DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by two-hit efforts from senior catcher
T.J. Keefe and sophomore center fielder
Brett Baker, the UMass Dartmouth baseball team took a big victory over WPI, 9-4, on Thursday. The Corsairs improves to 13-12-1 overall after their fifth consecutive win, while the Engineers drop to 15-9 overall.
With the score tied at 3-3 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, the Corsairs drove in four runs to separate themselves from WPI. After a fielding error and a couple of hit batters, the bases were loaded for junior first baseman
Jake SanAntonio, who struck a two-RBI single through the left side of the infield. Senior third baseman
Andrew Possi and SanAntonio executed a double-steal, setting up Keefe for a for a two-RBI single of his own. UMD led 7-3 after five innings.
Sophomore hurler
Seamus Marshall pitched the first five innings and earned his first win of the season, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits with two strikeouts and no walks. Grad student reliever
Anthony Keefe took over in the sixth and went the rest of the way to record his first save of the season.
Anthony Keefe allowed just one run on three hits with five strikeouts.
UMass Dartmouth brought in another two runs in the seventh, starting with a one-out double from
T.J. Keefe. Keefe stole third base before scoring on a wild pitch. With two outs and a runner on first, Baker lined a double to right field, bringing in the runner from first for his second RBI of the game.
The Corsairs bats were led by
T.J. Keefe, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI's and two runs scored. Baker also went 2-for-3 with two RBI's and two walks. SanAntonio went 1-for-4 with two RBI's and a run, while Possi was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run of his own.
WPI saw sophomore first baseman Jonathan Lattimer go 3-for-4 from the plate with an RBI. Senior outfielder DJ Brooks was 1-for-2 with two RBI's and a run scored. Shouldering the loss for the Engineers was freshman pitcher Jack Wildgoose, who allowed four runs on two hits in the fifth inning.
The Corsairs look forward to a Little East Conference twin bill with VTSU Castleton on Saturday. The first pitch for game one is scheduled for 1:00pm in Castleton, Vt.
