Attleboro) in scoring position. Colby reached first on an error by the Skyhawk catcher to score Gifford before Moniz ripped a single through the right side to drive in Duplease and increase the lead.

With the score 5-1 headed into the bottom of the seventh, the Hounds looked like they would soon claim DeLucia's 400th win. However, the Skyhawks put up a fight with a two-out, two-run homer to cut the score to 5-3. DiPilato snagged a high line drive at third to end the game and clinch the win.

Offensively, the Hounds were led by Moniz as she went 2-for-4 at the plate with one run and two RBI. 

As a team, Assumption registered eight hits compared to four for Stonehill. In the circle, Sarah Ropiak takes the loss for the Skyhawks, falling to 4-3 on the season.

Game Two: Assumption 18, Stonehill 10

Freshman Kendal Roy (Grafton, Mass. / Grafton) earned the start for the Greyhounds in the high-scoring, game-two battle on Thursday. Roy retired four batters while allowing nine hits and five earned runs in five innings. Roy was relieved by sophomore Courtney Oliva (Vernon, Conn. / Rockville) in the top of the sixth. Oliva added one strikeout for the Hounds' total of five for the game.

With the win, Roy improves to 3-2 on the season while the Skyhawks' Megan Rounavaara drops to 2-2 overall.

The Skyhawks got out to an early lead in the top of the first with a two-run homer off the bat of Cassandra Squeri. The Hounds responded however, with a four-run showing in the bottom of the frame to take a 4-2 lead.

Moniz led off the bottom of the first with a double to left field, followed by two-straight singles from Clark and Impagliazzo. Impagliazzo scored Moniz to leave two on base as Abad stepped to the plate with just one out to launch a three-run homer over the left field fence. The sophomore now leads the team with three home runs on the season.

The Hounds broke the game open in the bottom of the third when two pitcher changes could not stop the Greyhound offense. Assumption rallied for seven runs on six hits and just one error to jump out to an 11-2 lead. The inning was highlighted by six Greyhound singles including two-RBI shots from junior Christina Caira (Newton, Mass. / Newton North) and Abad.

Stonehill slowly began a comeback attempt in the top of the fourth, notching one run on a McCarthy triple down the right-field line. The Hounds responded with two more in the bottom of the inning to extend their lead to 13-3.

Stonehill scored three more in the top of the fifth to narrow the deficit to seven, avoiding the eight-run mercy rule and pushing a sixth inning.

After rendering the Hounds scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, Stonehill continued its hot streak with four more in the top of the sixth to tighten the gap to just three, 13-10.

Assumption put the game away with five more runs for the 18-10 final in the bottom of the sixth. DiPilato and Impagliazzo each blasted RBI doubles in the half inning to help push the Hounds to victory.

Impagliazzo and Abad led the Assumption offense in game two. Impagliazzo went 4-for-5 with two runs and three RBI while Abad went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with six RBI and three runs scored. 

As a team, the Hounds registered 21 hits compared to 15 for Stonehill. Assumption left eight runners on base while the Skyhawks stranded four.

Assumption is scheduled to return to action on Saturday, April 4, at Southern New Hampshire for a doubleheader at 12 p.m.

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