DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by outstanding hitting and equally impressive pitching on the afternoon, the UMass Dartmouth baseball team posted a Little East doubleheader sweep of Vermont State University Castleton on Friday afternoon. The Corsairs – posting wins of 9-6 and 11-3 – improve to 13-10 overall and 5-2 in the LEC, while the Spartans slip to 9-16 and 3-5 in conference play.
In game one, the Corsairs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as graduate student catcher
Matt Tempone's double to right center drove in three runs. In the next at-bat, sophomore designated hitter
Ryan Jones grounded out to third, but Tempone was able to come in on the attempt to get Jones out at first.
The Spartans answered in the top of the second, but in the bottom of the frame, UMass Dartmouth plated four more runs. A single by senior right fielder
Scott Cromack moved the score to 5-2, followed by Tempone reaching on fielder's choice as two runs came across. Senior second baseman
Devyn Vezina then singled up the middle to bring in another run for an 8-2 advantage.
VTSU Castleton closed the gap to three (8-5) in the fourth, but the Corsairs answered once again with an RBI single to center field from sophomore shortstop
Cooper Wixon. The visitors added another run in the eighth, but UMD used solid pitching in the ninth from junior Aiden O'Donnell to secure the victory.
Tempone went 1-for-4 with a run scored and five RBI, while Vezina went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Wixon was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI, while Cromack went 1-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
On the hill, junior
Ray Boutiette earned the victory, going 7.2 innings. He allowed six runs (5 earned on nine hits with a strikeout. O'Donnell posted his first save of the season, going 1.1 innings with three strikeouts and another perfect no-run or hit effort.
Game two saw the Corsairs jump out quickly once again, as Cromack and graduate student first baseman
Joe Muzio each plated runs for a 2-0 advantage. In the bottom of the second, Cromack capitalized once again with a two-run single to right for the 4-0 lead.
VTSU Castleton added a pair of runs in the fourth on a home run from Trey Lavigne, but the Corsairs came up big once again in the bottom of the sixth. A two-run single to right center from sophomore third baseman
Nick Bartalini was followed by a sacrifice fly by junior center fielder
Brett Baker that brought in another run. Cromack singled to third to bring in another run, while an RBI single to left from senior left fielder
Liam Blesi made it a 9-2 margin.
UMass Dartmouth added another run in the seventh as Jones scored on a wild pitch. The sophomore then added another run in the eighth as he ground out allowed Muzio to score from third for an 11-2 advantage. The Spartans added another run in the top of the ninth but the Corsairs closed down the game for their fifth LEC win of 2025.
Cromack went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI. Bartalini was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI, while Jones went 2-for-5 for the game. Baker was 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI.
Junior righty
AJ Rourke earned the victory, going 6.0 innings with two runs allowed on seven hits. He struck out seven batters and walked just one. Classmate
Geordan Jackson Murphy came on for 2.0 innings of relief, striking out two with just one hit allowed, while sophomore
Dillon Harding pitched the final inning, surrendering one run on two hits with a strikeout.
The Corsairs – who saw their Sunday game at Wheaton postponed due to weather – return to action on Tuesday with a 3:30pm game at Rhode Island College.
