Baseball team returns from ultrasuccessful Southern trip; opens Northeast-10 Conference action this weekend

March 12, 2007

On the heels of its most successful Southern trip since 1990, the Assumption College baseball team under the direction of second-year head coach GEORGE REIDY is excited as they begin their Northern portion of the schedule, weather/field permitting, at Holy Cross Wednesday at 3 p.m. They open the Northeast-10 Conference portion of the schedule this weekend (March 17-18) in a three-game set with Stonehill College.

The Greyhounds posted eight wins, tying their all-time Southern record and won five consecutive games for the first time since 2000. Statistically, a .306 team batting average and a .982 fielding percentage are among the best ever by the team on its spring trip. The 1990 team, which was 8-3 at Cocoa Beach, Florida, finished its season at 31-12---the best in Hounds baseball annals.

"We accomplished exactly what we set out to do," said Reidy. "We now have an attitude, an attitude that we can indeed win baseball games no matter what the circumstances. We came-from-behind in several games and did it with timely hitting, solid defense and pitching---I believe that our pitching is as deep as it has ever been."

The Greyhounds won all three games against Northeast-10 Conference competition . . . beating Saint Rose (8-7), Saint Anselm (5-3) and Stonehill (6-5). The team was impressive with a 4-0 record in one-run games.

LEADING HITTERS: sophomore outfielder STEVE SCANNELL (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) is at .429 (21-for-49) . . . freshman first baseman TIM SCAFIDI (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) is batting .379 (11-for-29) with nine RBI . . . others over .300 include: sophomore designated hitter JEFF BARBALE (Charlton, MA/St. Peter-Marian) (.333, 12-for-36) with eight RBI . . . junior catcher CHRIS DESIMONE (Johnston, RI/Bishop Hendricken) (.318, 7-for-22) and freshman third baseman MIKE DIREDA (Shrewsbury, MA/St. John's) (.300, 12-for-40, 3 triples, 2 homers, 11 RBI, 9 walks) . . .

LEADING PITCHERS: freshman lefthander MICHAEL COLEBROOK (Leicester, MA/St. John's) sports a 0.64 ERA allowing just one earned run in 14.0 innings . . . sophomore righthander JEFF BARBALE (Charlton, MA/St. Peter-Marian) has a 1.06 ERA . . . other standouts include: freshman righthander DUSTIN WIRZBURGER (New Bedford, MA/New Bedford) (1.17), freshman lefthander ANDREW QUINN (Taunton, MA/Taunton) (2.57) and freshman righthander TIM DUPUIS (West Suffield, CT/Suffield Academy) (2.57) . . .

SAINT ROSE: (Won, 8-7) . . . freshman lefthander MICHAEL COLEBROOK (Leicester, MA/St. John's) pitched two-hit ball through seven innings allowing two unearned runs . . . junior second baseman DEVIN MURPHY (Waterbury, CT/Holy Cross) drilled two triples, one with the bases loaded in the fifth inning, sophomore outfielder STEVE SCANNELL (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) had three hits, junior outfielder BRIAN QUAGLIERI (Shrewsbury, MA/St. John's) had a single, triple, two RBI and freshman third baseman MIKE DIREDA (Shrewsbury, MA/St. John's) had two singles and was on base four times.

HILLSDALE, MI (Lost, 11-22) . . . freshman designated hitter RON BATHRICK (North Haven, CT/Suffield Academy) had a single and his first collegiate homerun (a two-run blast in the fifth inning) . . . sophomore outfielder STEVE SCANNELL (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) had two hits and was on base four times . . . freshman first baseman TIM SCAFIDI (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) tied a Greyhound record with two sacrifice flies in his first two at bats . . . freshman outfielder DEREK MIGRANTS (Ayer, MA/Ayer) had two singles and an RBI . . .

SAGINAW VALLEY, MI (Won, 4-0) . . . sophomore righthander JEFF BARBALE (Charlton, MA/St. Peter-Marian) pitched an eight-hit complete game shutout with six strike outs . . . freshman third baseman MIKE DIREDA (Shrewsbury, MA/St. John's) hit his first two collegiate home runs in the second and fourth innings . . .

GANNON, PA (Won, 9-4) . . . freshman lefthander ANDREW QUINN (Taunton, MA/Taunton) pitched seven effective innings in his debut and freshman righthander TIM DUPUIS (West Suffield, CT/Suffield Academy) tossed two scoreless innings to seal it . . . junior outfielder SCOTT BOYLE (Cranston, RI/Cranston) hammered his first career home run . . . sophomore shortstop MIKE BAILLARGEON (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) had a single, double and two stolen bases . . . freshman third baseman MIKE DIREDA (Shrewsbury, MA/St. John's) chipped in with a two-run triple . . .

ST. CLOUD, MN (Won, 7-6) . . . freshman righthander DUSTIN WIRZBURGER (New Bedford, MA/New Bedford) pitched 3.1 innings of effective relief and freshman righthander TIM DUPUIS (West Suffield, CT/Suffield Academy) tossed 1.1 scoreless innings for his first collegiate save . . . freshman third baseman MIKE DI REDA (Shrewsbury, MA/St. John's) hd a two-run first-inning single and an RBI triple to tie it in the seventh . . . sophomore designated hitter JEFF BARBALE (Charlton, MA/St. Peter Marian) punched a two-out, RBI-single (his second hit) to score DiReda with the game-winner . . . junior second baseman DEVIN MURPHY (Waterbury, CT/Holy Cross) delivered a two-run homer and a single . . . junior outfielder SCOTT BOYLE (Cranston, RI/Cranston) had two singles and a steal . . .

ST. CLOUD, MN (Won, 5-4) . . . sophomore righthander BRETT KULHAWIK (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) pitched six effective innings for the win and freshman righthander MATT LANE (Lancaster, MA/Nashoba) pitched a scoreless seventh for his first collegiate save . . . sophomore shortstop MIKE BAILLARGEON (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) had two sacrifice flies (ties Hounds record) including the game-winning RBI in the fourth inning . . . sophomore outfielder STEVE SCANNELL (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) had two singles and an RBI . . . sophomore designated hitter JEFF BARBALE (Charlton, MA/St. Peter-Marian) added a single and a triple . . . junior catcher CHRIS KESSING (Andover, CT/East Catholic) and freshman outfielder DEREK MIGRANTS (Ayer, MA/Ayer) each had two singles . . .

SAINT ANSELM (Won, 5-3) . . . Hounds won their team-record fifth consecutive Southern trip game . . . junior righthander DAN SARGENT (Lowell, MA/Lowell) pitched seven effective innings and freshman righthander TIM DUPUIS (West Suffield, CT/Suffield Academy) tossed two scoreless innings for his first collegiate win . . . sophomore outfielder STEVE SCANNELL (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) had two singles . . . freshman first baseman TIM SCAFIDI (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) had two singles and an RBI . . . sophomore outfielder MATT ORRICO (Holden, MA/Wachusett) drilled a two-out, two-run single for the game-winners in the ninth after junior outfielder SCOTT BOYLE (Cranston, RI/Cranston) tied it with a RBI single . . .

KENTUCKY WESLEYAN (Lost, 2-12) . . . Greyhound highlights included freshman righthander DUSTIN WIRZBURGER (New Bedford, MA/New Bedford) pitching 4.1 innings of scoreless relief . . . sophomore designated hitter JEFF BARBALE (Charlton, MA/St. Peter-Marian) and freshman designated hitter RON BATHRICK (North Haven, CT/Suffield Academy) (two doubles) had back-to-back RBI doubles in the fourth . . .

STONEHILL (Won, 6-5) . . . freshman lefthander MICHAEL COLEBROOK (Leicester, MA/St. John's) pitched four-hit ball through seven innings . . . sophomore righthander BRETT KULHAWIK (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) pitched a scoreless 10th to pick up the win . . . freshman first baseman TIM SCAFIDI (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) had the game-winning RBI single (his second RBI single of the game) in the bottom of the 10th . . . junior catcher CHRIS DESIMONE (Johnston, RI/Bishop Hendricken) stroke the game-tying single (his third hit of the game) in the ninth scoring junior outfielder SCOTT BOYLE (Cranston, RI/Cranston) who led the inning with a triple . . . sophomore shortstop MIKE BAILLARGEON (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) had an RBI triple in the first and a solo homer in the fifth . . . sophomore designated hitter JEFF BARBALE (Charlton, MA/St. Peter Marian) had two singles, a double and an RBI . . . sophomore outfielder STEVE SCANNELL (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) had three singles . . . junior second baseman DEVIN MURPHY (Waterbury, CT/Holy Cross) had two singles

ASHLAND, OH (Lost, 1-15) . . . sophomore outfielder STEVE SCANNELL (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) had a single and a double . . . freshman infielder MATTHEW JOSE (Warwick, RI/Hendricken) had an RBI double in the eighth . . . freshman outfielder DEREK MIGRANTS (Ayer, MA/Ayer) had two singles . . .

WINONA, MN STATE (Lost, 2-4) . . . sophomore righthander JEFF BARBALE (Charlton, MA/St. Peter-Marian) pitched effectively in a complete game effort . . . sophomore shortstop MIKE BAILLARGEON (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) had a two-run double in the third inning . . . sophomore outfielder STEVE SCANNELL (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) had two singles . . .

WINONA, MN STATE (Won, 3-1) . . . freshman lefthander ANDREW QUINN (Taunton, MA/Taunton) pitched a complete game three-hitter . . . freshman first baseman TIM SCAFIDI (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) had three singles (RBI in the fourth inning) . . . bases-loaded walks to sophomore designated hitter JEFF BARBALE (Charlton, MA/St. Peter-Marian) and junior catcher CHRIS KESSING (Andover, CT/East Catholic) accounted for two runs in the sixth inning . . .