Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 MANSFIELD, Conn. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth baseball team scored four runs in the top of the second and junior Steve Colella (Leominster, Mass.) threw seven strong innings to lead the Corsairs to a 6-2 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University this afternoon at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.
In the nightcap, the Warriors (14-15, 6-6 LEC) got a solid pitching from three veterans and sophomore shortstop Christian Budzik (Cromwell, Conn.) had three extra-base hits and drove in two as Eastern Connecticut gained a split with a 7-1 win.
With the split, UMass Dartmouth (18-12, 8-4 LEC) dropped into a second-place tie with Rhode Island College--both teams are one game behind conference leader Southern Maine. The Corsairs will travel to the Huskies for a regular-season doubleheader at noon on Friday, May 1.
GM 1: UMass Dartmouth 6 Eastern Connecticut 2
Colella (5-1) allowed six hits and two runs in seven innings to post his fourth consecutive victory. The junior from Leominster, Mass. issued three walks, but struck out five. He settled down after surrendering two runs in the bottom of the first, limiting the Warriors to just three hits over the subsequent six scoreless innings.
UMass Dartmouth utilized three pitchers to close out the win. Junior Matt Russell (Townsend, Mass.) allowed a single and a walk in 1 1/3 innings, while freshman Matt Cronin (Framingham, Mass.) fanned the final two batters he faced to earn his third save.
Senior Ryan Medeiros (Acushnet, Mass.) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored to lead the Corsairs' eight-hit attack, including a two-run homer in the second to highlight the visitors' four-run outburst. Classmate George Agostini (Acushnet, Mass.) registered a RBI-single in the first, while freshman Josh O'Neill (Halifax, Mass.) reached safely in two of his three plate appearances with a RBI-single, walk, and two runs scored.
Trailing 2-1 after one full inning, the Corsairs used some two-out magic to produce four runs on six hits to regain their advantage. The visitors strung together three consecutive hits, the latter a RBI single by O'Neill that drove in the eventual game-winning run. Medeiros followed with a two-run homer to right centerfield, extending UMass Dartmouth's lead to 5-2.
The Corsairs added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, capitalizing on an infield defensive miscue that enabled O'Neill to score from second.
Junior Patrick O'Neill (Thomaston, Conn.) (1-5) suffered the setback, giving up five runs on eight hits over the course of eight innings.
GM 2: Eastern Connecticut 7, UMass Dartmouth 1
In the second game, Eastern senior righty Tyler Cyr (Bristol, Conn.) and senior lefty Matt D'Orsi (West Hartford, Conn.) allowed only one run and eight hits through seven innings before All-New England junior righty Adam Merritt (Seymour, Conn.) closed out the win with the final two shutout innings. Cyr gave up only six hits and no walks while fanning four before giving way to D'Orsi with two out in the fifth and Eastern leading 3-1. D'Orsi (2-3) fanned four and walked one and gave up two hits over 2 1/3 innings.
The Warriors built a 6-1 lead by scoring three runs in the sixth on four hits and an infield error, chasing UMass Dartmouth junior righty George Bent (Barnstable, Mass.). After doubling in his first two at-bats, Budzik tripled in the first two runs of the inning and later scored on sophomore rightfielder Pat Sirois' (Cromwell, Conn.) two-out single to right.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 26, when the Corsairs travel to Endicott College for a non-conference doubleheader. The Gulls are ranked fourth in the first edition of the NCAA Division III Baseball New England Regional Poll, while the Corsairs are 10th.
