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Baseball Team Divides Doubleheader With Eastern Connecticut

4/22/2006

Dave Geringer Athletic Department (508) 990-9651
Sports Information Director Tripp Athletic Center dgeringer@umassd.edu

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-Junior Will Mahoney (Mattapoisett, MA/Old Rochester HS) nearly stole the show when the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's baseball team played Eastern Connecticut State in a Little East Conference doubleheader at the UMass Dartmouth Athletic Complex Saturday afternoon.

Mahoney pitched a complete game victory in the opener, and pinch-hit a three-run, game-tying homer in the nightcap. UMass Dartmouth won the first game, 3-2, but the Warriors came back for a 5-3, 11-inning victory in the nightcap to earn a split.

The Corsairs jumped out in front in the opener. Junior catcher Mike Maclean's (Spencer, MA/David Prouty HS) run-scoring double in the first gave UMD a 1-0 lead.  Sophomore right fielder Dylan Zygmont (Swansea, MA/Case HS) doubled in two more runs in the third to give the Corsairs a 3-0 lead.

Eric O'Toole's run-scoring infield out in the sixth put the Warriors on the board. ECSU scored again in the ninth after pinch runner Ismael Bolorin and pinch-hitter Sean Kukucka reached second and third on Mahoney's wild pitch. But Mahoney got pinch-hitter Marty Praisner to ground out, scoring one run, then struck out Marc Garofalo to end the game.

Mahoney earned the victory and improved to 3-3. Matt Cremins, who also pitched a complete game, too the loss and fell to 3-2.

The Warriors took the lead in the nightcap. Shawn Gilblair's infield out in the third drove home the first run of the game. A fourth-inning, run-scoring single by Tristan Hobbes made it 2-0, and Kukucka's RBI single in the sixth increased ECSU's lead to 3-0.

Mahoney erased it in the eighth. Zygmont's leadoff single chased Gilblair. Trey Bongiovanni relieved, and allowed a single to Maclean. Mahoney pinch-hit for junior left fielder Evan Britto (Old Rochester, MA/Old Rochester HS) and hit a three-run homer to tie the game.

Eastern Connecticut State broke the tie in the top of the 11th. With one out, Bolorin singled and Kukucka walked. Matt Cooney greeted senior reliever Eric Griswold (Taunton, MA/Taunton HS) with a run-scoring single, and Will Moran's sacrifice fly drove in the fifth and final run.

Justin Davis, the third ECSU pitcher, earned the win with four scoreless innings of relief and improved to 4-2. UMass Dartmouth starter Lee Marques (Sr. Fall River, MA/Diman Regional HS), who pitched into the 11th inning, took the loss and fell to 0-3.

"We played as well as we have all season," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Bob Curran. "Both Will and Lee pitched great. Our defense was better. If we continue to play the way we did today, we will be OK."

UMass Dartmouth is now 6-22, 5-21 with the defeat, while RWU improved to 16-18 with the victory. The Corsairs will return to action when they host Eastern Connecticut State in a Little East Conference doubleheader game Saturday afternoon, while the Hawks will host Bowdoin in a single game Friday.

UMASS DARTMOUTH BASEBALL