Gorham, Maine-Freshman first baseman Frank Pettinato (Cranston, RI) went 2-for-4 with a homer, a triple and two RBI as third-seeded Rhode Island College team , 11-5, to fourth-seeded UMass Boston in first round action of the 2015 Little East Conference Baseball Tournament on Wednesday afternoon.
With the loss, the Anchormen (21-12) with face the tournament's top seed and host, Southern Maine, tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 p.m. The Beacons (23-13), winners of their last six games, will face the tournament's second seed, UMass Dartmouth, at 3:30 p.m.
The Beacons wasted no time getting their offense going, scoring one run in the top of the first inning to take an early lead. Junior left fielder Delvis Baez (Lawrence, MA) knocked a one-out double down the right field line and was moved over on a groundout to first base to put a runner on third with two down. Following a walk, sophomore catcher Anthony Searles (Shelton, CT) drove in Baez with a single to right center field. Another groundout to first base allowed RIC senior righty Dylan Cummiskey (Warwick, RI) to escape the inning down just one.
The game remained 1-0 until the bottom of the fourth inning when RIC junior left fielder Matt Foley (Seekonk, MA) blasted a two-out, solo homer to knot the game a 1-1.
The Anchormen struck again in the bottom of the fifth inning. Senior third baseman Tyler Santaniello (Cumberland, RI) opened the inning by reaching first on an error. He was driven in on the next batter when Pettinato ripped an RBI triple to left center. Following a strikeout by Beacon senior starter Kyle Szatrowski (Agawam, MA), RIC sophomore catcher Tyler Rains (North Kingstown, RI) smacked an RBI single to give RIC the 3-1 advantage.
A hit batter that put runners on first and second was followed by a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners with one out. Freshman center fielder Brad Douglas (Wakefield, RI) took advantage, notching an RBI single to right field to cap the RIC scoring for the inning.
Following a 6-3 double play to open the bottom of the sixth, Pettinato struck again, blasting a solo homer to put the Anchormen up 5-1. The Beacons would get one back in the top of the seventh when sophomore second baseman Daniel Mantoni (Northbridge, MA) notched a solo blast to make the score 5-2 thru 6.5 innings.
Down to their final six outs, the Beacons started their rally in the top of the eighth inning. Searles started the frame with a single through the right side. Following a fielder's choice that nabbed the lead runner, junior first baseman Daniel Bonito (Swampscott, MA) singled through the left side to put runners on first and second with one down.
Following a fly out to left field, senior Charlie LaPaglia (Marshfield, MA) came in the game to pinch hit. With two runners down, LaPaglia knotted the game at five with a three-run homer to left field. A single following the homer brought in senior reliever Joe Brooks (Pawtucket, RI) to try to limit the damage. Junior left fielder Nick Brothers (Danville, CA) tripled to left field to drive in a run and give the Beacons a 7-5 lead.
Douglas started the bottom of the frame by reaching after being hit, but a ground ball into a double play and a groundout to third, ended the RIC eighth with no runs.
Junior right hander Kory Lawrence (Woonsocket, RI) came on in relief for the Anchormen in the top of the ninth. Back-to-back walks put runners on first and second, but Lawrence was able to fan the next two batters to make it two on with two out. A passed ball moved the runners into scoring position and with a single up the middle by LaPaglia driving in both runners. A single and stolen base put runners on second and third before Brothers smacked a two-run single to center field to cap the Beacons' scoring in the frame.
A lead-off single would be all the offense the Anchormen could muster in the bottom half of the frame as senior reliever Josh Cummiskey (Lowell, MA) got three straight batters to fly out to give the Beacons the 11-5 victory.
Sophomore reliever Jake Roy (Seekonk, MA) took the loss (2-2). Cummiskey went 7.0 innings for the Anchormen, allowing two runs, both earned, on eight hits while striking out four.
UMB junior reliever Steve Consiglio (Southbury, CT) went 2.0 scoreless innings in the victory (1-1). Szatrowski went the first 6.0 innings, allowing five runs, three of them earned, on six hits while striking out a pair.
Pettinato led the Anchormen, going 2-for-4 with a triple, homer, two runs scored and two RBI. Foley went 1-for-4 with one RBI while Douglas went 1-for-3 with one RBI.
LaPaglia did the bulk of the damage for the Beacons, going 2-for-2 with five RBI. Brothers also went 2-for-2, scoring once and knocking in three in the victory.