PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The second installment of senior pitcher
Dillon Ryan and junior pitcher Bryce Afthim's duel on the mound this season went the opposite of their matchup in the regular season as offense reigned supreme in UMass Boston Baseball's 14-4 opening game loss of the 2023 Little East Conference Tournament against the University of Southern Maine on Wednesday afternoon on Rhode Island College's campus.
The Beacons look to keep their LEC Tournament Championship hopes alive against top-seeded Rhode Island College tomorrow on the second day of the tournament at 11:30 AM.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 4, University of Southern Maine 14 (7 Innings)
UMass Boston (22-17)
University of Southern Maine (18-19)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Freshman utilityman Kyle Douin got the scoring started for Southern Maine in the first inning, hitting a one-out solo home run off of Ryan to give the Huskies an early 1-0 lead. That lead would be short lived as the Beacons responded with two runs in the third against Afthim starting with a leadoff double by senior infielder
Nick Palma. Junior outfielder
Luke Leavitt would follow up Palma's at-bat with a game-tying triple and eventually score the go-ahead run on an RBI groundout by freshman outfielder
Breon Parker, making it a 2-1 ballgame.
A four-run bottom of the third gave the Huskies the lead back for good as senior catcher Jason Komulainen's RBI single and junior infielder Cam Seymour's two-run double gave Southern Maine a 4-2 lead which would extend to 5-2 after a fielding error by senior infielder
Aidan Blake. Continuing his hot day, Leavitt brought the Beacons back within two, 5-3, with a two-out RBI single in the fourth which put runners on the corners before Afthim got Parker to ground into a fielder's choice to end the inning.
In response, the Huskies would string together four consecutive hits against Ryan after Douin and Komulainen reached on a single and hit by pitch, respectively. The hitting outburst plated six more runs for Southern Maine, seeing them break open an eight-run advantage, 11-3, after four innings. Senior infielder
Drew Metzdorf tallied his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot, in the fifth inning to get the Beacons a run back, but once again three more runs would come home for the Huskies on a three-run home run by senior Brogan Searle-Belanger to make it a 10-run game.
Loading up the bases with one out in the sixth, the Beacons looked to start a big inning and get back into the game, but were retired by Afthim who got Parker to go down swinging and freshman outfielder
Justin Gouveia to fly out and escape trouble. Afthim would be lifted in the seventh inning for junior pitcher Lucas Francis who retired two of his first three batters face before loading up the bases with Beacons. Francis would come back to retire Palma with a fly out to secure the seven-inning, 10-run mercy rule win for the Huskies, 14-4.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Drew Metzdorf has reached base safely in 10 of his last 11 games after notching his fifth home run of the season in the fifth inning
- Luke Leavitt finished 2-for-2 with a triple, two RBIs, a run scored, and was hit by a pitch
- Brogan Searle-Belanger led Southern Maine with a 2-for-4 afternoon, notching a three-run home run, a double, five RBIs, and two runs scored
- UMass Boston's four-game postgame winning streak against Southern Maine was snapped, the last time the Huskies defeated the Beacons in the LEC Tournament was 2012 in an elimination game
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will look to stay alive against top-seeded Rhode Island College in the second game of the Little East Conference Tournament on the second day tomorrow hosted by Rhode Island College at 11:30 AM. In their doubleheader at the end of last month, the Beacons were held in check by the Anchormen, getting swept 12-1 and 3-1, at Monan Park.
