DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth baseball team scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth, but the comeback fell short in a 15-11 loss to Babson College on Tuesday. The Corsairs move to 14-17 on the season.
The visiting Beavers owned a 5-0 lead before the Corsairs got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. With two runners on, rookie right fielder
Sam Bradford stepped up to the plate, singling to short as senior captain and centerfielder
Brett Baker came home.
Babson continued to add to its advantage, opening up an 8-1 margin into the sixth before senior third baseman
Jake San Antonio singled through the left side to make it an 8-2 game. The visitors continued to press and despite a two-run blast over the left field wall by junior captain and shortstop
Cooper Wixon, the Corsairs trailed 12-4 after seven complete.
In the top of the ninth, Babson added three more runs to widen the gap to 15-4, but into the bottom of the frame, the Corsairs worked to mount a comeback. With runners on, rookie second baseman
Jayden Cruz singled to left, brining in senior left fielder
Liam Blesi.
Then, with two on, graduate student first baseman
Spencer Aubin belted a three-run homer to left to make it a 15-10 margin. With two outs on the board saw junior catcher
Ryan Jones reach on a throwing error as San Antonio came in to score for the 15-11 score. Despite the momentum, the Beavers closed out the game on a fly ball to right center to claim the victory.
Cruz went 3-for-6 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Aubin was 2-for-5 with a run scored and three runs batted in. San Antonio was 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI, while Jones went 2-for-5 with a run scored. Baker was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two runs batted in, while Wixon was 1-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI.
On the mound, junior starter
Nick Bartalini shouldered the loss, allowing five runs (1 earned) on four hits over 3.2 innings of work. He struck out two batters. Sophomore
Leo Colena pitched 2.1 innings of relief, allowing three runs on four hits with two strikeouts, while junior
Dillon Harding went 1.0 innings, allowing four runs on four hits.
Senior
Seamus Marshall pitched an inning, striking out two batters as sophomore
Jackson Huntington and
Ryan Jewell combined to pitched the final frames. Huntington posted a strikeout.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Saturday, traveling to New Hampshire for a Little East doubleheader at Plymouth State. First pitch is set for 1pm.
