PROVIDENCE, R.I. – After trailing by as many as six runs on two occasions, UMass Boston Baseball battled back on Wednesday afternoon against Johnson & Wales University to overcome the deficit, scoring eight unanswered runs and being aided by six errors from the Wildcats, to come from behind and take their first game since returning from Florida, 13-11.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 13, Johnson & Wales University 11
UMass Boston (7-4)
Johnson & Wales University (6-5)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Johnson & Wales would jump all over senior starting pitcher
Tim Cianciolo in the first two innings, tallying four runs in the opening frame on a solo home run by sophomore outfielder Trevor Juan, a triple from senior infielder Miles Kelly, a sacrifice fly by sophomore catcher Owen Davis, and a double from sophomore catcher AJ Braid.
Two more runs would be plated by the Wildcats in the second against Cianciolo when a double from freshman infielder Jack Obert and the second hit of the day for Kelly, which was a double as well, made it a 6-0 ballgame.
Senior infielder
Gianni Zarrilli Jr. looked to shift momentum back into the Beacons favor when his third inning grand slam cut the UMass Boston deficit down to two, 6-4, before Johnson & Wales went back to work offensively, punching back in the fourth inning on three RBI singles from Davis, Braid, and junior outfielder Thorin Sanchez-Guerra to push the lead back to five, 9-4.
Following a wild pitch to score senior infielder
Drew Metzdorf in the fifth inning, senior infielder Xavier Botelho pushed across two more runs with his RBI double to regain the six run lead the Wildcats had earlier in the game. From there on out, it would be all UMass Boston as they battled their way back into the game and eventually took the lead for good.
Three runs would come across for the Beacons in the sixth with two of them coming via errors by the Wildcat infield along with an RBI single by senior first baseman
Nick Palma to slice the Wildcat advantage in half to three runs, 11-8. Freshman outfielder
Joey Morrison made it a one-run game after his RBI double in the seventh plated a run and then freshman outfielder Joey Gouveia scored on the play following another Johnson & Wales error.
Down 11-10 heading into the ninth, a leadoff walk and stolen base from Gouveia opened the door for a three-run inning for the Beacons. With one out, a Morrison RBI single tied the game at 11 before the freshman stole second following Metzdorf being retired for the second out of the inning. In just his second at-bat of the season, freshman infielder
Nick Farnacci gave UMass Boston their first lead of the night with an RBI single and Zarrilli Jr. extended the Beacon lead to two runs with an RBI single of his own two batters later.
Junior transfer pitcher
Sam Gray would come into the ninth inning with a two-run lead. Working around a two-out hit batter, Gray would shut the door on the game for the Beacons who overcome a pair of six-run deficits to defeat the Wildcats, 13-11.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Gianni Zarrilli Jr. led the way in RBIs for UMass Boston, amassing five on the afternoon with four coming via the grand slam while going 2-for-5
- Joey Morrison finished the game 3-for-6 with two singles, a double, and three RBIs
- Junior pitcher Jackson Snider, senior pitcher Thomas Kierce, and Sam Gray all combined for four shutout innings in the bullpen down the stretch
- 11 of the 14 UMass Boston batters who had a plate appearance reached base via a hit or walk
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston gets right back on the field tomorrow afternoon on the road against Suffolk University with first pitch slated for 3:30 PM. The Beacons split a doubleheader at home against the Rams, winning 14-2 in game one before dropping game two, 8-5. UMass Boston has won four of their last five games against Suffolk.
