Corsairs first, second at UMass Dartmouth

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men’s track and field team finished first and the women finished second at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational, at the UMass Dartmouth Athletic Complex Saturday afternoon.

The men finished with 257 points, 184 points ahead of second place Salem State. The women scored 167.5 points and were three points behind Southern Maine and 75.5 points ahead of third place Salve Regina.

For the men, sophomore J.T. Harold (North Andover, MA/Austin Prep) won the long jump at 21 feet, 5 1/2 inches, freshman Michael Boucher (Byfield, MA/Triton Regional HS) was first at 400 meters in 52.07 seconds, and won the pole vault at 10 feet, sophomore Tyler Buck (Valley Center, CA/Valley Center HS) won the 800 meter run in 2:01.32, senior Jon Garcia (Stoneham, MA/Stoneham HS) won the 110 meter hurdles in 14.75 seconds, junior Eric Holmes (Abington, MA/Abington HS) was first in the 3000 meter steeplechase in 9:53.86, Matt Deninger won the triple jump at 21 feet, 3 1/4 inches, James Brumfield was first in the shot put with a throw of 40 feet, 1 1/2 inches, and the 4 x 400 meter relay team of senior Yusef White (New Bedford, MA/New Bedford HS), junior Sam Machuor (Newbury, MA/Pentucket HS), junior Chris Jodoin (Uxbridge, MA/Maine) and Garcia placed first in 3:28.14.

On the women’s side, senior Jen Munyon (Berlin, MA/Assabet Valley HS) was first in the 100 meter hurdles (16.19 seconds), the 400 meter hurdles (1:08.87) and the high jump (5-4 1/4), sophomore Teresa McGrath (Saugus, MA/Saugus HS) won the discus at 35 feet, 1 1/4 inches and the hammer throw at 133-2, sophomore JuJu Saba (Dedham, MA/Dedham HS) won the discus at 115 feet, one inch, and the 4 x 400 meter relay team of Munyon, juniors Alicia and Katie Malloy (Agawam, MA/Agawam HS), and sophomore Lenora Benson (Brockton, MA/Brockton HS) placed first in 4:19.52.

“It was great to see some progress,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Devlyn Lovell. “We got to see a few conference schools, and we got to see where we will be in a few weeks. I was proud of the way the kids performed today. Home meets are always good, when you perform in more comfortable surroundings, it makes a big difference in your performance, and that happened today. On the men’s side, we outnumbered everyone, and on the women’s side, it was good to be as close to Southern Maine as we were-it was a step in the right direction. A lot of people did very well today.”

The Corsairs will return to action when they visit Connecticut College’s Silfen Invitational next Saturday.

Corsairs place first at UMD

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s men’s golf team finished in first place and senior Kyle Pelletier (Acushnet, MA/Bishop Stang HS) was the medalist at the rain-shortened UMass Dartmouth Invitational, which concluded after nine holes of play Sunday at the Allendale Country Club.

The Corsairs “A” team shot a team score of 171 and finished at 486, placing them 28 strokes ahead of second place Rhode Island College in the 11-team field. UMass Dartmouth’s “B” team shot a score of 192 for a total of 539, and finished eighth.

RIC shot 181 and finished with a score of 514, Babson also shot 181 and finished third at 518, Brandeis shot 185 and scored 522, Husson shot 174 for 523 and fifth place, Worcester State also shot 174 and finished with a score of 529 and was sixth, and Johnson & Wales shot 175 for 530 and finished seventh. Trailing the Corsair B team were Elms, which shot 192 for a total of 545 and finished ninth, Becker, which scored 200 for 608 and was 10th, and Emerson, which did not post a team score because they did not have enough golfers finish.

Pelletier led the field with a score of 40 Sunday for a total of 118, one stroke in front of junior Marc Francis (Acushnet, MA/Old Colony Regional HS) who shot 41 for 119. Senior Jon Camara (Acushnet, MA/Bishop Stang HS) was fourth with a score of 46 for 123, and junior Tyler Kett (Brewster, MA/Harwich HS) shot 46 for 128 and finished eighth. Junior Joe Accardi (Haverhill, MA/Haverhill HS) shot a 44 for 136 and tied for 29th.

Sophomore John Ripp (Bolton, CT/East Catholic HS) led the Corsair B team with a score of 50 and a total of 130 and tied for 13th, freshman Robbie Dolbec (Quincy, MA/North Quincy HS) shot 45 for 135 and was 28th, junior Andrew Jacobs (Greenfield, MA/Frontier Regional HS) shot 46 for 139 and tied for 36th, freshman Chris Borges (Westport, MA/Westport HS) shot 54 for 140 and tied for 38th, and junior Matt Shea (Melrose, MA/ Melrose HS) shot 51 for 142 and tied for 42nd.

“Mother Nature wasn’t good to us today, but our team and everyone else in the field showed a lot of mettle in competing for nine holes in the wind and the rain,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Joel Baptista. “I was happy that we could hold on and secure the win, since it was our home tournament. It was also nice that Kyle was the individual champion and had some good competition amongst his own team, with Jon Camara and Marc Francis playing well throughout the weekend.”

The Corsairs will return to competition at the Western New England Invitational Thursday. Tuesday’s Worcester State Invitational Tournament has been postponed because of inclement weather.

Corsair baseball team splits with Plymouth State

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s baseball team scored a season-high runs and survived a seven-run seventh inning Plymouth State rally to defeat the Panthers, 18-13 in the first game of a Little East Conference doubleheader at the UMass Dartmouth Athletic Complex Saturday afternoon. PSU scored six times in the seventh inning and rallied to win the nightcap, 9-7, and split a doubleheader which was moved from Plymouth State due to inclement weather. The Panthers were considered the home team and batted second in each game.

Sophomore second baseman Dave Ogorzalek’s (Rockfall, CT/Xavier HS) two-run homer keyed a four-run first inning in the opener for the Corsairs, who scored thrice in the second inning, getting two on a hit by junior right fielder Kevin Narey (Lynn, MA/Lynn Classical HS). Solo homers by freshman shortstop Jeff Macchi (Franklin, MA/Franklin HS) and junior catcher Billy Reiss (Clinton, CT/The Morgan School) helped stake UMass Dartmouth to a 10-0 lead midway through the fifth inning.

The Panthers scored three times in the fifth, once in the sixth, and added seven unearned runs in the seventh to cut the lead to 13-11. The Beavers scored five runs in the bottom of the second and added four in the fifth to erase a 6-0 Corsair lead. Macchi doubled in a run for UMass Dartmouth in a three-run eighth, then Reiss singled in two more runs in the ninth as the Corsairs held on to win.

Reiss had five RBIs and Macchi added three for UMD, while third baseman Jay Kleponis had four RBIs and center fielder Josh Labossiere added three for the Panthers. Brian Maloney started for the Corsairs and earned the win, improving to 2-2, while starter Taylor Ketchum took the loss for PSU and fell to 1-1.

Junior designated hitter Dylan Zygmont (Swansea, MA/Case HS) doubled in two runs in a six-run third for the Corsairs in the nightcap. Third baseman Steve Picco’s two-run single in the fourth made it 6-2, and Ogorzalek hit his second homer of the doubleheader in the sixth to make it 7-2.

PSU took the lead by scoring six times in the seventh. Designated hitter Brandon Hodge and right fielder Brandon Pogorelski had run-scoring doubles and Picco added a two-run double. Chip Hale, the third of three Plymouth State pitchers, earned the victory and improved to 3-4. Junior right-hander Brian Vanasse (Sterling, MA/Wachusett HS), the second of three UMass Dartmouth pitchers, took the loss and fell to 0-4.

The Corsairs are now 6-14 and 3-5 in Little East Conference play after the split, while PSU is 7-12 and 3-3. UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they host Springfield Sunday, while Plymouth State will visit Colby-Sawyer Thursday.

Men’s lacrosse bows to Eastern Connecticut State

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-Eastern Connecticut State grabbed a 6-1 first quarter lead and went on to defeat the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s men’s lacrosse team, 16-5, in a Little East Conference game at rainy, windy Cressy Field Thursday afternoon.

D.J. Simmons scored twice and assisted on Dave Carpenter’s man-up goal that put the Warriors ahead, 6-1, with 13 seconds to play in the first quarter. Sophomore midfielder Zach Eagan (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield HS) and sophomore attackman Jeff Pelton (Lowell, MA/Lowell HS) each scored in the first half for the Corsairs. Freshman attackman Andrew Lewis (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow HS) scored two goals three and a half minutes apart in the third quarter to cut ECSU’s lead to 9-4, and senior midfielder Mark Lapointe (Tyngsboro, MA/Tyngsboro HS) scored UMass Dartmouth’s other goal. Tyler Prescott scored five goals for the Warriors, Simmons scored three times, and Carpenter, Tom Laverty and Maxim Fantl each scored twice.

“Eastern Connecticut is a superb team, and they played very well for the entire game,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Kevin Mahoney. “We didn’t play as well as we can. The adverse weather affected us more than I thought it would.”

ECSU out shot the Corsairs, 42-25. Junior goalkeeper Steve Chase (Boston, MA/Boston Latin HS) made 20 saves for UMass Dartmouth, while Kyle Savage made nine for the Warriors.

The Corsairs dropped to 4-4 with the victory, while Nichols dropped to 2-5 with the defeat. UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they host Eastern Connecticut State in a Little East Conference game Thursday, while Nichols will host Salve Regina Tuesday evening.