Box Score
MOOSIC, Pa. – After a four-run top of the eighth gave baseball their first lead of the day, the Cardinals of St. John Fisher College responded with four runs of their own to hand the Beacons a 6-5 loss on day three of the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional at PNC Field.
THE BASICS
#5 UMass Boston 5, #2 St. John Fisher College 6
UMass Boston (30-15)
St. John Fisher College (37-11)
HOW IT HAPPENED
With the loss, the Beacons will now play an elimination game tomorrow at 12 p.m. against the winner of #6 Kean University (N.J.) and #8 Penn State Berks. The winner of that contest will go on to face the Cardinals in the championship game scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.
In a match-up of the two top teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region, Friday's result truly could have gone either way. The Beacons struck first in the top of the third thanks to an RBI single by Anthony Searles (Shelton, Conn.), while plated Dave Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.). The Cardinals responded right back in the same inning to tie the score at 1-1. St. John Fisher then got their first lead of the contest, in the sixth on a RBI single by Nate Roethel.
After a scoreless seventh for both squads, UMass began to fire offensively as they loaded the bases with no outs on the board. Searles, would then rip a single left field, which would have tied the score at 2-2, but with an error by the left fielder, the Beacons were able to clear the bases to jump to a 4-2 lead with only six outs remaining in the contest.
With no outs on the scoreboard for UMB, the Beacons got another huge run in as Charlie Huegi (Sandy Hook, Conn.) pulled off a clutch suicide squeeze to make it 5-2. Fisher did get out of the inning, but were now trailing by their largest deficit of the contest.
They would lead off the bottom of the eighth with a double, which forced the Beacons to go to the bullpen as they looked to Manny Garcia (Boston, Mass.) to shut down the inning. Fisher would make it a two run game after a single by Scott Eisenmenger plated Mike Roman, who led off the inning with the double.
Garcia then collected his first out of the inning as he picked-up a strikeout. From there, the Cardinals would record back-to-back singles to load the bases with only one out. The Cardinals then made it a one run (5-4) game after a 13-pitch battle ended in a walk for St. John Fisher.
St. John Fisher then got their biggest hit of the tournament off of the bat of Evan Ryan, as he drove in two runs to give Fisher a 6-5 lead. The Beacons would stop the bleeding with back-to-back outs but the damage was already done.
In the ninth, the Beacons would get the tying run on first base, but that would be as far as the runner would get as Fisher closed out the contest.
Friday's loss went to Garcia, who lasted 2/3 inning and allowed three runs, all earned, on four hits and had one K and one walk. Fernando Burgos (Hyde Park, Mass.) got the start and went a solid 5.1 innings allowed just two runs on five hits, and had three K's in his NCAA debut.
For Fisher, DJ Mendenhall collected the victory after going just 2/3 of inning, while Loukas Brigham earned his 10th save of the year.
Searles finished the contest 2-for-4, with two RBI and a run scored, while Dan Mantoni (Northbridge, Mass.) also had two hits along with Huegi.
BY THE NUMBERS
- With their appearances Bobby Tramondozzi (Peabody, Mass.) and Garcia set the program record for appearances in a season with their 22nd, breaking the original record of 21 set in 1991 and again in 2010
- Friday's regional loss marked the first-ever for the Beacons in the NCAA Regional Tournament
- The contest marked the first-ever meeting between the Beacons and Cardinals
- UMass stranded seven in the contest, while the Cardinals left eight on base
- UMass will now have to win three straight contests, including forcing the if necessary on Sunday to earn a spot in the 2016 College World Series
WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will take on Kean University or Penn State Berks tomorrow at 12 p.m. in an elimination game.
