Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Riley Palmer (Goffstown, N.H.) went 6-8 at the plate with a home run and five runs batted in, recording his 100th career hit in the process, as the No. 11 Southern New Hampshire University baseball team swept Assumption College by scores of 6-4 and 9-4 in Northeast-10 action Saturday at Penmen Field. The Penmen have won 10 in a row and are now 27-7 and 14-3 in NE-10 play, while the Greyhounds are now 9-13 and 5-9 in the league.
In the opener, Palmer, Brendan O'Brien (East Bridgewater, Mass.), Manny Cruz (Wolcott, Conn.) and Mike Mastroberti (Ramsey, N.J.) each had two hits, with Mastroberti knocking in a pair of runs.
After taking an early 2-0 lead, the Penmen found themselves down as Assumption scored three times in the fourth and once in the sixth to build a 4-2 lead. SNHU scored three times in the fifth, all with two outs, to reclaim the lead and the eventual victory.
Cruz worked a two-out walk, then after stealing second, went to third on an Al Stanton (Sandwich, Mass.) single. Following a pitching change, Palmer doubled to right center to bring home Cruz and make it a 4-3 game. The next batter, Mastroberti, tripled to bring in Stanton and Palmer and give the Penmen the lead. SNHU tacked on an insurance run in the sixth when an Anthony Aceto (North Providence, R.I.) single scored Bryan Toland (Wildwood, N.J.).
SNHU scored twice in the bottom of the first, with O'Brien singling to lead off the frame and eventually scoring on a throwing error on his steal of third. Cruz made it 2-0 when he stole home. Assumption scored three times in the fourth, taking advantage of an error as well as a balk. In the sixth, Greg O'Donnell led off with a double and scored on a groundout to make it 4-2.
Joe McCarthy (Nashua, N.H.) improved to 4-0 on the hill for Southern New Hampshire, allowing six hits and four runs (three earned) in seven-plus innings, fanning four and issuing four walks. Benjamin Criscuolo (Branford, Conn.) struck out two in his two-inning save.
In the nightcap, Palmer went 4-4 at the plate, including a two-run home run in the seventh inning, as he knocked in four runs. His fifth inning single was the 100th hit of his career. Cruz and Alejandro Diaz (Old Bridge, N.J.) also had two hits apiece, with Diaz rebounding after his 11-game hit streak was snapped in the opener. O'Brien had one hit in the nightcap, giving him 195 for his career, two shy of Matt Boulter's program career record of 197.
The Penmen jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, with a Palmer single up the middle plating Cruz and Stanton. Assumption tied the game with three runs in the top of the fourth, before Southern New Hampshire responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame. An O'Brien single brought in two runs, with O'Brien eventually scoring on an infield single by Cruz. After tacking on a run in the sixth, Palmer's two-run blast to right in the seventh made it 9-3. Assumption would score one run in the top of the ninth to account for the final.
Freshman Alex Person (Foxboro, Mass.) struck out eight over 6.2 innings to improve to 2-1, scattering five hits and surrendering three unearned runs. After Lucas Olen (Bedford, N.H.) retired the lone batter he faced in the seventh, Joseph Zanghi (Milford, Conn.) did not allow a hit over the final two innings.
Southern New Hampshire and Assumption meet for a noon doubleheader Sunday. The first game will be a Northeast-10 Conference contest, with the nightcap a non-league affair.
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