COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College baseball team lost 2-0 in its home opener to Assumption College during Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division play at Doc Jacobs Field on Friday. The Purple Knights are 4-13 overall and 0-6 in the NE-10, while the Greyhounds improved to 6-14 and 2-3.

Sophomore Drew Salk (Billerica, Mass./Billerica Memorial) went 2-for-3 for Saint Michael's, while senior Don McGuirl (Warwick, R.I./Saint Sebastian's School) doubled and classmate George Buteau (Burlington, Vt./Trinity-Pawling School) picked up a hit. Sophomore Steven Auger (Hopkinton, N.H./Hopkinton) swiped two bases as a pinch-runner. Junior Curt Echo (Shelburne, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) took the complete-game loss after allowing just two earned runs - one earned - on seven hits while striking out three batters.

Junior Michael Panza (West Haven, Conn./Notre Dame) and sophomore Mike Coggeshall (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) both went 2-for-4 for Assumption, with Coggeshall providing a solo home run as part of his two-RBI day. Sophomore Matt Murphy (Wakefield, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) doubled and collected the save and junior Steve Flynn (Worcester, Mass./Saint Peter-Marian) earned the win after tossing eight scoreless innings with four hits and three strikeouts.

Echo faced the minimum nine batters through the opening three innings, aided by first-year catcher Zach Szczechowicz (Epping, N.H./Trinity), who threw out a Greyhound base runner trying to steal second base in the top of the first. Offensively in the opening frame, Saint Michael's had back-to-back batters reach base with one out after junior Matt Feeney (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth) walked and Buteau singled. Flynn then sat down 12 of the next 13 Purple Knights.

Assumption ended the scoreless stalemate with a run in the fourth inning. Junior Tom Paine (Upton, Mass./Nipmuc) reached base on a fielder's choice before stealing second and advancing to third on a Purple Knight throwing error. Paine then scored on Coggeshall's one-out grounder to second. First-year Peter Bocchino (Saugus, Mass./The Governor's Academy) started the bottom of the sixth with a walk, advanced to second on senior Michael Dougherty's (Albany, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy/Schenectady County CC) sacrifice bunt and reached third on a groundout before being stranded to end the threat.

After Echo worked out of a bases-loaded seventh-inning jam, McGuirl laced a two-out double to left centerfield but was cut down at third base attempting to leg out a triple in the home half of that inning. Following Salk's single to start the eighth, Auger pinch ran and stole two bases before the hosts left a runner at third for the second time in three innings. Assumption extended its 1-0 lead to one more run after Coggeshall's solo homer to start the ninth. Murphy then came on in the home half and tossed a perfect ninth to end the game.

The Purple Knights complete a three-game set with Assumption tomorrow, hosting an 11 a.m. doubleheader.