DAVENPORT, Fla. – After trailing 4-0 midway through the fifth inning, the UMass Dartmouth baseball responded with seven straight runs to top Clarkson University at NorthEast Regional Park on Friday. The Corsairs (7-0), thanks to some late-game momentum, won 7-5 in over the Golden Knights. UMD remains undefeated as they cruise into their final day of the RussMatt Invitational.
After falling behind 4-0 going into the bottom of the fifth, the Corsairs loaded up the bases and responded with two runs to begin their comeback. Juniors
T.J. Keefe (DH) and
Andrew Possi (1B) were both walked as the lead-off batters of the fifth. Junior catcher Matt Temnpone, who had a big day for UMD, singled to load up the bases with no outs.
With the bases loaded, freshman
Jacob Moniz took the third walk of the inning to bring home Keefe and keeping the bases loaded. Freshman center fielder
Brett Baker continued the scoring for the Corsairs with a single to left field that scored Possi. The Golden Knights were able to escape the inning with three Corsairs left on base.
The Corsairs' bullpen kept Clarkson at bay as they heated up offensively, starting with freshman pitcher
Braedon Jones who strutted to the mound to start the top of the sixth inning. Jones allowed no hits in the inning and set the Corsairs up as they went to the plate trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth. Senior shortstop
DJ Perron set the tone for the inning with a lead-off solo shot to left field. He is leading the Corsairs in slugging with his sixth homerun of the season in just seven games. Possi walked with one out, and was knocked home by a Tempone two-run homer to give UMD it's first lead of the contest, 5-4.
After walking the first batter he faced in the seventh, Jones retired the next three to keep the Corsairs up one. He continued his solid performance in the eighth inning, bringing the Corsairs back up to bat with a lead in the bottom of the eighth.
Perron led off the inning and was walked. Keefe followed him and was struck by a pitch. The UMD baserunners executed a double-steal and advanced to second and third. Tempone, having already slapped one over the fence, was intentionally walked, loading the bases with one out. The Corsairs capitalized on the opportunity to widen their lead when a wild pitch caused all three baserunners to take off, Perron scored. With two outs and runners on second and third, sophomore left fielder
Scott Cromack singled to third base, bringing Keefe home and giving UMass Dartmouth a 7-4 lead going into the final inning.
Jones lasted 1/3 of the ninth inning before freshman left-handed pitcher
Joe Raymond was brought in to retire Clarkson lefty batter, Colby Brouillette (Senior). In doing so, a runner was able to score on the 1-3 fielder's choice. With two outs and a 7-5 lead, sophomore
Nathan Potter trotted to the mound to record the save for UMD, retiring his only opponent and closing the game, 7-5, in favor of the Corsairs.
The Corsairs saw Tempone go 2-for-3 at the plate with a homerun and an RBI. Perron slugged his sixth homerun of the season and scored twice. Cromack added two hits on four at-bats with an RBI. Jones (1-0) earned the win on the mound for UMassD, allowing just two hits in 3 and a third innings. Potter (S, 1) was credited the save.
For Clarkson, shortstop Caleb Doyle led the way with three hits, an RBI and 2 runs scored. He was the only batter for the Golden Knights with multiple hits in the game. Brouillette knocked in two runs with a double, and scored a run himself. On the mound for Clarkson was junior Nicholas Hofacker for the first five innings, but junior Derrick Lewis shouldered the loss after coming in to pitch the sixthh, surrendering the four go-ahead runs.
UMass Dartmouth will see Wentworth Institute of Technology in a double-header on the final day of their RussMatt Invitational schedule. Game one is scheduled for 9:30 AM and game two is set for 12:00 PM.
