BOSTON, Mass. – After falling 7-5 in game one, baseball bounced back in a big way in the nightcap as they earned a 12-7 win over rival UMass Dartmouth to earn a Little East Conference split Saturday afternoon at Monan Park.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston (3-3, 3-3 Little East Conference)
UMass Dartmouth (7-10, 5-6 Little East Conference)
GM1 – UMass Boston 5, UMass Dartmouth 7
GM2 – UMass Boston 12, UMass Dartmouth 7
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the opener UMass Dartmouth would score four runs in the seventh and eighth innings to slip past the Beacons. UMass Boston who had seven hits in the contest could not produce a run past the sixth inning, despite scoring four in the bottom half of that frame.
The second game saw the Beacons bats erupt for one of their best offensive showings of the shortened season. Of their 10 hits, five were for extra bases, which included a pair of homer runs.
Tim Cianciolo (New Milford, Conn.) registered a career-high seven strikeouts in the no decision in game one, while
Thomas Kierce (Cohasset, Mass.) picked-up the victory in game two after going 1.1 innings.
Dillon Ryan (Sandwich, Mass.), who started the game went a season long five innings and had five strikeouts, while only allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits.
GAME 1 – UMASS BOSTON 5, UMASS DARTMOUTH 7
In their first meeting since the 2019 Little East Conference championship, UMass Dartmouth struck in the top of the first with Erick Ramirez hitting a solo shot. The two rivals exchanged runs in the fourth, while in the sixth UMD added their third run of the contest to take a 3-1 lead. UMass Boston would then take their first lead of the day when the plated four runs on four hits.
Despite the late surge, the Corsairs would have the final word as they scored four unanswered runs over the final three innings to clinch the victory.
GAME 2 – UMASS BOSTON 12, UMASS DARTMOUTH 7
The Corsairs struck first in Saturday's opener follow a solo home run from Mitch Baker in the top of the second. UMB immediately responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of that inning, with
Aidan Blake (Lakeville, Mass.) crushing a two-run shot to make it a one-run ball game.
The Beacons pushed their lead to two in the bottom of the third when
Nico Kydes (Stamford, Conn.) drove in
Gianni Zarrilli, Jr. (South Glastonbury, Conn.) on a sac-fly.
Neither team would plate a run in the fourth, but the Corsairs would add their second in the fifth on an RBI double by Matthew Klett. The Beacons pushed the lead back to two with a sac-fly by
Ben Irvine (Peabody, Mass.) to make it 4-2.
UMass Dartmouth would tie the game at 4-4 in the top of the seventh with a pair of RBI doubles. Even with the Corsairs threatening, the Beacons did not falter, as they erupted for a season-high six runs in the bottom of the inning on five hits.
The top of the eighth saw the Corsairs score one run, while UMB finished with a pair of runs to cap-off a 12-run day. UMass Dartmouth tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth before
Ethan Errera (Newington, Conn.) came in to close the door.
BY THE NUMBERS
- With the split UMass Boston has now won 10 of their last 15 meetings with the Corsairs dating back to the 2016 regular season
- Zarilli, Curtis Tirone (Waltham, Mass.), and Blake each recorded their first home runs of the season in the doubleheader
- Beacons pitching combined for 21 strikeouts, while only walking six batters
- Today's doubleheader marked the 100th and 101st games played at Monan Park
- UMass Boston is now 78-23 at Monan Park since the stadium opened in 2016
- Irvine was the only Beacon to record multiple hits in game one, while in game two Blake led UMB with two hits, three RBI, and two runs scored
WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will travel to Southern Maine on Tuesday for a 3 p.m. conference game.
