When and Where: May 7, 2022 – Manchester, N.H. (Delta Dental Stadium)
Game 1 Results: #9 Southern New Hampshire University 5 Assumption 0
Game 2 Results: #9 Southern New Hampshire University 10, Assumption 8
Records: SNHU 37-8, 21-3 NE10; Assumption 21-21, 13-11 NE10
Manchester, N.H. – The 9th-ranked Southern New Hampshire University baseball team finished the regular season by completing a sweep of NE10 rival Assumption University. Graduate student
Taylor Lepard (Toronto, Ontario) spun a gem in the 5-0 opener, and senior
Ricky Jimenez (Miami, Fla.) hit a long home run to help SNHU rally for a 10-8 win in the nightcap.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
GAME ONE
- The Penmen took a quick 2-0 lead in the second inning. Redshirt sophomore Nick Schwartz (Massapequa, N.Y.) singled and senior Dakota Mulcay (Goffstown, N.H.) doubled. Both scored when redshirt junior Alex Kennedy (Braintree, Mass.) singled to center field.
- SNHU scored its other three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, which started with a single by graduate student Idelson Taveras (Lawrence, Mass.). Redshirt sophomore Danniel Rivera (New Britain, Conn.) followed with a single. Senior Sam Henrie (Middleboro, Mass.) doubled to make it 3-0. Schwartz delivered another run with a single, and Mulcay's second double of the game brought Schwartz home for a 5-0 lead.
- Lepard (W, 4-0) allowed five hits, all singles, in 6.2 innings. He walked one and struck out five. Redshirt senior Scott Webster (Newburyport, Mass.) recorded the final out.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
GAME TWO
- The Penmen scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to break an 8-8 tie, and winning pitcher Ricky Alexy (1-0) set down the Greyhounds in order in the ninth to finish the sweep.
- Freshman Anthony Poole (So. Portland, Maine) singled to start the eighth, Jimenez walked, and Taveras laid down a sacrifice bunt. Rivera's sac fly put SNHU in front, and redshirt sophomore Cristian Mercedes (Providence, R.I.) beat out an infield single for another run.
- SNHU took its first lead of the day in the bottom of the fourth running, which included a three-run homer by Jimenez off Assumption pitcher Jack Choate.
- The Penmen scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning to erase an 8-5 deficit, scoring on three wild pitches.
- Six pitchers were used to navigate the win. In addition to the scoreless work by Alexy, redshirt freshman Conner Wagstaff (Ellsworth, Maine), and sophomore Trevor Anibal (Bedford, N.H.) also did not allow a run.
NOTES
- SNHU earned its fifth-straight NE10 Northeast Division regular season crown and sixth overall with a 21-3 league mark.
- The games were played at Delta Dental Stadium, home to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays).
- The Penmen are ranked 9th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Poll and still sits atop the NCBWA East Region Poll as well as the NCAA East Regional Poll.
- The Penmen improve to 45-23-2 against the Greyhounds, winning 29 of the last 34 meetings including a six straight.
- SNHU used the final game to salute its seniors and graduate students. Those honored included Lepard, Kennedy, Taveras, Henrie, and Mulcay. Also recognized were senior Angus McCloskey (Farmingdale, N.Y.), redshirt sophomore Ryan Deo (Averill Park, N.Y.), and redshirt sophomore Nick Assad (Franklin, Mass.).
UP NEXT
- SNHU heads into the NE10 Tournament on Tuesday. The Penmen will play at Saint Anselm at 3 p.m. Assumption will visit Franklin Pierce on Tuesday.
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