PROVIDENCE, R.I. – After the Anchormen of Rhode Island College were able to slip past baseball in game one, the Beacons rallied in game two to salvage a Little East Conference split with the Anchormen Saturday afternoon at Pontarelli Field.
THE BASICS
GM1: UMass Boston 3, Rhode Island College 5
GM2: UMass Boston 7, Rhode Island College 5
UMass Boston (22-12, 10-3 Little East Conference)
Rhode Island College (24-8-1, 10-3 Little East Conference)
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the opener, the Beacons struck first plating one run in the second thanks to an RBI single from
Nico Kydes, and two more in the third on an
Aidan Blake two-run homer.
Unfortunately, the Anchormen would have the final say as they scored five unanswered runs, including a three runs in the sixth to take the wins from the Beacons.
Steve Brookwell, was the lone Beacon to record multiples hits in game one, as the Beacons were held to just seven. Blake had the lone extra base hit for the Beacons, while Kydes,
Luke Leavitt, and Gianni Zarilli, Jr. each recorded a stolen base.
Alex Amalfi was handed the loss (7-3), after allowing four runs on six hits through 5.2 innings. The junior righty did manage to fan 10 batters, but did not get the run support he needed down the stretch.
In the nightcap, neither team plated a run until the fifth inning, when the Beacons put-up a pair of runs to take the 2-0 lead. They then plated two more runs in the sixth to make it a 4-0 lead. However, the Anchormen responded back in the bottom of the sixth and seventh with four runs of-their-own to tie the game at 4-4.
Zarilli made it a two-run ball game thanks to a run homer in the eighth.
Craig Corliss plated the crucial seventh run in the top of the ninth on an RBI single. The Anchormen tried to rally in the bottom half of the final inning, as they scored one run to make it 7-5.
Josh Eastman managed to hold RIC to the lone run as he closed out the contest to earn the save.
Brendan Ferrari earned the win to improve to 3-0.
Dillon Ryan started the nightcap and had a solid outing as he allowed just one hit, while striking out five in five innings of work.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Rhode Island College entered the Saturday's contest ranked on the first NCAA Regional Poll, which listed teams alphabetically for some weird reason
- Drew Metzdorf and Corliss both had doubles in game two
- Zarilli went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in the nightcap
- All-time the Beacons are 35-29 against the Anchormen
- Since 2013, the Beacons have won 17 of their 21 meetings with RIC
WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will travel to #25 Endicott College tomorrow for a 1 p.m. non-conference game.
