CASTLETON, Vt. – The UMass Dartmouth baseball team posted a doubleheader split at Vermont State University Castleton on Friday. It marked the regular season finale for both squads as Little East competition wraps up ahead of the tournament. The Corsairs move to 19-20 overall and 11-5 in conference action.
The Corsairs earn the third-seed for the upcoming Little East Tournament and will face fourth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State on Wednesday at 7pm. This year's tournament will be held at the University of Southern Maine – the top-seed.
The Corsairs posted a 10-7 victory in game two, jumping out to a 5-1 advantage in the fourth behind a three-run shot over the wall by senior first baseman
Jake San Antonio. The Spartans answered as Justin Strozyk hit a home run of his own, but in the fifth, the visitors responded with three more runs.
Senior centerfielder and captain
Brett Baker belted an RBI double to center. Junior third baseman
Nick Bartalini posted a double down the left field line and a run came in off a wild pitch to make it an 8-2 ball game. Another home run by the Spartans in the fifth narrowed the gap and VTSU went on to post three runs in the bottom of the eighth to narrow the gap to 8-6.
In the top of the ninth, junior shortstop and captain
Cooper Wixon belted a two-run homer to add insurance runs heading into the bottom of the frame. The Spartans added another run, but the Corsairs held on for the three-run victory.
Bartalini went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while rookie second baseman
Jayden Cruz was 3-for-5 with a run scored. Wixon had a hit, a run scored and two RBI, while San Antonio posted a hit with a run scored and three runs batted in.
Rookie
Jackson Hayes moved to 5-1 on the season, earning the victory with three runs allowed on three hits over 5.0 innings of action. He struck out one batter. Senior
Seamus Marshall came on for 2.0 innings, striking out two with no runs or hits allowed. Junior
Aiden Newhall pitched 0.1 innings, allowing three runs with a strikeout, while senior
Aidan O'Donnell pitched the final 1.2 innings with one run allowed on one hit with a K.
Game one opened with an RBI single to right field from grad student designated hitter
Spencer Aubin. The Spartans answered with two runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead, but an RBI double down the left field line tied the game, while a Baker walk with bases loaded gave the Corsairs the 3-2 lead in the second.
The Spartans once again tied the game at 3-3 in the third, but an RBI single from Wixon, coupled with a double to left from Baker, gave the Corsairs a 5-3 advantage. VTSU Castleton got a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game once more and the home team got an RBI single through the left side for a 6-5 advantage they wouldn't relinquish.
Cruz went 2-for5 with a run scored and an RBI, while Aubin was 2-for-3 with a run batted in. Baker had a hit with a run scored and two runs batted in. Senior starter
Ray Boutiette shouldered the loss, allowing six runs on 10 hits with three strikeouts over 5.0 innings. Junior
Dillon Harding came on for the final 3.0 innings of relief, allowing two hits with two strikeouts.
