BOSTON, Mass. - For the first time in program history UMass Boston remains undefeated in Little East Conference play through first three weeks as the eighth ranked Beacons posted a sweep of UMass Dartmouth by the finals of 2-1 and 7-3 Saturday afternoon at Monan Park.

THE BASICS

GM 1 #8/8 UMass Boston 2, UMass Dartmouth 1
GM 2 #8/8 UMass Boston 7, UMass Dartmouth 3 

UMass Boston (22-5, 6-0 Little East Conference)
UMass Dartmouth (14-10, 0-6 Little East Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

With Saturday's sweep the Beacons maintain their lead in the Little East Conference and improved to 6-0 in LEC for the first time in program history.  The Beacons pitching staff had an impressive day start-to-finish, with the offense scoring crucial runs at the right time to extend the Beacons win-streak to 11 straight.

GAME ONE

JT Morin (Wilton, Conn.) had another strong showing on the hill, as the lefty starter collected his third win of the campaign after going a career-long eight innings.  The Connecticut native fanned eight, while only allowing one run on four hits, and allowed just four walks.

After a leadoff walk, Morin got the second batter to ground into a double play, appearing to avoid any trouble right from the start.  UMass Dartmouth was able to get two runners on base with two outs, eventually scoring their only run after an infield error.

The 1-0 lead lasted until the fourth inning, when the Beacons despite having two outs on the scoreboard got a huge lift from Anthony Cecere (Wakefield, Mass.)  The big-man crushed his first collegiate home run the right field wall to even the score at 1-1.

In the home half of the eighth Ryan McCormick (Cumberland, R.I.) got things started as he drew a leadoff walk. He then stole second, but it did not matter as Dave Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.) then walked himself.

Hoping to avoid walk-off situation in the ninth or even extra innings, the Beacons turned to their small ball game, as Chris Fowler (Barnstable, Mass.) laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners into scoring position.

UMass Dartmouth decided to intentionally walk Nick Herzog (Riverhead, N.Y.) to load the bases for Kyle Boudrias (Medford, Mass.). With two strikes, Boudrias hit a line drive to left-center field which was good for a run to put the Beacons ahead 2-1.

UMB tried to add to their lead but had to settle for the lone run, as they then turned to Bobby Tramondozzi to close out he affair.  The righty picked-up two quick outs to start of the final frame.  The Corsairs kept the game going on a single to left center, before getting their second base runner on first base thanks to an error by the Beacons.  After a double steal put the tying and go-ahead runs at third and second, UMB did get the final out as Murphy was perfectly placed in shallow right field to get the out at first.

GAME TWO

The nightcap was almost mirror image of game one as starter Fernando Burgos (Hyde Park, Mass.) went head-to-head with UMD's Ryan Bruning.

The Beacons gave their starter an early 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to Eddie Riley (Quincy, Mass.).  The Quincy native led-off the inning with a double and eventually came around to score thanks to a Corsairs error.

Burgos was cruising through the first four innings of play despite allowing just one run in the top of the third. However, things began to shift in favor UMD in the fifth inning thanks to a two-run homer by Mitch Baker to make it 3-1 at the time.  Thinking that the game was theirs the Corsairs showed new life as the two teams headed into the bottom half of the inning.

UMass Boston would respond in a huge way to take the wind out of the Corsairs sails as they scored six runs to make it a 7-3 ball game.  Murphy, Herzog, Boudrias, and Huegi all drove in runs, as the Beacons also took advantage of pair of Corsair errors.

Burgos' day ended in the sixth inning with two outs, leaving him in line for the win as Joe Maguire (Peabody, Mass.) took over. Burgos' final line was five and two thirds innings pitched, three earned runs, five hits and two walks, and two strikeouts.

Maguire would pitch a total of two innings and only gave up one UMass Dartmouth hit. Ben Gottesman (Acton, Mass.) went the next 1.2 innings and tried to close out it out in the ninth.  The righty would get two outs, but would also load the bases.  After allowing his last walk, coach Brendan Eygabroat turned to Tramondozzi.  Not knowing how the righty would respond in the new sub 30-degree weather, the Peabody threw one pitch and collected the final out as the Corsairs Nate Tellier flew out to center field.

BY THE NUMBERS 

• With the win Burgos is now the only undefeated pitcher in the Little East Conference (6-0)
• The Beacons moved to 6-0 in the conference for the first time in program history
• Saturday's sweep over the Corsairs was their first since the 2013 season
• UMass Boston recorded a total of five hits in game one and nine hits in game two
• The Beacons pitching staff held the Corsairs to five hits in the opener and seven in the nightcap
• Tramondozzi now sits with six saves this season which ties his 2017 mark, and is second most in a single season in program history

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will host University of Southern Maine on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. at Monan Park.