BOSTON, Mass. – In their final home regular season Little East Conference doubleheader baseball settled for their first split of 2022 as they earned a 13-3 win in game one before dropping game two by the final of 5-4 to the University of Southern Maine Saturday afternoon at Monan Park on senior day.
THE BASICS:
UMass Boston 13, Southern Maine 3 (8 innings)
UMass Boston 4, Southern Maine 5
UMass Boston (21-8, 9-1 Little East Conference)
Southern Maine (13-16, 6-5 Little East Conference)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
In the first game, a pair of walks set up a single and a fielder's choice to give the Huskies a pair of runs in the third. The Beacons quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning, driving in four runs, thanks in large part to three hit batters and a balk that scored a run.
After a big third inning the Beacons continued to score in bursts, plating three runs in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings. The final three tallies pushed the lead to ten, ending the game via mercy rule.
Starting pitcher
Alex Amalfi scattered eight strikeouts across six innings of work while only allowing two earned runs. Senior reliever
DJ Lopes closed out the game by allowing just one baserunner across two scoreless innings of work.
In the second game, the Huskies jumped out to a 3-0 lead courtesy of an unearned run in the third and a pair of scores in the fourth. After surrendering the early lead, the Beacons' staff buckled down, only allowing one more run via a homerun in the sixth.
The UMass offense began chipping away at the USM lead, starting with a
Craig Corliss two-RBI double in the bottom of the fourth.
In the ninth, a sacrifice fly by
Steve Brookwell cut the Huskies' lead to one, but the Beacons could not muster any more offense as they dropped the second game by a score of 5-4.
BY THE NUMBERS:
- Between the two games, the Beacons honored their senior members in Nick Lepore, Thomas Cue, Nico Kydes, Steve Brookwell, Dylan Fashempour, Nick Palma, Henry Score, Craig Corliss, and Lopes.
- Amalfi is now 4-0 in starts against conference opponents with an ERA of 1.50 in those games
- Luke Leavitt's three hit day further boosted his team leading .480 batting average
- The Beacons are now 5-5 in their last ten matchups with Southern Maine
- 13-3 was the largest margin of victory in series history, while 5-4 was tied for the narrowest
WHO'S NEXT:
The Beacons host Roger Williams in a non-conference matchup on Monday at 7 p.m.
