WESTFIELD, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth baseball team scored four runs in the top of the first inning en route to a 5-1 baseball victory over Westfield State University on Thursday, April 10.
The Corsairs have won four of their past five games to raise their overall record to 10-11, while the Owls dipped below .500 with a 9-10 mark.
UMass Dartmouth charged out of the gates, sending eight batters to the plate to produce four runs on four hits. Junior Ryan Medeiros (Acushnet, Mass./New Bedford) led off with a single, while classmate Nate Farias (Fall River, Mass./Durfee) followed with a single to centerfield. The Corsairs capitalized on a Westfield State fielding error to crack the scoring column.
Junior Alex Newton (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) drew a walk to load the bases, and sophomore Connor Shaw (Goffstown, N.H.) ripped a RBI single to centerfield. The Owls traded a double play for a run, but freshman Evan Eldridge Danvers, Mass.) capped the frame with a run-producing single to give the visitors a 4-0 lead.
UMass Dartmouth continued to apply the offensive pressure in the second, when Farias started a two-out rally by working a walk and classmate Coy DeMedeiros (Fall River, Mass./Durfee) followed with a single. Newton drove in the Corsairs' final run of the afternoon with a single up the middle.
The visitors provided sophomore George Bent (Barnstable, Mass.) with more than enough run support as the righty turned in his second straight quality start for his first victory of the season. The Barnstable, Mass. product allowed one run on 10 hits, while striking out three in eight innings.
Nick Cunningham pitched well in relief for Westfield. He entered the game with two outs in the second inning and hurled the final seven and a third innings, allowing three hits and no walks and striking out two.
The teams combined for 20 hits, all singles, with Westfield outhitting UMass Dartmouth, 11-9. E.G. McMillan (4 for 4), Tim Santilli (3 for 5) and Dan McCormack (2 for 5) had nine of 11 hits for the Owls, who stranded 11 base runners.
Shaw led the UMass Dartmouth offensive attack with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate, while Medeiros also registered a pair of base knocks.
Westfield returns to action on Saturday, April 12, when it plays at Worcester State; the MASCAC twinbill begins at 12:00. UMass Dartmouth also plays Saturday when it squares off against the University of Massachusetts Boston in a Little East Conference doubleheader at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Mass.