Box Score BOSTON – No. 5 Eastern Connecticut plated six runs in the first two innings, gaining enough early ground to hold off No. 3 UMass Dartmouth in the second day of the 2016 Little East Conference Baseball Tournament by a 9-7 score. The Corsairs endure their first loss of the double elimination tournament, while the Warriors rise to 2-0 on the championship.
UMass Dartmouth will square off next with top-seeded UMass Boston, as both teams will face elimination on the contest tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. The Beacons survived on Thursday afternoon, knocking No. 2 seed Southern Maine out of the tournament with a 5-3 win.
Sophomore Ervin Kantardzic (Roslindale, Mass.) paced UMass Dartmouth at the dish on the evening, going 3-of-5 as the only Corsair with multiple hits, crossing home twice. Six other Corsairs drove in RBIs on the evening as four recorded doubles.
In the top of the second, UMass Dartmouth responded in kind to two runs scored by the Warriors in the bottom of the first. With two outs and freshman Erick Ramirez (Boston, Mass.) on second, freshman Ryan Ainslie (Weymouth, Mass.) sent a hit to right field, bringing Ramirez around the bases. Two ECSU errors then sent Ainslie to third and allowed DeVon King (Carver, Mass.) to reach base safely, scoring Ainslie from third.
Eastern Connecticut would retake and double its lead in its at-bat, scoring five runs on four hits. With two runs already scored on the frame, freshman Alex White (West Hartford, Conn.) tripled to center field, driving in Pat Sirois (Cromwell, Conn.). Alex Zachary (Enfield, Conn.) then plated White on a double before the Corsairs got out of the inning.
Scoring would resume in the fifth, with the Corsairs gaining two back. Kantardzic knocked a double to score King, and after stealing second, scored off the bat of sophomore Kenny Michael (Norwood, Mass.), who sent a ball deep into the gap in left center.
Chad Adams (Ware, Mass.) launched the game's only long ball in the next at-bat, tacking on one more for ECSU and extend the Warrior lead to 7-4.
Corsair sophomore Josh O'Neill (Halifax, Mass.) recorded an RBI in the eighth with the bases loaded, reaching on a fielder's choice and plating Chance Gendron (Norwich, Conn.), but ECSU responded yet again in the bottom of the frame as Sirois connected for a 2-RBI double. Trailing 9-5 to enter the ninth, UMass Dartmouth threatened when Kantardzic scored yet again on a hit from Taylor Cacciola (West Greenwich, R.I.), who scored himself on a Jack Harrington (Barnstable, Mass.) sacrifice fly. The Warriors would then gather the final out to escape with the win.
UMass Dartmouth received time on the mound from starter Mac Curran (Lakeville, Mass.), who went two innings, and senior Steve Colella (Leominster, Mass.), who completed the game. Both allowed six hits, with Curran credited with four earned runs and Colella three. Colella fanned five and Curran two.
John Parker (Brunswick, Maine) pitched 5.2 innings for the Warriors as the starter, earning the win with six strikeouts and three earned runs. Nick Rascati (Wallingford, Conn.) tossed 2.1 innings in relief, allowing three earned runs on three hits, and junior Sam Kosterich (Stamford, Conn.) picked up the save, pitching the ninth.
The Warriors will meet No. 6 seed Western Connecticut, also 2-0 on the week, tomorrow at noon. UMass Dartmouth previously split with UMass Boston on the regular season, winning 4-1 and falling 7-4 on April 16.
