DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning of game two from freshman shortstop
Nick Bartalini, the UMass Dartmouth baseball team split doubleheader action with Suffolk University on Saturday, winning game two by a score of 9-8 in walk-off fashion after falling 7-10 in the earlier game. The Corsairs are now 9-12-1 overall, while the Rams move to 12-9 on the season.
In the early game of the non-conference doubleheader, it was UMass Dartmouth who found themselves leading 4-3 through the first four innings of play. Suffolk respoded with a big fifth inning, capped off by a two-run homerun off the bat of grad student third baseman Alex Sorenti-Burns. The three-run inning gave Suffolk their first lead of the day.
The Rams added onto their lead in the top of the seventh, bringing in four more runs to take a 10-4 lead. It was a three-run homer off the bat of junior outfielder Max Iorio that made the difference in the inning. Despite the six-run deficit going into the final half inning of game one, the Corsairs rallied with three runs of their own to cut the lead to just three runs, but Rams' junior reliever Pierce Salbegowas able to escape the inning and take the 10-7 win in game one.
Earning the win on the mound for Suffolk was senior Garret Roberts, who went 6.0 innings where he allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits with three strikeouts. Four different Rams hit home runs in game one, led by Iorio who went 2-for-3 with three RBI's, along with junior DH Harry Painter who was 2-for-4 with two RBI's and two runs.
Shouldering the loss for UMass Dartmouth was sophomore hurler
AJ Rourke. Rourke went five innings, allowing six runs (three earned) on seven hits with three strikeouts. The UMassD bats were led by senior third baseman
Andrew Possi who went 2-for-3 with three RBI's and a run. Junior second baseman
Devyn Vezina went 2-for-3 and scored twice. Freshman shortstop
Cooper Wixon was also 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Game two saw the Corsairs strike first with a two-run first inning. UMD led 2-0 going into the fourth inning when the Suffolk bats got hot. The Rams brought in four runs in the fourth inning, capped off by another three-run homer, this time from sophomore second baseman Sam Armbruster. Suffolk was able to bring in another two runs in the fifth, giving them a 6-3 lead after five innings of the scheduled 7-inning contest.
Looking to avoid the sweep while trailing by three runs in the sixth, freshman catcher
Ryan Jones led off the inning with a single up the middle. Freshman third baseman
Jacob Rosati then hit a double, putting runners on second and third with one out. Two Corsairs were walked, bringing in a run and loading up the bases for Bartalini, who capitalized in a huge way with his first-career homerun, miraculously coming as a go-ahead grand slam deep over the left field fence. Bartalini's homer gave UMass Dartmouth an 8-6 lead going into the seventh.
The power hitters of Suffolk struck again, when senior shortstop Jonny Gilbride hit a two-run homer to even the contest at 8-8 in the seventh. UMD junior reliever
Nathan Potter entered the game and escaped the inning with the score tied.
As the weather worsened in the bottom of the seventh, Jones got things going again with a leadoff walk. Senior right fielder
Tre Coleman squared up for a bunt, placing it perfectly along the first baseline and dodging a tag on his way to first for the bunt single. The next two batters for the Corsairs were struck by pitches, bringing in the game winning run. UMass Dartmouth took game two by a score of 9-8.
Freshman pitcher
Aidan Newhall had the longest stay on the mound for the Corsairs. He went 4.0 innings, allowing four runs on just one hit with five strikeouts. Fellow freshman hurler
Jordan Paradis gave a great inning of relief, retiring all three batters he faced in the sixth inning. The major contributors from the plate in game two were Bartalini and Jones. Bartalini went 1-for-2 with four RBI's, two walks and two runs, notably hitting a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning. Jones went 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBI's and two runs.
UMass Dartmouth will complete their stretch of five games in three days after their road trip against WestConn, which will be played on the campus of Eastern Connecticut tomorrow afternoon. The conference doubleheader is set for a 12:00PM first pitch in Willimantic, Connecticut.
