Recap courtesy of Dylan Porcaro
BOSTON, Mass.—Behind two mammoth home runs from senior Dave Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.) and stellar pitching all afternoon, #9/9 UMass Boston earned a doubleheader sweep of Western Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon.
THE BASICS
GM 1 #9/9 UMass Boston 3, Western Connecticut State U. 1
GM 2 #9/9 UMass Boston 13. Western Connecticut State U. 0 (7 inns.)
UMass Boston (17-5, 4-0 Little East Conference)
Western Connecticut State University (8-10, 0-4 Little East Conference)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Due to unplayable conditions at Western Connecticut State University's field, today's games were played at Monan Park with UMass Boston as the road team. That meant the Beacons would bat first, and they wasted no time getting on the scoreboard.
Eddie Riley (Quincy, Mass.) drew a leadoff walk and then was picked off while attempting to steal second base. The Beacons instantly made up for it however, as Ryan McCormick (Cumberland, R.I.) went opposite field with a double down the left field line. Dave Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.) followed with a home run over the left field wall to give UMass Boston an early 2-0 lead.
The Beacons handed the ball to JT Morin (Wilton, Conn.) for game one of the double header and he did not disappoint. Because of a few softly hit singles that were perfectly placed, he allowed one run in the first inning of play.
After he got through the first, Morin settled in and cruised the rest of the way. He ended up going seven innings while striking out seven, giving up three walks and four hits, and just the one earned run.
The Beacons picked up an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning when Chris Fowler (Barnstable, Mass.) drove in McCormick with a double. Although it did not end up being needed, it was nice to take a bit of the pressure off of Morin and the bullpen.
Mike Doherty (Brewster, Mass.) entered the game to start the home half of the 8thinning. He walked a batter but managed to get two outs, eventually handing the ball over to Bobby Tramondozzi (Peabody, Mass.) for an attempt at a four0out save.
It was four up and four down for the closer, as Tramondozzi got yet another save to give the Beacons the 3-1 victory.
Western Connecticut State ace Shane Bierfeldt took the loss despite a terrific outing. The senior lefty went eight innings and struck out a career-high 10 batters. He allowed eight hits and three earned runs over 139 pitches.
Game 2
The second game started in very similar fashion to game one. After McCormick reached base on an error with one out in the top of the first, Murphy once again went deep and put the Beacons ahead 2-0 to begin. They didn't stop there, as Fowler reached base with a hit and was then driven in off of Kyle Boudrias' (Medford, Mass.) RBI single.
The bats continued to fire on all cylinders in the second inning as the Beacons added another four runs thanks to a pair of Colonials errors. Fowler provided the big hit in the inning with a two-run triple, while Murphy tacked on an RBI double to push the lead to 7-0.
The big lead allowed starting pitcher Fernando Burgos (Hyde Park, Mass.) to be calm on the mound and have himself a day. He did not give up a single run in six innings of work while he struck out seven, walked one batter, and gave up four hits.
In the top of the seventh the Beacons really poured it on by adding a whopping six runs against the Western Connecticut State pen. Joey Rogers (Dighton, Mass.), Charlie Huegi (Sandy Hook, Conn.), McCormick, and Murphy (two-run double) all accounted for RBI in the inning.
Chris Munro (Marshfield, Mass) entered the game in the home half of the seventh. He gave up one hit but managed to get three outs including striking out the last batter to give the Beacons a 13-0 win in seven innings of play.
Western Connecticut State starter George Bielizna was the tough-luck loser in game two. He went six innings and allowed seven runs, but just one run was earned.
BY THE NUMBERS
- With the doubleheader sweep, UMass Boston is 4-0 to start Little East Conference play for the first time since 2013. The Beacons are the lone 4-0 team (thus far) through two weekends of conference play.
- With his six innings of shutout ball, Burgos improved to 5-0 on the season. The Beacons are 7-0 in games he's appeared in and he moved into a tie for third-place in program history with his 14thcareer win (14-4).
- Murphy has now hit a home run in three-straight games and has a conference leading eight home runs in 22 games. He also added a team-best seven RBI.
- The Beacons increased their winning streak to 6 games overall and earned their 10thand 11thconsecutive LEC Regular Season victories.
WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will head to Brandeis University for a game on Tuesday, April 10that 3:30 PM.