Box Score PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Vying for their fifth Little East Conference title against defending conference and Division III champion Eastern Connecticut State University, UMass Boston Baseball needed two wins on Saturday in the Little East Conference Championship game in order to capture the crown.

However, it would be the Warriors coming out on top in the first game of the day to capture their 11^th conference championship and third since 2016, using six Beacon errors to their advantage to extend innings and plate six unearned runs en route to a 14-6 victory at Pontarelli Field.

THE BASICS
 
UMass Boston 6, Eastern Connecticut State University 14
 
UMass Boston (24-18)
Eastern Connecticut State University (34-10)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Senior pitchers Thomas Kierce and Nathan Furino would duel through the first two innings of play as both players would hold their opposition scoreless on the mound. Eastern Connecticut would strike for a run in the third after a two-out walk to junior outfielder Jason Claiborn came around to score following a throwing error by senior infielder Drew Metzdorf to extend the inning and an RBI single by junior infielder Ryan Parent.

Three more runs would plate for the Warriors in the fifth inning as a fielding error in Claiborn's at-bat to leadoff the frame led to a two-out RBI single by junior outfielder Josh Cofrancesco. Two more errors by the UMass Boston infield in the fifth would allow Eastern Connecticut to open up a 4-0 edge at the halfway point of the contest.

Cutting their deficit in half, a two-run home run by senior infielder Aidan Blake in the sixth inning with one out looked to turn momentum around in favor of the Beacons who looked to make a comeback and force a decisive second game of the day. But Furino would hold UMass Boston in check for the remainder of his start which lasted 6 2/3 innings before handing the ball off to sophomore pitcher Mike Furgalack.

During Furgalack's appearance, his team would give him two insurance runs in the eighth as the sixth UMass Boston miscue on a fielder's choice by senior catcher Matt Malcom put runners in scoring position leading to a two-run single by Confrancesco to give the Warriors some breathing room, 6-2.
 
Eastern Connecticut would add eight runs in the ninth, using RBI singles from Claiborn and junior infielder Zach Donahue, along with a three-run home run by Malcom, a two-run double by senior infielder Brent Coscullela, and passed ball to pull away in the game, 14-2. In his final at-bat for the Beacons, senior infielder Chris Ducko notched his first collegiate home run off of Furgalack, a two-run home run to end his four-year career as UMass Boston would not go down without a fight.

Loading up the bases with two outs against sophomore pitcher Nicholas Furino, senior catcher Craig Corliss would plate two more runs for the Beacons who made it a 14-6 ballgame before the sophomore would record the final out of the game to secure the LEC Championship for Eastern Connecticut.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• With his two-run home run, Aidan Blake finishes the season with a team-leading 41 RBIs and tied for second on the team in home runs with six
• Craig Corliss finished the game going 3-for-5 with three singles and two RBIs
• For the third time in the history of the Little East Conference, Eastern Connecticut has won back-to-back conference championships
• This is the first time in program history in which UMass Boston has made the Little East Conference Championship Game and lost, they are 4-1 all-time in championship appearances