DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Sophomore Griffin Crane (Lancaster, N.H.) went 1-for-3 with a walk to reach base safely in all 24 games this season, but the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth built a 5-0 lead and held on for an 8-3 win over Plymouth State University in the Panthers' season finale at UMD Baseball Field on Monday afternoon.
 
Crane finished the year with a .481 on base percentage and had a base hit in 20 of the team's 24 games, also reaching by walk or hit by pitch on the rare occasion he didn't have a hit.
 
UMD built a 5-0 lead after four innings. PSU plated single runs in the fifth and sixth, but the Corsairs added two in the bottom of the fifth and pushed the lead to 8-2 after eight. The Panthers didn't go quietly, putting two on to start the ninth and plating a third run before UMass Dartmouth recorded the final out.
 
Plymouth State ends the year with an 8-16 mark (4-12 LEC), while UMass Dartmouth moves to 11-12 (9-7 LEC) and locks up the fourth seed for the LEC Tournament.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 3, UMass Dartmouth 8
  • Plymouth State (8-16, 4-12 LEC)
  • UMass Dartmouth (11-12, 9-7 LEC)

 
How it Happened:

• Crane didn't waste any time extending his on base streak as he singled in the top of the first.
• UMass Dartmouth plated two runs in the second on a balk and sacrifice fly.
• The Corsairs pushed the lead to 4-0 in the third.
• Crane walked to start the fourth but was gunned down trying to steal second. Graduate student James Salta (Laconia, N.H.) followed with a base on balls, but a line out and popup ended the inning.
• Another sacrifice fly in the fourth allowed UMD to extend the lead to 5-0.
• Senior Joe Routhier (Nashua, N.H.) smacked a one-out single to left in the fifth and senior Peter Laviolette (Longboat Key, Fla.) followed with an RBI double to cut the margin to 5-1. Laviolette moved to third on a wild pitch but was stranded there.
• The Corsairs came right back with a two-spot in the bottom of the fifth.
• PSU took advantage of some UMD sloppiness in the sixth to get a run back. With two down, senior Brody Fillion (Littleton, N.H.) and junior Drew Metzdorf (Burlington, Mass.) worked walks and both moved up a base on a wild pitch. Senior Andrew Wasilefsky (Willington, Conn.) reached on an error allowing a run to score, but the Corsairs threw him out attempting to go to second to end the inning.
• The hosts pushed the margin to 8-2 with an unearned run on yet another sacrifice fly in the eighth.
• Metzdorf doubled down the leftfield line and Wasilefsky walked as the Panthers looked to rally in the ninth. After a foul out, sophomore Alex Rives (Gilford, N.H.) reached on a fielder's choice to score a run, but a grounder to short ended the game.

By the Numbers:

• Crane (single), Metzdorf (double), Routhier (single) and Laviolette (double) had the Panthers' four hits. Crane and Metzdorf also drew walks to reach base twice.
• Fillion, Metzdorf and Routhier all scored runs, with Laviolette recording the team's sole RBI.
• J. Salta walked twice.
• Sophomore Braxton Brown (Lancaster, N.H.) dropped to 1-2 after going the first 4.1 innings. Classmate Chris Hanna (Kingston, N.H.) and junior Derek Griffin (Lebanon, N.H.) combined to retire eight batters without allowing a run, while freshman Sam Dyckman (Pembroke, Mass.) surrendered just an unearned run over his one inning of work.

Up Next:

• The game marked the end of the Panthers' season, as well as the final game for graduate students Gavin Cook (Littleton, N.H.), James Salta (Laconia, N.H.), Andrew Salta (Laconia, N.H.), Mark Berryman (Lancaster, N.H.), Erick Zecha (Keene, N.H.), Mark Levesque (Milton, N.H.) and seniors Wasilefsky, Routhier, Fillion, Laviolette and Patrick O'Regan (Haverhill, Mass.).