No. 4/5 UMass Boston Rallies Late to Claim 6-3 Win over Western New England

Beacons score one run in eighth, three in ninth

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 29, 2018) – The No. 4/5 nationally ranked University of Massachusetts Boston baseball team overcame a late deficit to claim a 6-3 win over Western New England University in the Golden Bears' home opener on Thursday afternoon at Trelease Park. 

Top Performers
• Junior outfielder Joe Cassella (Wallingford, Conn.) walked and extended his hitting streak to ten games with a single in the second inning.
• Senior third baseman Jared Rosenblatt (Avon, Conn.) drove in two runs, while sophomore Zac Nussbaum (Bridgewater, Mass.) singled and scored a run.
• Sophomore right-hander Matt Vigliotti (Verplanck, N.Y.) turned in a solid relief appearance, as he struck out three batters over 2.2 scoreless frames.

• UMass Boston senior Eddie Riley (Quincy, Mass.) went 1-for-4 with two RBI and hit the go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth inning.
• Senior Dave Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.) went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double and two runs scored, while classmate Chris Fowler (Barnstable, Mass.) also posted a 2-for-4 effort with a walk and one RBI.

Game Review
Western New England put two runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning without the benefit of a hit, as UMass Boston sophomore starter Josh Gerson (Melville, N.Y.) struggled with his control.

Sophomore Jamie Schofield (Darien, Conn.) reached base on an error with one out, and later in the frame Gerson hit three consecutive batters to bring in the game's first run. Gerson's outing ended after he issued a walk to sophomore Ben LaCroix (Branford, Conn.) with the bases still loaded to give the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead.

UMass Boston got one run back in the top of the third, as junior Charlie Huegi (Sandy Hook, Conn.) led off with a single before coming in to score on a sacrifice fly by classmate Kyle Boudrias (Medford, Mass.), but Western New England restored its two-run edge (3-1) in the bottom half of the frame on an RBI groundout by Rosenblatt.

The Beacons again cut their deficit to one (3-2) in the fifth, as the first two batters reached base before Vigliotti came on and allowed just one run to score on a sacrifice fly by Riley.

Trailing by the same score in the eighth, UMass Boston put together a game-tying rally. Murphy led off with a double that bounced off third base and over the head of Rosenblatt, and the next two batters reached to load the bases. Sophomore lefthander Jeff Zebrowski (South Hadley, Mass.) came on in relief and hit junior Nick Herzog (Riverhead, N.Y.) with a pitch to plate the tying run, but he was able to retire the next three batters to escape further damage.

After the Golden Bears stranded a runner on third base in the bottom of the eighth, UMass Boston scored three runs in the ninth. Riley led off with a solo homer to left field, and the Beacons tacked on two more runs later in the frame.

Western New England went down in order in the bottom of the ninth as junior right-hander Bobby Tramondozzi (Peabody, Mass.) sealed the win for the Beacons.

Notes
• Freshman right-hander Kevin Hummer (Shrewsbury, Mass.) got the start for the Golden Bears and allowed one run on three hits over four innings of work.
• Western New England was limited to three hits in the contest, matching its second lowest total this season.
• Thursday's loss snapped the Golden Bears' six-game winning streak.

Up Next
Western New England (9-4) remains in Springfield to host Suffolk in a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday at noon, while UMass Boston (11-4) returns home to take on Roger Williams on Friday at 3 p.m.