WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior Matt Sucharewicz (Peabody, Mass.) drove in four runs as the Saint Anselm College baseball team swept a doubleheader from Assumption College on Saturday afternoon at Rochleau Field. The Hawks earned a 4-1 victory in game one, before winning the second game, 5-3.
The Hawks improve to 22-20 on the season, including 12-11 in Northeast-10 play, while the Greyhounds fall to 13-28, 6-15 NE-10.
The game was scoreless into the sixth when Assumption grabbed the first run on a Blake Youngblood double down the left field line. It looked like the single run might stand up until the eighth inning when Saint Anselm struck for four runs.
Sophomore Robert Kelly (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) pushed the first run across with an RBI fielder's choice groundout, setting up Sucharewicz, who slammed a three-run homer over the left field fence to give the Hawks a 4-1 lead.
The Greyhounds made some noise in the bottom of the inning, putting a pair of runners in scoring position with two outs before junior Neil Hesek (Northboro, Mass.) recorded a huge strikeout to get out of the inning.
Hesek (2-6, 3.38 ERA) tossed a complete game, giving up one run on six hits. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter. Joined with Wednesday's pitching performance by junior Timothy Cooney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and Kelly's gem Friday, the Hawks threw three consecutive complete games with only one run allowed. Over those 27 innings, Cooney, Kelly and Hesek combined to allow three runs on 19 hits to go along with 23 strikeouts and just four walks.
The Hawks did not want to play catch-up in game two as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on RBI doubles by Sucharewicz and junior Daniel DeCoste (Chelmsford, Mass.). Assumption answered with one in the bottom of the inning before Kelly homered on the first pitch of the third inning to make it 3-1.
The Greyhounds tied it with two in the fifth, but the Hawks went back ahead with single runs in the eighth and ninth.
Senior Kyle Lavin (Shelton, Conn.) started and gave up three runs on five hits over 41/3 innings, while walking five and striking out one. Junior Joe Latino (Holden, Mass.) earned the win with 42/3 innings of shutout relief. Latino (3-1) allowed three hits, while striking out four and walking one.
DeCoste was 5-for-5 with an RBI, while Sucharewicz was 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Kelly went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and pair of runs scored. Freshman Tito Lluberes (Lawrence, Mass.) was 2-for-5, while classmate Dan Lagasse (Londonderry, N.H.) was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Senior TJ Murphy (Reading, Mass.) went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the ninth.
The Hawks return to action Sunday, May 1 at 2 p.m. when they travel to take on Adelphi University.
