DARTMOUTH, Mass. - In their first Little East Conference doubleheader of the season, baseball had to settle for a split as they earned a 12-3 game one win, before dropping game two by the final of 5-4 Saturday afternoon at UMass Dartmouth.

THE BASICS

GM 1: UMass Boston 12, UMass Dartmouth 3
GM 2: UMass Boston 4, UMass Dartmouth 5

UMass Boston (9-5, 1-1 Little East Conference)
UMass Dartmouth (10-9), 1-1 Little East Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Chris Fowler (Barnstable, Mass.) had perhaps his best day at the plate this season as the junior first baseman ripped a home run in each game.  In the opener, he crushed a three-run bomb to help the Beacons to the one-sided victory.  In the second game, Fowler and senior Dan Mantoni (Northbridge, Mass.) each went yard to give the Beacons an early 3-0 lead through the fourth inning. 

GAME ONE

Looking to establish an early lead in the conference standings, the Beacons bats, which have struggled as of late, came alive in a big way.  The Beacons would tack on at-least run in every inning but three to get their Saturday off to a great start.  After failing to get a run across in the first and second innings, the Beacons got on the board in the third with a pair of runs thanks to Mantoni.  In the fourth, Fowler added to the lead with his first of two long balls.

The Beacons continued to add to their lead in the fifth with two-run double by Kyle Boudrias (Medford, Mass.).  The sixth inning saw the Beacons extend their lead to 9-1 thanks to a double by Ryan McCormick (Cumberland, R.I.).  Josh Lopez (New Haven, Conn.) also drove in a run on a single, while Boudrias knocked in a pair to close out the inning.  The Beacons tacked on three more runs over the final two innings, while the bullpen held the Corsairs to just two more runs in the ninth to clinch the victory. 

Mantoni ended the day 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored.  Nick Herzog (Riverhead, N.Y.) notched three hits in the win and had one RBI and two runs scored.  Boudrias drove in four Beacons runs on two hits in one of his best games this season.

On the hill, Mantoni collected his first win of the year, after going seven complete.  The Northbridge native allowed just one run on three hits, and had four strikeouts.  Chris Munro (Marshfield, Mass.) closed out the win and allowed just two runs on three hits in the final two innings.

GAME TWO

The nightcap got off to a great start for the Beacons, as Fowler quickly made it 3-0 with one swing of the bat.  UMass Dartmouth responded with a pair of runs in the second inning to keep the game close in the early innings.  They would then tie it at 3-3 in the third on a sacrifice-fly.  UMass Boston regained the lead in the fourth on an RBI single by Lopez.

Neither team would score a run until the Corsairs knocked in the deciding pair in the seventh.  An RBI double would tie the game at 4-4, while the game winning run would come from Mike Knell as he singled through the left side.

The Beacons were held to just six hits in the loss, after putting up 12 in the opener.

Matt Tulley (Lowell, Mass.) was handed his first conference loss as a Beacon after allowing the two runs in the seventh, both of which were unearned.  The righty lasted a third of an inning.  Having a strong showing in Saturday's loss was Bryan Kaufman (Farmingdale, N.Y.) who had to come into the game in the third inning.  The righty lasted 4.1 innings, and only allowed two hits during his outing.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Saturday's split marked the third straight between the two intra-state rivals
• The two teams are 4-4 dating back to the 2015 season
• The conference opening win for Mantoni marked the first of his college career
• The Beacons have now won three straight conference openers having defeated Western Connecticut State in 2016 and UMass Dartmouth in 2015
• Fowler's back-to-back home runs marked the first of his college career in Little East Conference play

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will host Worcester State University on Tuesday at 7 p.m.