AUBURNDALE, Fla. – With a combined two-hitter from the Beacons pitching staff, top-ranked UMass Boston downed RIT by the final of 9-2 Friday afternoon at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex.
THE BASICS
#1 UMass Boston 9, RIT 2
UMass Boston (6-0)
RIT (2-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The top-ranked Beacons had a no-hitter going through the eighth inning, when RIT's Jason Schulz hit a two-run homer to end the bid. Despite losing the no-no, the Beacons pitching staff had their best overall performance of the year against the Tigers. The trio of pitchers combined for 10 K's and were led by junior lefty JT Morin (Wilton, Conn.), who made his return to the mound after missing the entire 2017 campaign.
Morin went the first four innings and had six strikeouts in his first game since May 21 when the Beacons faced Kean University (NJ) in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament.
Earning the win was Mike Doherty (Brewster, Mass.), who went four strong innings, to improve to 2-0 on the year. Doherty registered three strikeouts, while Chris Munro (Marshfield, Mass.) closed out the ninth with one strikeout.
The Beacons got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning, when senior Dave Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.) crushed his first of two home runs. His bomb in the third, plated three runs to give UMB a 3-0 lead at the time.
In the fifth Chris Fowler (Barnstable, Mass.) made it a 4-0 ball game on an RBI single which plated Kyle Boudrias (Medford, Mass.). Nick Herzog (Riverhead, N.Y.) then drove in a pair of runs, followed by an RBI groundout by Ryan McCormick to make it 7-0.
Murphy pounded his final home run of the game in the seventh to make it an eight-run ball game. McCormick (Cumberland, R.I.) then plated UMB's final run of the day on an RBI double in the same inning.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Beacons improved to 6-0 for the first time in program history
- The Beacons allowed just two walks in the win
- On the day the Beacons recorded 11 hits and didn't give up an error
- Sunday's contest marked the first-ever meeting between the Beacons and RIT
- Through the first six games of the year, Murphy has 10 RBI, five extra base hits (2 2B, 3 HR), 11 hits, 10 runs scored and is hitting .478
WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will face 25th ranked Rowan University today at 5:15 pm