FORT MYERS, Fla. – A game-winning walk-off walk in the bottom of the seventh and a sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning earned baseball a 4-3 and 2-1 doubleheader sweep of Edgewood College (Wis.) Friday afternoon at the Player Development Complex.
In the season opener the Beacons (2-0) trailed by one going into the bottom half of the seventh. UMass would tie the game on a wild pitch which scored Anthony Gomes-Sirianni (San Francisco, Calif.). The Eagles (3-7) then intentionally walked back-to-back batters to load the bases. The plan to get the force out however did not work out as the game-winning run was walked in on four straight pitches to give the Beacons their first win of the year.
The second game of the day saw the Beacons go into the top of the seventh trailing 1-0. After getting the leadoff batter, Jason Cholish (Exton, Pa.) crushed a double to left center to immediately put the Beacons in scoring position. A walk to Chris Adams (Whitman, Mass.) put runners on first and second. The Beacons then tied the game at 1-1 on a Charles LaPaglia (Marshfield, Mass.) RBI single to right center.
Edgewood did manage to get out of the inning but were unable to get anything going in the bottom half of the seventh. The two teams would battle over the next two innings. In the 10th Nick Brothers (Danville, Calif.) started off the inning with a huge triple down the right field line. Gomes then drove in the go-ahead run on a sac-fly to deep center field. For the second time the Eagles held the Beacons to just one run in the top of the inning.
After nine strong innings from senior Lucas Ilges (Gloucester, Mass.), reliever Matt Dziok (Southampton, Mass.) stepped on the hill to close out the victory. He would overcome an early walk and retired the next three batters in order to earn the save and UMass Boston's second win of the day.
GAME ONE - UMass Boston 4, Edgewood College 3
In the opener Kyle Szatrowski (Agawam, Mass.) got the start and went 5.1 innings allowing three runs on six hits, while also striking out four. Senior Daniel Heefner (Tracy, Calif.) made his return to the mound after a year off due to injury and dominated the final 1.2 innings. While on the hill he did not allow a hit or a walk and got five of the six batters he faced to groundout to earn his first win.
The Beacons combined for four hits in the win, with Jamill Moquete (Boston, Mass.), Todd Ezold (Westfield, Mass.), Cholish, and Gomes-Sirianni each making contact.
GAME TWO - UMass Boston 2, Edgewood College 1 in 10 inns.
In the nightcap, Ilges earned his first win of the year after allowing just one run on six hits through nine complete innings. The senior righty struck out three and did not allow a walk. He would also get 11 players to fly out and another 11 to groundout during his impressive senior debut. Dziok earned the save after striking out one and did not allow a hit.
The Beacons closed out game two with nine hits, which included two extra base hits. Brothers went 2-for-4 with a run scored. LaPaglia pinch hit and went 2-for-2 with the game-winning RBI to lead the Beacons offense to their second come-from-behind victory.
Baseball returns to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. when they take on SUNY Plattsburgh at Terry Park in Fort Myers.