BOSTON, Mass.--#6 Western Connecticut State University's pitchers struck out 14 batters to snap a seven-game Little East Conference Tournament losing streak, as they downed #1 UMass Boston baseball 4-3 in the opening game of the 2016 Little East Conference Tournament. 

THE BASICS

#6 Western Connecticut State 4, #1 UMass Boston 3

(UMass Boston 26-13) 

(Western Connecticut State University 20-18) 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Colonials got a single run in every inning from the fourth to the seventh inning and stranded the game-tying run in scoring position in the eighth and ninth innings to earn a spot in the winner's bracket. 

With the loss, coupled with #5 Eastern Connecticut State University's 13-6 upset over #2 University of Southern Maine, the Beacons will take on the nationally-ranked Huskies Thursday at noon in an elimination game. The Colonials will take on the loser of #3 UMass Dartmouth and #4 Plymouth State University on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. 

Todd Lyons, Edgard Santiago and Taylor Donofrio held the red-hot Beacons' lineup to just three runs on nine hits and collected 14 of their 27 outs by way of the strikeout. Lyons got the win by striking out nine and allowing one run in 5.2 innings. Donofrio came on and picked up his fifth save of the season, by working around a lead-off single. 

Designated hitter Nick Delotto went a perfect 4-for-4 with one run and one RBI to lead the Colonials. Chris Callahan and John Kelly each finished with two hits for the Colonials, who had dropped seven-straight tournament games in a row dating back to 2005. 

Freshman third baseman Kyle Boudrias (Arlington, Mass.) finished a perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI and a walk in his first collegiate postseason game for the Beacons. Sophomore Josh Lopez (New Haven, Conn.) added two hits and Anthony Searles (Shelton, Conn.) tacked on a solo home run. 

On the mound, freshman Fernando Burgos (Hyde Park, Mass.) took his second collegiate loss, after allowing two earned runs in 4.2 innings. Fellow freshman Bobby Tramondozzi (Peabody, Mass.) threw 3.2 innings out of the pen and allowed two runs, one earned. 

UMass Boston took their only lead of the game in the bottom of the second, when Searles crushed a ball just over the monster in left field for a 1-0 advantage. 

The Colonials tied the game in the fourth inning with some small ball. Matt Greene doubled to lead off the inning and moved to third with a sacrifice bunt. With one down, Frank Vartuli grounded out to short to plate Greene. 

Western Connecticut State took the lead in their next at-bat, as Joe Kelly doubled with one down and the Colonials' top hitter Callahan came through with a two-out RBI double. 

Delotto made it 3-1 in the sixth, when the senior belted a home run over the monster off of Tramondozzi. 

The Colonials scored the game-winning run in the seventh, thanks to a pair of Beacons' errors. Stanley Rijo reached on an error to start the inning and then came in to score with two down, when the Beacons' dropped a fly ball for the third out. 

After struggling to put anything together offensively, the Beacons finally scratched across two runs in the eighth. Dave Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.) opened the inning with a single and moved to second on a Ryan Olivo (Rochester, N.Y.) walk. After a strikeout for the first out of the inning, Boudrias plated Murphy from second with an RBI single up the middle. UMass Boston cut the deficit to 4-3 moments later, when pinch runner Lionel Danielson (Saint Croix, Virgina Island) scampered home on a wild pitch. Santiago limited the damage though, as he got back-to-back strikeouts to strand Boudrias at third. 

In the ninth, Lopez gave the Beacons' hope with a single just over the shortstop's glove. Freshman Nick Herzog (Riverhead, N.Y.) moved Lopez over to second with a sacrifice bunt on a 3-2 count. Donofrio got out of the inning with a fly out to right and a groundout to third to secure the victory. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston saw their 13-game winning streak come to a close with the loss. 
• The Beacons dropped their LEC Tournament opener for the third time in five years. 
• With the loss, UMass Boston drops to 1-2 on the season against the Colonials and 26-17-1 all-time. 
• Sophomore Bryan Kaufman (Farmingdale, N.Y.) threw one inning for the Beacons and struck out one. 

WHO'S NEXT

UMass Boston will look to earn their third-straight win against #2 Southern Maine tomorrow, when the two teams face off at noon.