WALTHAM, Mass. - The Plymouth
State University baseball team rallied for four runs in the ninth
inning Saturday afternoon to take a 4-3 win in game one of a Little
East Conference doubleheader, preventing a doubleheader sweep at
the hands of host University of Massachusetts Boston, which won the
nightcap, 4-2, at Yetten Field. The Beacons are now 13-20
overall and 4-6 in LEC play, while the visiting Panthers are 10-22
and 3-9.
UMass Boston senior Nick Conway (Methuen, Mass.) headed into the
ninth inning of the first game with a 2-0 lead, having allowed just
three hits and a walk while striking out 14, before the Plymouth
State bats came alive. Senior Brandon Hodge
(Bradford, Vt.) and freshman Seth Labossiere
(Lincoln, R.I.) singles to put runners on the corners. Senior
Jim VanGyzen (Glocester, R.I.) walked to load the
bases and set up a bases clearing double by number nine hitter
Marc McGinnis (Hanover, Mass.) to give Plymouth
State a 3-2 edge. Junior Josh Roberti
(Cranston, R.I.) knocked in the final PSU run with a single to
increase the lead to 4-2.
Freshman Timothy Fontaine (Worcester, Mass.) cracked a one-out
double in the bottom of the ninth for UMB and scored on an RBI
single by junior Eric Salvador (Middleboro, Mass.), but that would
be as close as the Beacons would get.
Senior righty Chip Hale (Londonderry, N.H.)
improved to 3-2 for Plymouth State, allowing three runs on seven
hits, while fanning 10 in the complete-game effort. Conway
(3-3) allowed four runs on eight hits and a pair of walks to go
with the 15 strikeouts, the second-highest single-game total in UMB
history. Conway also increased his career innings total to
237 2/3 and establish a new school-record, eclipsing the 10-year
old mark of 233 1/3 set by Steve Howard (1995-98).
The Beacons scored a run in the first inning of game two when Walsh
scored on a double by Fontaine, but the Panthers matched the run in
the second when junior Jay Kleponis (Reading,
Mass.) led off with a single and later scored on a passed
ball. The Beacons regained the lead in the bottom of the
inning when junior Charlie Peters (Burbank, Cal.) reached first on
a passed ball after striking out, moved to second on a balk and
later scampered home on a single by junior Ryan Oshima (La Jolla,
Cal).
The Beacons tacked on two more runs in the seventh on RBI singles
by senior Mike Dorval (Belchertown, Mass.) and junior Jake Chastain
(Northfield, Mass.) Plymouth State looked to duplicate its
first game heroics when VanGyzen reached on an error and freshman
Mike Moody (Manchester, N.H.) and freshman
Grant Livingston (Niantic, Conn.) each walked to
load the bases. Senior John Pogorzelski
(Hillsborough, N.J.) knocked in VanGyzen with a fielder's choice to
cut the deficit to 4-2, but that would be it for the Panthers.
Sophomore left-hander Mike Andriano (Massapequa, N.Y.) improved his
record to 2-3 for UMB, allowing just one unearned run on seven hits
and two walks, while matching his career-high with eight
strikeouts. Freshman lefty Jon Andersch
(Concord, N.H.) suffered the loss for the Panthers, giving up two
runs (one earned) on seven hits and three walks, while striking out
eight.
Both teams are in action again Sunday, UMB traveling to Gorham,
Maine for a noon conference doubleheader at University of Southern
Maine, while Plymouth State hosts Norwich University in a 1:00 p.m.
twinbill.
(Courtesy of UMass Boston Sports Information)
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