Providence- R.I.—The Rhode Island College baseball team was swept by UMass Boston in a Little East Conference doubleheader played at Pontarelli Field on Saturday afternoon. UMass Boston won,  5-1, in the opener and scored four runs in the ninth to come from behind and secure a 7-4 victory in the nightcap.

UMass Boston (12-7, 3-1 LEC) was paced by senior pitcher/designated hitter Dan Mantoni (Northbridge, MA), who went 4-for-9 with a run scored and an RBI in the two games. He also picked up the win on the mound in the first contest.

Sophomore pitcher/third baseman Mike Webb (Pawtucket, RI) led the way for RIC (11-9, 1-3 LEC) in the twinbill, going 2-for-7 with an RBI. He also threw six strong innings for the Anchormen in the nightcap.

UMass Boston jumped out to the early lead in the opener when junior catcher Chris Fowler (Barnstable, MA) belted a two-run home run in the top of the first for a 2-0 advantage. RIC chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the fourth when junior right fielder Shaun Vigeant (Coventry, RI) led off with a triple and came around to score on an RBI groundout from Webb to make the score 2-1.

The visiting Beacons extended the lead in the top of the sixth when they plated three runs, highlighted by a two-run home run from sophomore shortstop Charlie Huegi (Sandy Hook, CT) to put the game away.

Silva was 2-for-3 in the loss for RIC, while Shaun Vigeant went 2-for-4 with a run scored for the hosts. Sophomore third baseman Kyle Boudrias (Medford, MA) was 3-for-5 with a run scored for the visitors, while Mantoni contributed a pair of hits. 

Mantoni went 7.1 innings to pick up the win for UMB, allowing one run on six hits, to go along with five strikeouts. RIC senior pitcher PJ Watson (Cheshire, CT) suffered the loss, allowing five runs on seven hits and three strikeouts in six innings of work.

In the nightcap, RIC got on the board in the bottom of the third when freshman second baseman Nate Vigeant (Coventry, RI) led off with a single and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Shaun Vigeant to make the score 1-0. UMass Boston responded in the top of the fourth as an RBI groundout from freshman left fielder Ryan McCormick (Cumberland, RI) knotted the game at 1-1. RIC took the lead back in the bottom of the frame as the hosts tallied three runs, which included RBI singles from junior center fielder Brad Douglas (Wakefield, RI) and senior designated hitter Austin Barry (North Kingstown, RI) to build a 4-1 lead.

Again, UMass Boston responded and scored two in the top of the fifth to cut the RIC lead to 4-3. The Beacons than pushed across four runs in the top of the ninth, paced by an RBI single from McCormick with what would prove to be the game-winning run en route to the victory.

Douglas was 2-for-5 with an RBI in the setback for RIC, while senior reliever Jake Roy (Seekonk, MA) took the loss.

Fowler went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Sophomore right fielder Nick Herzog (Riverhead, NY) also had three hits in the win for the Beacons. Junior pitcher Bryan Kaufman (Farmingdale, NY) picked up the win for UMass Boston, throwing 4.2 innings of scoreless relief. Sophomore Bobby Tramondozzi (Peabody, MA) hurled a scoreless ninth to pick up the save.

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will play at Johnson & Wales on Wednesday, April 12 (3:30 p.m.).