Box Score NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Freshman Ervin Kantardzic (Roslindale, Mass.) went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI to power the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to a 19-1 victory over Bridgewater State University this evening at Paul Walsh Field.
All nine starters in the Corsair lineup registered at least one hit as the hosts pounded out a season-high 18 base knocks to produce a season-best 19 runs. Kantardzic reached safely in four of his five appearances, recording three singles and a walk. The rookie right-fielder also wreaked havoc on the base paths, swiping three bases. Classmate Andy Gonzalez (Mattapan, Mass.) went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a two-run homer, while senior Alberto Vasquez (Roxbury, Mass.) also posted three hits. Junior Connor Shaw (Goffstown, N.H.) and sophomore Taylor Cacciola (West Greenwich, R.I.) also registered multiple base knocks.
Freshman Michael Theriault (Boston, Mass.) (1-1) earned his first collegiate victory, allowing no runs on three hits and five strikeouts. The rookie right-hander stranded a runner in scoring position in each of the first four frames, while effectively working out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the fifth.
UMass Dartmouth was finally able to solve the Bears in the bottom of the third inning, sending nine batters to the plate. Kantardzic recorded the Corsairs' first base hit with an opposite field single into the right centerfield gap, while Gonzalez followed with a single to right field. A walk loaded the bases for senior Ryan Medeiros (Acushnet, Mass.), who opened the scoring with a RBI single to right field. Classmate George Agostini (Rehoboth, Mass.) ripped a two-run single back through the box, while Cacciola capped the five-run outburst with a single to right field.
That would be all the run support the hosts' would need, but they exploded for 10 runs in the bottom half of the sixth to take a commanding 19-0 advantage. Bridgewater State scored its lone run of the contest, when pinch hitter junior Devin Sanders (New Bedford, Mass.) drove his first home run over the left field fence.
Sophomore Trevor Brown (Rehoboth, Mass.) (2-1) suffered his first loss of the season.
UMass Dartmouth (13-9, 4-3 LEC) will return to action at 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, when the Corsairs host Little East Conference rival Western Connecticut State University (12-9, 5-2 LEC).
