BOSTON, Mass. – In their first Little East Conference doubleheader of the season, UMass Boston Baseball picked up a pair wins at home over Castleton University in two pitchers duels which saw the Beacons come out on top 5-1 and 3-2.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 5, Castleton University 1
UMass Boston 3, Castleton University 2
UMass Boston (10-4, 2-0 LEC)
Castleton University (6-8, 0-2 LEC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: UMass Boston 5, Castleton University 1
UMass Boston opened up a four-run lead against three-time Little East Conference Pitcher of the Week senior pitcher Riley Orr in the second inning with back-to-back singles by senior infielders
Aidan Blake and
Nick Palma followed by a two-RBI triple from senior infielder
Gianni Zarrilli Jr. to make it a 2-0 game. Sophomore outfielder
Mariano Jimenez doubled home Zarrilli Jr. with two outs in the innings and a throwing error by graduate third baseman Reece de Castro allowed freshman outfielder
Breon Parker to reach safely and score Jimenez for the fourth run of the inning.
Senior pitcher
Dillon Ryan dominated the Castleton lineup, allowing just one run (unearned) on one hit while striking out 12 and walking three hitters across six innings. Both teams would plate a run in the sixth after a throwing error from Zarrilli Jr., but the senior would get the run back in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single.
Senior pitcher
Ethan Errera came into the game in the seventh inning, throwing three shutout innings out of the bullpen while allowing no hits, striking out two, and walking one.
Game 2: UMass Boston 3, Castleton University 2
The Beacons loaded the bases as the first three batters reached base against junior pitcher Aubrey Ramey before
Aidan Blake's sacrifice fly gave UMass Boston a 1-0 lead. From there, Ramey would set down the next 11 Beacon batters he faced while the Spartans knotted the game up in the fourth inning on an RBI single by graduate infielder Evan Keegan against sophomore pitcher
Ross Dexter.
UMass Boston regained the lead as freshman infielder
Nick Farnacci tripled into the gap in center field. Junior outfielder Kannon Dush bobbled the ball which allowed Farnacci to round third and score, making it 2-1.
With junior pitcher
Brendan Ferrari on the mound and runners on second and third with two outs, a wild pitch would send sophomore utilityman Jack Boyle for home plate. A sliding grab and throw by senior catcher
Craig Corliss nabbed Boyle at home for the final out of the sixth, keeping the Beacons in front. Senior catcher Addison Schaub would end up tying the game with a home run over the monster in left field in the seventh off of Ferrari, but UMass Boston responded once more.
With one out and a runner on second, freshman outfielder
Breon Parker's RBI single to right field gave the Beacons the lead for good as Kierce worked a scoreless eighth and
Sam Gray came in for a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his second save of the season in the doubleheader sweep for UMass Boston.
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Boston pitching allowed just one hit in game one while Dillion Ryan's 12 strikeouts were the fifth-most all time in a game for a UMass Boston pitcher
- After allowing 35 runs over their last four games, UMass Boston pitching allowed just three runs across both games of the doubleheader today
- Mariano Jimenez led the offense today with a 2-for-5 day, adding a double, an RBI, and two stolen bases
- As a team, the Beacons hit .270 against Castleton University pitchers in the doubleheader
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston continues their homestand with a Tuesday afternoon matchup against Tufts University at 3:00 PM. The two teams met last season at Monan Park with the Jumbos defeating the Beacons, 6-5.
