Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. – University of Massachusetts Dartmouth senior George Agostini (Rehoboth, Mass.) ripped the game-winning single through the box in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Corsairs to a dramatic 5-4 victory over Benedictine University (Ill.) this evening at Henley Stadium.
UMass Dartmouth overcame deficits of 2-1 and 4-2 to improve to 3-1 overall, while the Eagles fell to 1-3.
Freshman Brandon Polignone (Peabody, Mass.) registered his second hit of the contest to lead off the ninth inning. Classmate Josh O'Neill (Halifax, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice when pinch runner freshman Andy Gonzalez (Mattapan, Mass.) snuck into second base ahead of the tag. The Corsairs tried to move both runners into scoring position, but the charging first baseman fielded the bunt and cut Gonzalez down at third base. Following a pitching change, Agostini greeted senior Tim Hendricks' (Mundelein, Ill.) first pitch with a single to send the UMass Dartmouth dugout into a frenzy.
Freshman Matt Cronin (Framingham, Mass.) retired the two batters he faced in the top of the ninth to earn his first collegiate victory. The Framingham, Mass. product punched out the No. 9 batter looking to strand the go-ahead runner at second.
Benedictine snapped a 2-all tie with a pair of runs in the eighth inning to give the visitors their final advantage of the evening. Sophomore Kyle Bock (Island Lake, Ill.) singled to right field to put the Eagles in front 3-2, while Benedictine capitalized on a wild pitch to cap its scoring.
The Corsairs answered in the bottom half of the frame, when Agostini singled up the middle and senior Cory DeMedeiros (Fall River, Mass.) followed with a double down the right-field line. UMass Dartmouth evened the contest with back-to-back run-producing outs to second base.
Agostini reached his fourth consecutive multi-hit game to lead the Corsair offensive attack, posting a 3-for-5 performance at the dish. Polignone, making his first collegiate start behind the plate, drew UMass Dartmouth even in the seventh with a 400-plus foot home run to straight away centerfield. He finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and RBI. DeMedeiros also registered a pair of base knocks as the hosts' accounted for 10 total hits.
Junior Aaron Chouinard (Swansea, Mass.) turned in an impressive start, limiting Benedictine two runs, one earned, on five hits over the course of 5 2/3 innings. He retired the first nine batters he faced before giving up a single in the fourth. Freshman Josh Fickert (Lakeville, Mass.) and junior Paul Mahoney (North Andover, Mass.) each tossed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Mahoney set down all four batters he faced, including three consecutive hitters to get out of an eighth inning jam.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 16, when the Corsairs face Ramapo College (N.J.) at Lake Myrtle Field #2 in Auburndale, Fla.
