NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA (April 9, 2024) – The Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth take this battle of the UMasses, as the Beacons give up four runs in the bottom of the ninth to let their three-run lead slip  from North Dartmouth, Massachusetts on Tuesday afternoon.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Ethan Hunt started for the Beacons on the bump and dealt the business for six innings against 26 batters, struck out a team-high four, walked one, and allowed three runs on six hits on 79 pitches thrown. Sophomore Justin DeFalco came in to relieve Hunt, followed by senior Tim Cianciolo who pitched for 1.1 innings, and finally senior Sam Gray to close out the final inning.

In 37 ABs as a team, the Beacons swung for eight runs on 10 hits on seven RBIs while leaving 12 baserunners on. The Beacs robbed the bases six separate times led by junior catcher Mike Meagher with two. Sophomore Justin Gouveia led the Beacs from the dish with three hits in six plate appearances, as he drove in three runs for UMass in the effort. Sophomore Elliot Miles went two for five from the plate with a double, and a solo blast to drive in one RBI, and to come across to score twice. Also hitting for extra bases was sophomore Breon Parker, who went two for four from the plate with a double and one run scored. Meagher would also drive in two RBIs off an error at third base for the Corsairs that drove in two runs unearned.

After a slow start in the first inning, the Beacons got the ball rolling and the bases occupied, scoring four unanswered runs through the first five innings. The first two came at the top of the second off Gouveia's single up the middle that drove in junior Mariano Jimenez and sophomore Max Garner. The fourth inning saw Gouveia strike again with an RBI drive to right field to score Miles. The Beacons' fourth and final unanswered run came from Meagher who scored on a pass ball to bring the scoring to 4-0 entering the bottom of the fifth.

In the top of the eighth, and only two more chances at the plate, Miles solo-homered to bring the Beacs' lead to 6-4, followed by Meagher's chaos play that forced an error at third base to bring home Blake and senior Bostyn Burris for the Beacs' final efforts from North Dartmouth.

With the loss, the Beacs head back to Boston with a 14-8 record on the season, while maintaining a 6-1 Little East Conference record, with their next game slated for Wednesday at 3:00pm against their next-door neighbors, the Rams of Suffolk College on the road. Fore live stats and video coverage, visit UMass Boston - Official Athletics Website (sidearmsports.com).