BOSTON, Mass. – Facing the top team in the Little East Conference heading into the day, UMass Boston Baseball was swept by Rhode Island College, 12-1 and 3-1, on Friday night. The pair of losses brings the Anchormen within one game of clinching the top seed in the LEC Tournament which gets underway in two weeks while dropping the Beacons behind Southern Maine into the fourth spot in the conference with three conference games remaining.
 
THE BASICS

UMass Boston 1, Rhode Island College 12
UMass Boston 1, Rhode Island College 3
 
UMass Boston (20-15, 8-5 LEC)
Rhode Island College (25-11, 12-1 LEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

Game 1: UMass Boston 1, Rhode Island College 12
Senior pitcher Dillon Ryan would run into trouble with two outs in the first inning, walking three consecutive batters after allowing a single to freshman infielder Lucas McElroy which put the Anchormen ahead 1-0. Rhode Island College would scrape across another run on a McElroy sacrifice fly in the second, taking a 2-0 edge over the Beacons.

A pair of RBI singles and an RBI double for the Anchormen off the bats of senior outfielder Joey Coro, junior designated hitter Cole Podedworny, and junior shortstop Izaiah Rivera respectively put Rhode Island College in control 6-0 after four innings.
Senior infielder Gianni Zarrilli Jr. would get the lone run of the game for the Beacons against senior pitcher Shaun Gamelin in the fifth inning on a long home run that curved just inside the foul pole to make it a 6-1 ballgame.

Rhode Island College would drive in five more runs in the top of the ninth inning against the UMass Boston bullpen on an RBI walk to junior catcher David Iannuccilli, two-run single to junior outfielder Cameron Santerre, an RBI double to sophomore first baseman Daniel Trzepacz, and RBI groundout from junior third baseman Cal Parrillo gave the Anchorman 12 runs on the afternoon.

Finishing off his complete game, Gamelin closed at 107 pitches allowing just one run on five hits while striking out six and walking none as the Anchormen took game one, 12-1.
 

Game 2: UMass Boston 1, Rhode Island College 3
It would be a pitchers' duel between junior pitcher Terry Murray and sophomore pitcher Ross Dexter in game two as both pitchers would allow a single run in the second inning. Rivera would plate the run for the Anchormen while senior catcher Craig Corliss tied the game at one with his RBI double off Murray in the bottom of the frame.

The Beacons would have their chances to pounce on Murray and take the lead with runners on the corners with one out in the second, but senior infielder Nick Palma would be picked off first and then senior outfielder Chris Ducko flied out to end the inning. In the third, UMass Boston would have two on with two out as well, but junior infielder Bostyn Burris flew out to end the frame. One final big opportunity would come the Beacons' way in the sixth inning as they loaded the bases with one out, but Murray would get Palma to ground into a 3-2-3 double play while ended the inning.

Dealing seven strong innings, Ross Dexter had a career-high 12 strikeouts while giving up one run on three hits and walking one batter. Murray would match his performance going eight innings of one-run ball while allowing eight hits, striking out six, and walking one.
The Anchormen would take the lead for good in the eighth inning as a chopper hit by Parrillo with runners on the corner was snagged on a slide by senior infielder Aidan Blake near the bag at second. Blake would flip to Zarrilli Jr. who threw to Burris at first on a bounce and Parrillo reached safely on the bang-bang play as Rhode Island College took a 2-1 lead. That would be extended to two runs as an RBI single by Coro made it 3-1 in favor of the Anchormen.

Finishing off the game two victory for Rhode Island College was senior pitcher Colin Gauthier who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his seventh save of the season and give the Anchormen the doubleheader sweep with the 3-1 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Senior infielder Drew Metzdorf finished 3-for-8 in the doubleheader and has now reached base safely in seven straight games
• Gianni Zarrilli Jr. is tied for the team lead in home runs with Aidan Blake at five
• After starting 7-0 in conference play, UMass Boston has lost five of their last six LEC games
• This is the first time since 2008 in which UMass Boston has been swept by Rhode Island College in an LEC doubleheader at Monan Park

WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston enters their final week of the regular season with four games on the horizon, including their last three conference games. The Beacons return to the field for a Little East Conference matchup against UMass Dartmouth on the road this Tuesday at 3:30 PM. Earlier this season, the two teams squared off at Monan Park with the Corsairs winning the matchup, 7-2.