SALEM, Mass. – In a rare Monday Little East Conference doubleheader baseball got their conference play off to a strong start as they split with UMass Dartmouth by the finals of 8-4 and 12-11 in 10 innings at Salem State University's Central Campus Field.
After taking a strong game one win, the Corsairs rallied scoring three in the bottom of the ninth, before Taylor Cacciola drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th to shock the Beacons and end a chance at their first sweep of the 2015 conference schedule.
With the split the Beacons now stand at 7-6 overall, 1-1 in the conference. For the Corsairs they now stand at 6-5 overall, 1-1 in the LEC.
GAME ONE – UMass Boston 8, UMass Dartmouth 4
In the opener, senior lefty Kyle Szatrowski (Agawam, Mass.) would go season-long eight innings to earn his second win of the 2015 season. The All-Conference pitcher struck out seven, and held the Corsairs to just two runs on nine hits, and walked just two, in his third appearance of the year.
The Beacons would combine for three runs through the first two frames, before breaking the game wide-open in the final three frames as they combined for five runs to secure the victory. Daniel Mantoni (Northbridge, Mass.) carried the Beacons offense with a 4-for-6 showing. The sophomore would combine four RBI and two runs scored in the victory.
UMass Boston combined for 14 hits against their intra-state rival, but managed to strand a season-high 14 runners.
Sal Frosceno (Derby, Conn.) led of the afternoon with a single, and would quickly find his way around the bases thanks in part to an error by the Corsairs, and an RBI single by Mantoni. Trevor Bouvier (Salem, N.H.) would make it a two-run game on a bases loaded hit by pitch with two outs on the scoreboard.
After a shutdown bottom of the first by Szatrowski, Mantoni would crush an RBI double in the top half of the second, which plated Delvis Baez (Lawrence, Mass.). Baez would also have a big game one for the Beacons as the outfielder finished 3-for-3, with two RBI, a run scored, and a walk.
The Corsairs got on the board in the bottom of the third when Cory DeMedeiros drove home their first run on a fielder's choice. DeMedeiros would account for the second run of the day for UMD, after reaching home on an RBI double by Alberto Vasquez.
From there, the two starting pitchers would settle down with neither team scoring another run until the top of the seventh. In the seventh, the Beacons got a pair of runs across home plate when Baez crushed a two-run single to center field.
Szatrowski would return to the hill in the bottom half of the inning, and continued his shutdown pitching. Ezequiel Sanchez (Manati, Puerto Rico) would then crush an RBI double to score Mantoni to make it 6-2.
The bottom of the eighth would mark the final inning for Szatrowski, as the lefty allowed just two singles. Mantoni would drive in the final two Beacons run in the top of the ninth on a single through the left side to give UMass Boston a comfortable lead.
With only three outs remaining, UMB turned to their bullpen and freshman Alex Carusotto (Pittsfield, Mass.). The righty would battle through some early troubles, which allowed two Corsairs runs, but he would get the final out on a groundout to first base to secure the victory.
GAME TWO – UMass Boston 11, UMass Dartmouth 12 (10 inns.)
The nightcap would see a comfortable five-run lead for the Beacons erased over the final three innings, and with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the 11th they saw their chance at a sweep come to an end against their intra-state rival.
The Corsairs held a slim one-run lead through one, but with a four-run top of the second by UMass Boston, the Beacons once again found themselves in the driver seat as they looked to build-off of the game-one victory.
UMass Dartmouth would eventually tie the game at 4-4, through four, but with another offensive outburst by the Beacons, they regained control of the scoreboard, as they took a 8-4 lead through six.
Heading into the seventh the Beacons would fail to get a run in the top of the 7th, but the Corsairs would make it a three-run (8-5) affair in the bottom half of the inning. Knowing they needed to gain some breathing room with only two innings remaining, UMass tacked on two more runs in the top of the 8th to push their lead back to five.
Unfortunately, the Corsairs would respond with a three-run bottom of the eighth to cut UMB's lead back to three. With bases loaded in the top half of the ninth, UMass Boston tried to blow the game open again in the ninth, but managed just one run to make it 11-8.
Knowing they only needed three more outs, the Beacons looked to their bullpen to close out the nightcap. However, the Corsairs would get runners on first and second with no outs to start off the inning. UMB would get their first out on a groundout to first, which moved the two runners into scoring position. Alex Newton, would then make it a one-run game on a RBI single through the right side.
The Beacons would then get their second out of the inning on a strikeout, but with a RBI single by Josh O'Neill the Corsairs tied the game at 11-11. The final Beacons out would come on a deep flyout to center.
In the 10th the Corsairs used their new found momentum to retire the Beacons in order to set-up a walk-off situation in the bottom half of the frame. UMass Boston would get the first out of the inning, but with a double and then an intentional walk the Corsairs quickly had runners on first and second, with the game-winning run just 180 feet away. Looking to complete the come-from-behind victory, Cacciola would turn on a 1-0 pitch and rip the ball down the right field line scoring Vasquez to give the Corsairs their first conference win of the year.
At the dish Daniel Bonito (Swampscott, Mass.) finished 3-for-6 with three RBI and a run scored. Josh Lopez (New Haven, Conn.) also had a strong game two 2-for-4 with three runs scored. Bouvier ripped a pair of doubles to finish 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Even with a combined 15 hits in the loss, the Beacons for the second straight game could not get runners home as they stranded an additional 17 base runners.
On the hill, Mantoni was deprived of another win after going 6.2 in-which he struck out five and allowed just five runs on seven hits. Steve Roche (Worcester, Mass.) was handed the loss in the 10th, but did manage to close out the bottom of the ninth after the Corsairs scored their three runs off of Josh Cummiskey (Lowell, Mass.).
Baseball will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Western New England University for a 3:30 p.m. non-conference game. Tomorrow's home game against Westfield State University has been postponed with no make-up date scheduled as of now.w