April 26, 2009
Box Score
WALTHAM, MA - Sophomore shortstop Dan Noonan (Westport, MA) went 5-8 with three runs batted to break the school-record for RBI with 34 and lead the University of Massachusetts Boston baseball team to a Little East Conference doubleheader sweep over visiting Plymouth State University, 12-8 and 12-5, today at Yetten Field in Waltham, MA. The Beacons improve to 16-20 overall and 8-6 in LEC play to set a school-record for conference wins and lock up the fourth seed in the league tournament, while the Panthers fall to 14-23 and 1-13. PSU will be the number eight seed in the tourney starting on Saturday, May 2.
UMass Boston erased a 4-0 game one deficit with five runs in the bottom of the second inning when sophomore Tim Fontaine (Worcester, MA) singled to open the inning and later scampered home on a wild pitch. One out later with runners on second and third, senior left fielder Ryan Oshima (La Jolla, CA) reached on a bunt single to the right side to make it 4-2. Sophomore second baseman Ryan Walsh (Newton, MA) later cracked a two-out triple to right field to plate two more runs and tie the game. Walsh would score on a wild pitch to give the Beacons the lead for good at 5-4. UMass Boston added a pair of runs in the third when senior catcher Charlie Peters (Burbank, CA) executed a squeeze bunt with runners on second and third to bring home a run on the play and a second run on a throwing error for a 7-4 UMB lead. Plymouth State pulled to within 7-6 with two runs in the fifth inning. Senior designated hitter Jay Kleponis (Reading, MA) drew a one-out walk and senior Jim VanGyzen (Glocester, RI) followed with a single, which preceded an errant pickoff throw to move the runners into scoring position. Kleponis scored on a throwing error and VanGyzen beat the throw to the plate on a sacrifice fly to left by freshman Mike Cappiello (Westfield, NJ). The Beacons answered in the bottom of the inning with five runs, keyed by an RBI single from sophomore shortstop Dan Noonan (Westport, MA) and a two-run single off the bat of senior DH Eric Salvador (Middleboro, MA). The home team also got a run on the wild pitch and Noonan scored on the back end of a double steal as well to give UMass Boston a 12-6 advantage. The Panthers chipped away with a run in the seventh on a Cappiello RBI single and a run in the ninth on an error to close to within 12-8, but that would be as close as they would get.
Plymouth State came out hitting in the first inning with sophomore center fielder Matt Koban (Bradford, NH) hitting a leadoff double and VanGyzen drawing a one out walk to set up a two-run triple by senior Marc McGinnis (Hanover, MA). Cappiello followed with a run-scoring single and junior Steve Picco (Marshfield, MA) kept the pressure on with a double to knock in the Panthers' fourth run.
Freshman Dan Gambill (Lake Worth, FL) earned his team-leading fourth victory against one loss for the Beacons, allowing six runs (four earned) on seven hits and three walks, while striking out one and senior Anthony Lauretto (Pembroke, MA) earned his second save with four innings of two-run ball on five hits and a walk to go with a strikeout. Sophomore lefty John Andersch (Concord, NH) took the loss for Plymouth State, yielding 10 runs (nine earned) on 10 hits and four walks, while fanning 10 in four and a third innings.
UMB took a 2-0 lead in the third inning of the second game when Oshima and freshman Mark McCormack (Shelton, CT) reached on consecutive one-out singles. McCormack's set a new season school-record for hits with 58 to eclipse the old mark set by Bob Kniffen in 2006. Walsh followed with an RBI single and Salvador doubled in a run later in the frame, but the Panthers came back with three runs in the fourth on an RBI single by Cappiello and a two-run double from Picco to take the lead. The Beacons responded with seven runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 9-3 lead, keyed by a pair of two-run singles from McCormack and Noonan, which broke the former RBI season school-record shared by Adam Waxman (2001) and Pat Donovan (2005). Reinfurt also contributed with a run-scoring single. PSU countered in the fifth with two runs to pull to within 9-5 after sophomore Brad Lausberg (Somersworth, NH) tripled in a run and came home on a single by Kleponis, but that would be all the scoring for the visitors. UMB tacked on two runs in the sixth on a two-run double from Fontaine and Walsh provided another run with an RBI single in the seventh to make it 12-5.
Junior Danny Gomez (East Boston, MA) (2-2) earned the win for the Beacons, yielding five runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks, while fanning eight in nine innings. Freshman southpaw Bobby Chatfield (Sharon, CT) (0-4) suffered the loss for the Panthers after giving up nine runs (seven earned) on 10 hits and two walks to go with three strikeouts.
The Beacons will be in action again on Thursday, April 30 when they travel to Cambridge, MA to take on MIT at 3:30 p.m., while Plymouth State hosts New England College for a 2:00 p.m. doubleheader on March 28.
