May 22, 2010
Box Score
MANSFIELD, CT - Junior catcher Tim Fontaine (Worcester, MA) hit a go-ahead two-run home run as part of a five-run fifth inning to propel the seventh-seeded University of Massachusetts Boston baseball team over top-seeded Tufts University, 12-6, to capture its first-ever NCAA New England Regional Championship today at Eastern Baseball Stadium in Mansfield, CT. The Beacons have won a school-record nine straight games and 15 of their last 17 to improve to 32-15 on the season, while the Jumbos, who are ranked 12th in the nation by the American Baseball Coaches Association, fall to 33-7 to end their season.
UMass Boston advances to play Linfield College, the West Region Champs, on Friday, May 28 at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, WI at 2:15 p.m. EDT
Fontaine was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player after going 8-16, with nine runs batted in, three runs scored and a homer.
UMass Boston took its first lead of the game with a five-run fifth, keyed by a two-run home run over the left field fence off the bat of Fontaine. Senior Drew Tambling (Sterling, MA) reached after being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and sophomore Mark McCormack (Shelton, CT) followed with a walk to set up a line drive single to right center from junior Ryan Walsh (Newton, MA) to pull the Beacons to within 6-4. UMass Boston's speed game proved costly for Tufts as McCormack and Walsh executed a double steal, but the throw from the Jumbos' catcher was wide at third, allowing McCormack to score and bring the Beacons to within a run. Fontaine followed with his school-record 11th homer of the year with a blast that sailed to the left of the scoreboard to give UMass Boston a 7-6 edge. Junior first baseman Connor Reinfurt (Manchester, NH) singled down the left field line and senior pinch hitter Jeff Outzen (San Mateo, CA) drew a walk with no outs, before sophomore third baseman Mike Mattei (Spencer, MA) sacrificed both runners into scoring position with a bunt. Junior right fielder Jose Roman Santos (Tenares, DR) delivered a sacrifice fly to center field to pad the Beacons' lead to 8-6.
Santos came through again for UMass Boston in the seventh when Reinfurt was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, moved to second on a wild pitch and later scored on a two-out single to right center by Santos for a 9-6 margin.
The Beacons added three insurance runs in the eighth when Fontaine singled to center field with two outs, Reinfurt followed with a single down the left field line and Outzen lined a double off the glove of the Tufts' center fielder to plate two runs for an 11-6 advantage. Mattei followed with a single to right field to plate UMass Boston's 12th run.
Tufts wasted no time scoring four times in the top of the first inning, loading the bases without the benefit of a hit and getting a sacrifice fly, a single and an error to key the attack. Junior shortstop David LeResche (Saint Louis, MO) and junior left fielder Ben Walkley (Trumbull, CT) each drew walks to begin the inning and sophomore third baseman Sam Sager (Cranston, RI) was hit by a pitch to load the bases to set up a sacrifice fly to right field by junior right fielder Chase Rose (Scottsdale, AZ) to bring home the first run of the contest for the Jumbos. Senior first baseman Nate Bankoff (Lynnfield, MA) followed with an RBI single to center and sophomore designated hitter Matt Collins (Hopkinton, MA) singled through the left side to reload the bases for Tufts. Junior center fielder David Orlowitz (Wakefield, MA) stung a ball to the left side but an error by the UMB third baseman allowed two runs to score to give the Jumbos a 4-0 margin.
UMass Boston responded in its half of the first when McCormack singled up the middle and Walsh chopped a ball in front of the play and beat out a single to put a pair of runners on base for Fontaine. He hit a ground ball up the middle that took a weird hop and skipped over the shortstop and allow McCormack to score and cut the deficit to 4-1. Reinfurt drove in Walsh with a sacrifice fly to left for a 4-2 game.
The Jumbos added single runs in the second and fourth to take a 6-2 advantage. Walkley worked a one-out bases on balls and Rose singled with two down before Bankoff singled over the third baseman for their fifth run of the day in the third. Sager was hit by a pitch to open the fourth and Rose laced a single down the left field line as Sager raced around the bases to score the sixth run. The extra base hit was enough for UMB to make a pitching change with freshman Tom Cole (Mattapoisett, MA) coming on to pitch around an error and a walk with a strikeout and an inning-ended 6-4-3 double play.
UMass Boston got a run back in the bottom of the fourth when Reinfurt drew a one-out walk, Mattei followed with a single back up the box and Santos roped a single down the left field line to score Reinfurt and cut the deficit to 6-3.
Cole improved to 3-2 for UMB after four innings of no-hit relief, allowing three walks, while striking out three. Freshman Daniel Heefner (Tracy, CA) continued where Cole left off with two more innings of perfect relief, retiring all six batters to earn his third save. Sophomore starting pitcher Kevin Gilchrist (Medford, MA) suffered the loss for Tufts, allowing seven runs on seven hits and two walks in four innings.
Fontaine finished the day, going 3-5 with three RBI and two runs scored for the Beacons, while Santos was 2-3 with three RBI and Reinfurt, who was named to the All-Tournament team, scored a game-high four runs with two hits in two at-bats to go with a run batted in. Mattei and Walsh each collected two hits and knocked in a run. Sophomore starting pitcher James Dalton (Apopka, FL) and senior starter Michael Andriano (Massapequa, NY) were both named to the All-Tournament team for UMass Boston. Rose and Bankoff both rapped out a pair of hits and drove in a pair of runs each to lead Tufts. Bankoff was also named to the All-Tournament team.
