Box Score BOSTON, Mass. – UMass Dartmouth fell to UMass Boston 11-3 on day three of the 2016 Little East Conference Baseball Tournament at Monan Park on Friday afternoon. With the loss, the Corsairs close the 2016 season, while the Beacons advance to an elimination game against Western Connecticut.
Junior Taylor Cacciola (West Greenwich, R.I.) had three of UMass Dartmouth's five hits on the afternoon, recording his 100th career hit in the first inning in just 104 collegiate games.
UMass Boston jumped out to the early with two home runs, coming from Dave Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.) and Dan Mantoni (Northbridge, Mass.) in the first two innings to take a quick 5-0 lead.
After falling behind 6-2, the Corsairs made noise in the bottom of the fifth. Back-to-back walks led off the inning, before sophomore Josh O'Neill (Halifax, Mass.) singled home freshman Erick Ramirez (Boston, Mass.). Freshman DeVon King (Carver, Mass.) then lifted a pitch deep enough to score classmate Ryan Ainslie (Weymouth, Mass.) from third.
The Beacons would stretch their advantage even further with three runs in the top half of the fifth, with two coming on a triple to deep center field off the bat of Anthony Searles (Shelton, Conn.) to score a pair of runs.
The Corsairs chipped into the Beacons lead by adding one in the bottom of the eighth, when Cacciola laced a single to left field.
Junior Sean Callahan (Colchester, V.T.) got the start for the Corsairs, taking the loss after striking out three batters. Senior David Tarr (Easton, Mass.) tossed four innings in relief, allowing three earned runs on five hits with a strikeout. Sophomore Matt Cronin (Framingham, Mass.), and senior Matt Russell (Townsend, Mass.) combined for the final three innings, permitting four hits and just one earned run.
Freshman JT Morin (Wilton, Conn.) collected the win on the afternoon, improving to 5-0 on the season. Fellow freshman Bobby Tramondozzi (Peabody, Mass.) picked up the save after throwing the remaining four innings.
The Corsairs finish their season with an 18-22 record, graduating five seniors who combined 82-84 career record. Head coach Bob Prince and the UMass Dartmouth coaching staff will return all of their everyday defensive starters for the 2017 season.
