Kyle Shepard pitches one-hitter, Fratus' hitting streak ends at 18-straight

Sophomore second baseman Dan Fratus saw his 18-game hitting streak come to an end going 0-for-4 at the plate. During his hitting streak, Fratus compiled 30 hits for the Skyhawks.

EASTON, Mass. (April 4, 2012) – Senior pitcher Kyle Shepard (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet) took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and struck out 11 batters total as Stonehill College, ranked fourth overall in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) East Regional Poll, shutout Assumption College, 2-0, in Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) inter-divisional action on Wednesday afternoon at Lou Gorman Field.

K. Shepard struck out at least one batter in every inning but the fourth and struck out the side once (third inning) alongside two walks and one hit-by-pitch. Junior centerfielder James DeAlto (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y./Briarcliff)  kept the no-hit bid alive in the top of the seventh inning with a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch in mid-stride towards the left centerfield gap robbing junior shortstop Shane Keddy (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Tech) of an extra-base hit.

Senior third baseman Travis Smith (Coventry, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) followed with an infield single to second to break up the no-hitter. K. Shepard responded with a strikeout to end the frame and did not allow a ball-in-play to reach the outfield over the next two innings in addition to a pair of strikeouts.

Junior shortstop Michael Zeiner (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) made a beautiful bare-handed throw across his body in between short and second base to take away an infield hit from junior designated hitter Michael Filice (South Salem, N.Y./John Jay CR) and end the ball game.

Freshman Zack LaRosa (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) was handed the loss on four-and-one-thirds innings pitched, four hits, one run (earned), two walks and two strikeouts. Sophomore reliever Cody Rocha (Fall River, Mass./B.M.C. Durfee) turned in a nice performance out of the pen throwing three-and-two-thirds innings, giving up one hit, one run (unearned), two walks and four punchouts. Rocha entered the contest with a runner in scoring position (second base) and one out and eventually spelled the Greyhounds out of a bases loaded jam to keep them in the contest in the fifth inning.

Stonehill took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning as sophomore catcher Colin Shepard (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet) deposited a RBI single to centerfield plating senior designated hitter Steven Popp (Unionville, Conn./Farmington), who singled and advanced to second on a Michael Magnussen (Carver, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) walk before scoring.

Senior first baseman Michael White (Lisbon, N.H./Lisbon Regional) helped produce the Skyhawks only other run in the game with his speed in the eighth inning. White notched a single up the middle with one out, stole second base, swiped third and scored on a throwing error by the catcher that bounced into leftfield.  

Sophomore second baseman Dan Fratus (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) went 0-for-4 at the plate with two fly outs, one groundout and a strikeout to end his hitting streak at 18 games. During that span (March 12 to April 3), Fratus collected 30 hits, scored 16 runs and had 14 RBI's. Fratus also posted ten multi-hit efforts during his 18-game hitting streak.

Stonehill (20-9, 8-3 NE-10, 4-1 Northeast Division) returns to action next week on Monday, April 9 as the Skyhawks host American International College for a NE-10 inter-divisional twinbill at Lou Gorman Field with game one scheduled for noon. Assumption (6-13, 0-8 NE-10, 0-4 Southwest Division) travels to Saint Anselm for a NE-10 inter-divisional matchup at 3:30 p.m.