April 25, 2009
Box Score
WALTHAM, MA - The nationally-ranked Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team scored 40 runs on 44 hits in a Little East Conference doubleheader sweep over host University of Massachusetts Boston today, winning the first game, 32-4, and the nightcap, 8-6, at Yetten Field in Waltham, MA. The Beacons fall to 14-20 overall and 6-6 in LEC play, while the Warriors, who are ranked number eight in the latest D3Baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll, improve to 27-6 and 11-3.
Eastern scored six or more runs in four different innings and owned a 15-0 advantage after three innings of play. Run-scoring singles by junior Travis Bass (West Hartford, CT) and Robert Perry (Manchester, CT) keyed a six-run first inning for the Warriors. Eastern scored seven more runs in the second, paced by two-run doubles from senior starting pitcher Shawn Gilblair (Windham, CT) and John Parke (Middlefield, CT) and a two-run single off the bat of Andrew Magliola (East Haven, CT). The Warriors tacked on two more runs in the third, courtesy of an RBI single by Andrew Dewing (Swampscott, MA) and a run-producing double by Perry.
UMass Boston got on the board in the third when sophomore Dan Noonan (Westport, MA) stroked a two-run single to center field to make it 15-2, but Eastern Connecticut matched the runs with two of its own in the fourth, including an RBI single from Gilblair. The Warriors increased their lead to 25-2 with eight runs in the sixth, fueled by a bases-loaded triple by junior Melvin Castillo (Danbury, CT), a two-run double by Bass and run-scoring doubles by Perry, sophomore Shane Kingsley (Beacon Falls, CT) and freshman Steve Cammuso (Rutland, MA). The Beacons scored a pair of runs in the sixth when junior Drew Tambling (Sterling, MA) smacked a one-out single and sophomore Connor Reinfurt (Manchester, NH) followed with a double to put both runners in scoring position. They would both score when freshman right fielder Ty Buccetti (Wallingford, CT) reached on an error to cut the deficit to 25-4.
Eastern Connecticut continued its attack with six more runs in the eighth, led by a grand slam home run off the bat of senior first baseman Tristan Hobbes (Utica, NY) and an RBI single from Cammuso. Hobbes gave the Warriors the game's final run with a run-scoring double for their largest run-output of the season. They also matched the school-record for hits with 29.
Perry finished with five hits, including three doubles for Eastern Connecticut, while Parkes and Bass each had four base knocks and drove in multiple runs as Gilblair (5-1) earned the victory, going six innings and allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits to go with 11 strikeouts. Sophomore Bill Roveto (South Windsor, CT) picked up the unique three-inning save, allowing just two hits and two walks, while fanning five. Sophomore second baseman Ryan Walsh (Newton, MA) was 3-5 for UMass Boston and Tambling and freshman center fielder Mark McCormack (Shelton, CT) each collected a pair of hits. Sophomore lefty Mark Grant (Danbury, CT) (2-3) suffered the loss, allowing nine runs (six earned) on five hits and three walks in one and a third innings of work.
Eastern Connecticut broke into the scoring column in the top of the first of game two on a leadoff homer by Parke, before the Beacons matched the run in the bottom of the frame on an RBI double by senior Eric Salvador (Middleboro, MA). The Warriors took a 3-1 margin with two runs in the third, thanks to a two-run single by sophomore Jim Schult (Wappingers Falls, NY) and tacked on another run in the fourth on a run-scoring single by Magliola. A run-scoring single by Schult in the seventh gave Eastern Connecticut a 5-1 lead, before Parke and Bass came through with RBI singles in the eighth for a 7-1 visitors' advantage. UMB pulled to within 7-4 in the bottom of the inning when Noonan raked a two-run single to center and Reinfurt later followed with an RBI double. The Warriors got a run back in the ninth on a Perry run-scoring single, but the Beacons rallied for two runs in the bottom of the frame, courtesy of a run-producing double from McCormack, to give him 57 hits on the season to tie the single-season school-record. A sacrifice fly from senior Ryan Oshima (La Jolla, CA) gave UMB its final run, but that would be as close as it would get.
Junior Will Musson (Wethersfield, CT) (6-0) picked up the win for Eastern Connecticut, striking out nine in seven and a third innings, while giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks. Junior left-hander Mike Andriano (Massapequa, NY) (2-3) was saddled with the loss for UMass Boston after yielding five runs (four earned) on nine hits and three walks in six innings and struck out four. Parke, Bass and Perry all had three hits to lead the Warriors, while McCormack and Buccetti each had two for the Beacons.
The Beacons will be in action again tomorrow when they host Plymouth State University in a 2:00 p.m. LEC doubleheader at Yetten Field in Waltham, MA, while Eastern Connecticut hosts Tufts University on April 27 at 7:00 p.m.
