Box Score BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. – In a high-scoring game where both team's bats were hot, the UMass Dartmouth baseball team fell, 10-7 to Massachusetts Maritime on Monday in Buzzards Bay, Mass. The Corsairs are now 1-2 overall, as they look forward to a road trip for the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers enjoyed their first win this season and are now 1-2 overall.
After the first four innings of the game, UMass Dartmouth was trailing, 5-2, when senior catcher
T.J. Keefe reached on a single to left. Senior third baseman
Andrew Possi was struck by a pitch, putting two runners on base in the fifth. With two outs, freshman shortstop
Cooper Wixon tripled down the left field line, scoring both runners to bring the Corsairs within one run of the Buccaneers.
Mass. Maritime scored in the bottom of the fifth on an Aidan Weir single that scored Costa Beechin. UMass Dartmouth answered with another run in the top of the sixth inning, when junior second baseman
Devyn Vezina scored his second run of the night on a Keefe sac fly. Keefe's third RBI brought the score to 6-5 in favor of Mass. Maritime through five and a half innings.
The bottom of the sixth saw 3 runs from the Buccaneers. UMD junior pitcher
Nick Pappas walked two batters before freshman reliever
Dylan Ameral took the mound. With two runners on, MMA's Michael Estrada singled to center field to bring in a run. The Bucs were not done yet, as a double off the bet of Jake Houston brought in two more runners. Through six innings, Mass. Maritime led, 9-5.
The Corsairs kept the game in reach with a two-run seventh inning. UMass Dartmouth loaded up the bases with just one out. Wixon got things going in the inning, after being walked and stealing both second and third base. During junior
Sam Laurie's at-bat, Mass. Maritime pitcher Charles MacPherson let a pitch get away that allowed Wixon to score and sophomore
Brett Baker to advance to third. Baker scored on a Vezina sacrifice fly, as the Corsairs narrowed their deficit to just two runs at the seventh inning stretch.
The bottom of the seventh saw the Buccaneers stretch their lead to 10-7, thanks to an RBI single by AJ Pietrafesa. MMA reliever Nolan Kennedy threw a scoreless inning in the top of the eighth. Corsairs freshman
Dillon Harding took the mound in the eighth and kept the gap to just three, forcing the second scoreless innings all night for the Bucs.
Kennedy closed it out for Mass. Maritime with a flawless ninth inning where he struck out the side. Kennedy's save secured a 10-7 victory for the Buccaneers.
The Corsairs bats were led by
T.J. Keefe with two hits and three RBI's, including a two-run double in the first inning. Grad student starting pitcher
Anthony Keefe shouldered the loss on the mound for the Corsairs. He allowed four hits and four earned runs over 3.1 innings of work.
The Corsairs next game will be in the warm weather, as they travel to central Florida for the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. The action begins on Saturday, March 9, in a doubleheader against Clark University in Davenport, Florida.
