WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Powered by four-run innings in the fifth and eighth, Bethel University posted a 13-7 victory over UMass Dartmouth in RussMatt Tournament action on Wednesday at Chain O'Lakes Park. The Corsairs move to 6-9 with the loss.
The Royals got things going in the bottom of the first as a sacrifice fly by Sam Abbas with two runners on, saw the home team take the 1-0 lead. UMass Dartmouth countered in the top of the second, starting with a walk to graduate student first baseman
Spencer Aubin, who advanced to second on a wild pitch.
With two outs on the board, senior left fielder
Liam Blesi doubled down the left field line to bring Aubin home and tie the game. Junior catcher
Ryan Jones followed that up with a single to second and rookie right fielder
Sam Bradford walked to load the bases. Freshman second baseman
Jayden Cruz was up next, drawing another walk to bring in the go-ahead run.
The Royals nearly tied it up in their half of the inning with runners on first and second, but UMD starter
Jackson Hayes got Chris Lavin to ground out into a double play to end the threat.
The two squads went through a pair of quiet innings until the bottom of the fifth as Bethel drew a walk to lead-off, followed by a single down the right field line to advance the runner to third. A single through the left side by Oran Hinkle tied the game up, 2-2, and a three-run homer over the left field wall saw the Royals take a 5-2 advantage.
UMass Dartmouth battled back as senior center fielder
Brett Baker led off the top of the sixth with a home run to left to narrow the margin (5-3), but Bethel countered with a run in the bottom half and three runs in the bottom of the seventh, building up a 9-4 lead.
In the top of the eighth, sophomore designated hitter
Luc Nivaud sent a shot over the left field wall, bringing in a pair of runs to close the gap to 9-6, but Abbas answered in the bottom of the frame, sending a home run of his own to left for the five-run (11-6) lead. A single up the middle and a run scored on a passed ball made it a 13-6 margin after eight innings.
The Corsairs drew a walk to open the top of the ninth, as
Tommy Caporaso reached. He advanced to third as Baker belted a double to center and went on to score as Aubin singled to left – closing the gap to 13-7. It was as close as the Corsairs could get as the Royals pitching got a strikeout and forced a pop out to end the game.
Baker went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while Bradford was 2-for-3. Nivaud went 1-for-4 with a run scored and two runs batted in, while Aubin had a hit with a run scored and an RBI. The Corsairs posted four doubles and two home runs in the contest.
Starter
Jackson Hayes went 4.1 innings, allowing five runs (4 earned) on four hits. He struck out seven batters. Senior
Seamus Marshall came on for 0.2 innings of relief, allowing one hit with a strikeout. Junior
Nick Bartalini pitched 2.0 innings with four runs allowed on five hits, while senior
Ryan Jackson went 0.1 innings with three runs allowed on two hits. Sophomore
Jackson Huntington closed out the game, surrendering a run on one hit.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action this afternoon, facing off against Rutgers-Camden around 2:30pm.
