Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 KEENE, N.H. - Powered by a five-run ninth inning to come back to win game one, the UMass Dartmouth baseball team split doubleheader action with Keene State on Saturday afternoon. Game one saw UMass Dartmouth win by a score of 10-7 before Keene State took game two, 11-9. The Corsairs move to 19-15-1 overall and 11-2 in conference play, while the Owls are now 17-19 overall and 6-7 against Little East opponents.
In game one against Keene State, the Corsairs were trailing 7-5 going into the top of the ninth inning. Senior DH
Jared Neikam led off the inning with a base hit to left field, followed by another single from senior third baseman
Andrew Possi. After the runners advanced on a sac bunt from senior catcher
Matt Tempone, grad student outfielder
Anthony Keefe blasted a two-RBI double to left field to even the game at 7-7. The Corsairs were not done yet, as freshman shortstop
Cooper Wixon crushed a two-out, two-run homer over the center field fence to give UMass Dartmouth a 9-7 lead. Sophomore pitcher
Aidan O'Donnell took over the mound and earned the save, retiring three straight batters with two looking strikeouts, as the Corsairs took game one by a score of 9-7.
UMD was led from the plate by Keefe, who went 4-for-5 with four RBI's and a run scored. Junior second baseman
Devyn Vezina went 3-for-6 with an RBI and a run, while grad student first baseman
Joe Muzio was 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs. Wixon went 1-for-4 with the biggest hit of the game with his ninth inning go-ahead homer.
Game two saw a similar game-script, as the Owls took a big lead. After a seven-run seventh inning for Keene State, the Corsairs found themselves trailing 11-6 entering the ninth inning.
The Corsairs threatened another ninth inning comeback, when Keefe started things off with a one-out single. His cousin, senior catcher
T.J. Keefe, drove him home with a double to left field.
T.J. Keefe scored on the next at-bat, when Wixon tallied an RBI base hit up the middle. Wixon advanced to second on a groundout, and was able to score on another base hit, this time from Vezina. The Cosairs' rally ended there however, as they fell in game two by a score of 11-9.
From the plate, the Corsairs were led by sophomore center fielder
Brett Baker, who went 3-for-5 with two RBI's and a run. Vezina went 2-for-5 with two walks and was left on base six times.
Anthony Keefe went 2-for-4 and scored three runs, while Wixon went 2-for-4 with two RBI's.
The Owls saw seven different batters record hits in game two, led by sophomore infielder Alec Varano, who went 2-for-2 with two RBI's. Junior outfielder Shea Zina went 1-for-2 with two RBI's and two runs scored, while sophomore infielder Otis Follet went 1-for-3 with two RBI's and two runs scored.
UMass Dartmouth Baseball returns to action on Tuesday, traveling to Rhode Island College for an LEC matchup with the Anchormen. First pitch is set for 3:30PM in Providence, Rhode Island.
