GORHAM, Maine— Graduate student
Mitch Baker (Braintree, Mass.) reached safely in all eight plate appearances this afternoon, but nationally-ranked University of Southern Maine swept the Corsairs in a non-conference baseball doubleheader at Ed Flaherty Field. Southern Maine outlasted UMass Dartmouth 5-3 in a back and forth affair in the opener and defeated the Corsairs 11-2 in the nightcap.
Baker paced UMass Dartmouth's (1-3) offensive attack with a 7-for-7 showing at the dish with an intentional walk and three runs scored. The catcher from Braintree, Mass. accounted for seven of the 15 Corsair hits on the afternoon. Freshman
Matthew Klett (Barnstable, Mass.) combined for two hits and two RBI, while junior
Frank Celona (Peabody, Mass.) ripped his first home run of the season, a two-run shot, in the second contest.
GAME 1 | Southern Maine 5, UMass Dartmouth 3
Both teams were locked in a pitcher's duel through the opening three and a half innings, but Southern Maine jumped out to the early advantage on an RBI double from senior Dylan Hapworth (Winslow, Maine) to stake the hosts to a 1-0 lead. UMass Dartmouth responded in the top of the fifth inning, when senior
JR DiSarcina (Barnstable, Mass.) drove in the tying run on a ground out to shortstop.
The Corsairs' advantage was short lived as junior Sam Troiano (South Portland, Maine) led off the bottom half with a home run. The first two UMass Dartmouth batters reached safely in the seventh and a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third. Senior
Mike Knell (Dennis, Mass.) registered a two-run double to push the visitors ahead, 3-2. The see-saw affair continued in the bottom half of the inning as Huskies took advantage of a defensive miscue to load the bases with one out. Southern Maine tied the contest on a wild pitch and took the lead for good on a two-out RBI single.
UMass Dartmouth threatened in the top of the eighth as a one-out double by
Zak Souza (Fall River, Mass.) placed runners on second and third. However, the Huskies were able to escape the jam with a pair of strikeouts. Southern Maine tacked on an insurance run in the eighth for the final margin of victory.
Senior
Shane Reardon (Kinnelon, N.J.) earned the start for the Corsairs and received a no-decision. The right-hander allowed two runs on eight hits and didn't issue a walk, while striking out five in six innings. Classmate
Logan Maitland (Tiverton, R.I.) did not give up an earned run, but suffered the loss.
GAME 2 | Southern Maine 11, UMass Dartmouth 2
UMass Dartmouth took its only advantage of the contest in the top of the fifth inning. Baker singled to lead off the frame and advanced to second on a passed ball. Celona launched a one-out, two-run homer to drive in Baker and give the visitors a 2-1 advantage. The Corsairs were unable to get a shut-down inning in the bottom half as Southern Maine notched a two-out RBI single to tie the ballgame at 2.
The Huskies took advantage of a UMassD defensive error in the bottom of the sixth that resulted in four unearned runs to break open the contest. Southern Maine added five insurance runs in its final at-bat to secure the non-conference sweep.
Junior
Jayson Reola (New Hartford, Conn.) limited the Huskies to just two runs, one earned, and four hits in five innings of work. Junior
Chase Stafford (Somerset, Mass.) was saddled with the loss after giving up four runs, only one of which was earned, on just two hits in an inning of relief.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action at noon on Friday, April 2, when the Corsairs host Eastern Connecticut State University in a Little East Conference doubleheader. Fans can watch all the action on Littleeast.tv.
