PROVIDENCE, R.I. – After a week off from competition, baseball jumped right back into conference play as they took on the Anchormen of Rhode Island College Saturday afternoon. The Beacons would drop the opener by the final of 6-3, before bouncing back with a 4-3 win at Anchormen Field.
With the split, UMass now holds an overall record of 8-7, and are now 2-2 in the Little East Conference. For the Anchormen, they improved to 11-5, 3-1 in the LEC, less than 24 hours after sweeping Keene State College.
Daniel Mantoni (Northbridge, Mass.) finally earned a win on the hill as he went seven complete innings. The sophomore surrendered just four hits in game two and did not allow a run during his seven innings of work. He would also strikeout six, to set up Alex Carusotto (Pittsfield, Mass.) for the save. Despite giving up a run in the eighth and a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth, the freshman managed to keep the tying run, which was on third base, from reaching home to give the Beacons the split.
GAME ONE – UMass Boston 3, Rhode Island College 6
Trevor Bouvier (Salem, N.H.) would get the Beacons on the board first, as he crushed a solo home run in the third. The bomb was the second of the year for the junior. The Anchormen would then tie the score up in the bottom half of the fourth, before tacking on three runs in the fifth, and one more in the sixth. UMass did cut the deficit in half in the top of the seventh with a pair of runs to make it 6-3.
A Delvis Baez (Lawrence, Mass.) two-run single in the seventh would plate both Bryan Failla (Torrington, Conn.) and Anthony Searles (Shelton, Conn.). Searles would also record the only extra-base hit for the Beacons as he ripped a double in the top of the 9th, to try and spark a late inning rally.
Senior lefty Kyle Szatrowski (Agawam, Mass.) went seven complete innings and allowed five runs on 11 hits, while also striking out five. Bryan Kaufman (Farmingdale, N.Y.) closed out the loss with an appearance in the eighth. He would surrender one run on two hits.
GAME TWO – UMass Boston 4, Rhode Island College 3
In the nightcap, the Beacons used a three run fifth inning, and a one run sixth to jump out to a 4-0 lead. The Anchormen's first run of the afternoon came in the eighth, before they tacked on two more in the ninth.
The Beacons combined for nine hits in the victory, with Mantoni going 2-for-4, both of which were doubles, and had one RBI and a run scored. Bouvier, also ripped a double to go 1-for-4 with a run scored.
In the fifth inning, Josh Lopez (New Haven, Conn.) drove in the Beacons first run of the afternoon on an RBI single to left field, which scored Ezequiel Sanchez (Manati, Puerto Rico). Mantoni, would then make it a 2-0 game on a RBI double to right. The final run of the inning, came off of the bat from Luke Nagle (Pembroke, Mass.), as he plated Mantoni on a single to right.
The sixth inning would see Bryan Dupre (Chicopee, Mass.) drive in UMB's fourth and final run on a sac-fly, which scored Bouvier, who reach on his double to right center.
An error in the eighth would allow the Anchormen's to get their first run of the day, while in the ninth, a pair of RBI singles made it a one-run game. However Carusoto would get the final out on a groundout to the first baseman to close out the hard fought victory.
The Beacons return to action on Monday, when they face Framingham State University at 7 p.m. at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough.