MANSFIELD, Conn. – Senior righty Jordan Muchin (West Hartford) pitched a complete-game four-hit shutout with ten strikeouts and two walks in the first game and freshman catcher Matt Malcom (East Lyme) homered twice when the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team opened its Little East Conference and home seasons with 5-0, 12-6 wins over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Sunday afternoon at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.
After pitching eight shutout innings in a 7-0 victory over nationally No.-1 ranked College of Wooster (11 strikeout, four hits) in his last start a week ago in Florida, Muchin (2-1) outdueled UMass Dartmouth (5-9, 0-2 LEC) senior righty Matt Cronin – a second-team Division III All-America as a junior – in Sunday's first game for his fifth career shutout and lower his ERA to 2.57 in 21 innings this year.
In the second game, Eastern backed junior righty John Parker (Brunswick, ME) with five runs in its first two at-bats and the Warriors extended a one-run lead by scoring four times in the bottom of the seventh on leadoff singles from senior second baseman William Coleman (Northford) and Malcom, three walks and a hit batter to sweep UMass Dartmouth for the first time in the regular season in seven years.
Parker gave up five earned runs and five hits, but fanned ten and walked only one, and senior lefty Nick Rascati (Wallingford) and senior righty Cole Ogorzalek (Portland) preserved Parker's first win in three decisions this year by closing out with a combined three shutout innings. They fanned five and allowed only one hit.
Batting ninth in the order, first-year sophomore transfer rightfielder Luke Broadhurst (Stafford) hit his first career home run leading off the third inning of the first game to give the Warriors an early lead, and Malcom blasted a three-run homer in the eighth to highlight a four-run inning.
Coleman reached six times with three singles, two walks and a hit-by-pitch, and scored four runs. Broadhurst also reached six times with three hits – two for extra bases – with two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Senior shortstop Dale Keller (Oxford) had three doubles and four hits and scored twice and added six infield assists, and Malcom had three hits and a walk, drive in five runs and scored three.
Sophomore leftfielder Tucker Hetherman drove in three runs with two hits and also walked once for the Corsairs, and junior centerfielder Nate Tellier had three hits, including a double.
Eastern hosts Rhode Island College Tuesday in a conference game at 4 p.m.