SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - A tightly-contested pitching duel took place for 11 innings between the American International College baseball team and Assumption University, before the Yellow Jackets blew things open with five home runs in five innings to take the final pair of a four-game series from the Greyhounds by scores of 2-0 and 12-3 on Sunday, March 15.

AIC is now 8-8 overall and 4-0 in the Northeast 10 Conference.

The opening game was a blink-and-you-miss-an-inning affair as Alvin Gomez and Cole Constantine smothered the opposing offenses. The Greyhounds did manage a leadoff double in the second off of Gomez, but a line shot was snared by Aidan Streeter at third base, allowing him to turn a 5-6 double play to negate the threat.

AIC, meanwhile, was hitless through five innings, until Sam Tanous bounced a roller to the left-side hole that spun just away from the Assumption shortstop for an infield hit. Yeudy Ramirez then laid a bunt up the third base line, and not only did Tanous take second, but also third as the base was left undefended. That set the stage for Cole Patterson, who hit a rocket back up the middle that deflected off Constantine; though Patterson was ultimately put out, Tanous scored the first run of the game.

In the seventh, AIC grabbed crucial insurance as Josh Frometa was hit by a 2-0 pitch. He induced a balk to take second base, and then advanced on a groundout. Streeter then came to the dish, and though he fell behind 0-2, he was able to knock a slider off the end of his bat down the right-field line, dropping a bloop single in to score Frometa. 

Gomez, meanwhile, dealt brilliantly. He retired the final 10 batters he faced for his first career complete-game shutout at the NCAA level, striking out seven and allowing just three hits with no walks.

The second game was more of the same as Brady Reardon and Michael Crowley plowed through opposing hitters for the Yellow Jackets and Greyhounds for four innings, but things came unglued for Assumption in the fifth. It started with a two-out walk by Albis Felix, and Wesley Alfonso also worked a six-pitch plate appearance for a free pass. Tanous then bounced a 1-2 pitch softly to third, barely beating out the throw for another infield hit. That brought Ramirez to the dish, and the reigning NE10 Player of the Year delivered, cracking the first pitch he saw over the left-center fence for a grand slam.

From there, the floodgates opened. Richie Segura smashed a home run to left field in the fifth, and then Leandro Guevara followed with a nearly 500-foot solo shot in the sixth down the left-field line. That inning also saw another run for AIC, as Frometa followed Guevara's home run with a single and Segura drove him in with a double.

Assumption did break the shutout in the bottom of the seventh, with a double, walk, and double to plate two, but Ramirez answered back in the eighth. Alfonso singled, Tanous walked, and then, with the count full, the shortstop launched a left-center field rocket for three more runs and a 10-2 lead. AIC's offense put the exclamation point on it in the ninth as Alfonso drilled a two-run shot after a Streeter walk, ultimately earning the 12-3 win.

Kyle Pena earned the win in the second game with 2.1 innings of work, fanning four of the 12 men he faced. Brandon Morrison closed the game out with two solid innings, striking out three.

AIC will next get to actually be the home team on Bedard Field with a four-game NE10 series beginning Saturday, March 21 at noon with a doubleheader against Saint Anselm College.