DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Backed by a four-run effort in the bottom of the eighth and an explosive double play in the top of the ninth, the UMass Dartmouth baseball team came-from-behind to defeat UMass Boston, 14-13 in Little East Conference action on Tuesday.
The Corsairs move to 12-13 overall and 5-2 in conference play, while the Beacons are now 13-10 and 3-2 in the LEC.
It was a wild offensive game as the Corsairs opened a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second – only to see the advantage swing to the favor of the visitors as UMass Boston pushed across four runs in the top of the third and six in the top of the fourth to open a 10-2 advantage.
UMass Dartmouth tacked on a run in the bottom of the fifth, but closed the gap even further in the sixth with five unanswered. Rookie left fielder
Conner McNamara got the rush going with an RBI double down the left field line. Junior shortstop and captain
Cooper Wixon walked, which saw McNamara score on a wild pitch, while senior centerfielder and captain
Brett Baker followed as he reached on a fielder's choice with a run coming home.
Sophomore third baseman
Luc Nivaud then belted a two-run home run over the left field wall to make it a 10-8 game after six complete. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Corsairs continued to answer as a single to center by senior first baseman
Jake San Antonio was followed by a single to center from rookie second baseman
Jayden Cruz to tie the game at 10-10.
UMass Boston earned the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth as a walk with the bases loaded to Ben Sherry saw the Beacons bring a run in. The visitors added two more runs, taking a 13-10 lead into the Corsairs half of the inning.
Rookie right fielder
Sam Bradford narrowed the margin, launching a two-run shot over the left field wall to make it a 13-12 game. A single to left from San Antonio tied the game and a single to center off the bat of McNamara gave UMD the one-run (14-13) lead heading into the top of the ninth.
Senior pitcher and captain
Aidan O'Donnell got the first batter for the Beacons to fly out, but an ensuing single put the tying run on the base path as Nick Farnacci stole second to put himself in scoring position.
UMB's Elliot Miles sent a fly ball to right field as Bradford caught the ball, rifling a throw all the way to Nivaud at third as Farnacci was tagged out in an attempt to steal third for the game-ending double play.
McNamara went 3-for-5 with a run scored and four runs batted in, while San Antonio was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. Junior catcher
Ryan Jones went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, while Bradford was 1-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI. Nivaud was 1-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI, while Baker was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a run batted in.
O'Donnell earned the victory, pitching the final 2.0 innings with no runs allowed on two hits. He also had a strikeout. Starter
AJ Rourke went 3.0 innings with three strikeouts, while junior
Leo Colena pitched 3.0 innings with a strikeout and two hits allowed. Junior
Nick Bartalini went 1.0 innings with a strikeout, while senior
Gio Arzuaga allowed a hit.
UMass Dartmouth is right back in action on Wednesday, traveling to Endicott College for a 3:30pm contest against the Gulls in Beverly. The Corsairs return home on Thursday, hosting WPI at 3:30pm.
