Assumption 2, Franklin Pierce 0
- Updated: May 11, 2022
RINDGE — Assumption junior right-hander Jack Choate stole the show on the road on Tuesday night in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship at Pappas Field. He went the distance on 131 pitches (90 strikes) and piled up 18 strikeouts to author a one-hit shutout, as the Greyhounds dealt the Franklin Pierce University baseball team a 2-0 loss.
Sophomore right-hander Kyle Roche (Braintree, Mass.) was no slouch on the other side for the Ravens, as he struck out nine over 8.1 strong innings of his own. Roche ceded a pair of unearned runs, as a result of a first-inning throwing error by sophomore second baseman Randy Flores (Brooklyn, N.Y.).
Franklin Pierce — the Northeast Division’s second seed — fell to 28-15 and will have to wait until Sunday night to see if it has done enough to qualify for the NCAA Championship. Third-seeded Assumption improved to 22-21 and will host the double-elimination portion of the NE10 Championship Thursday through Saturday at Rocheleau Field in Worcester, Mass.
Choate (6-2) — who had Major League Baseball scouts in attendance to watch his outing — was nearly untouchable. The 6-foot-6 southpaw filled up the strike zone all night, en route an 18-strikeout, one-hit shutout, that saw him face just 32 batters while recording 27 outs. He hit a batter and walked a pair along the way.
Meanwhile, Roche (5-2) was an extremely hard-luck loser on the other side of the ledger, as the two unearned runs in the first inning held up the rest of the way. He fired 109 pitches (70 strikes) over 8.1 splendid innings of his own, as he faced only 30 batters while recording 25 outs. Roche walked a pair and struck out nine.
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