No. 7 UMass Boston Rallies Past Western New England with Five-Run Sixth, 9-7

Nussbaum hits CCC-leading sixth homer for Golden Bears

BOSTON, Mass. (May 2, 2018) – The No. 7 nationally ranked University of Massachusetts Boston baseball team used a five-run sixth inning to earn a 9-7, comeback win over Western New England University on Wednesday night in non-conference action at Monan Park.

Top Performers
• Sophomore Zac Nussbaum (Bridgewater, Mass.) led the Golden Bears at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, and a three-run home run.  
• Junior Erik Lacaire (Worcester, Mass.) went 1-for-4 with a walk, one run scored and two RBI, while classmates Aaron Rios (Stratford, Conn.) and Brian Valeriano (Stratford, Conn.) drove in one run each.

• UMass Boston was fueled offensively by senior Dave Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.) and sophomore Ryan McCormick (Cumberland, R.I.). Murphy went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run and three RBI, while McCormick also posted a 2-for-3 effort with a walk, a double, two RBI and two runs scored out of the leadoff spot.

Game Review
Western New England opened up a 7-3 advantage through three frames, as the Golden Bears scored once in the first inning and twice in the second before plating four runs in the third.

The visitors snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-out rally in the second inning. After the first two batters in the frame were retired, Nussbaum doubled to left center and Rios followed with an RBI single. Valeriano came up next and gave Western New England a 3-1 lead with an RBI single to center field.

The Golden Bears broke out for four more runs in the third to extend their advantage to 7-1. Junior Alex Loparco (Riverside, Conn.) led off with a triple to left center, before coming in to score on Lacaire's RBI single to left field. Later in the frame, Nussbaum belted a three-run shot over the fence in right field.

The Beacons got two runs back in the bottom of the third, however, before pulling ahead with a five-run sixth. Murphy delivered the key hit in the sixth inning with his two-out, three-run go-ahead homer, while junior Charlie Huegi (Sandy Hook, Conn.) recorded an RBI single and McCormick added a sacrifice fly.

UMass Boston tacked on an insurance run in the eighth, and junior right-hander Bobby Tramondozzi (Peabody, Mass.) closed out the Golden Bears for his ninth save of the season.

Notes
• Wednesday's contest served as the second meeting this season between the Beacons and Golden Bears. UMass Boston defeated WNE 6-3 in Springfield back on March 29.
• After the Golden Bears scored seven runs off UMass Boston freshman starter Tylor Arruda (New Bedford, Mass.) in 2.2 innings, five Beacon relievers combined to one-hit WNE over the final 6.1 frames. 

Up Next
Western New England (26-13), which earned the third seed in the CCC Tournament, will face sixth-seeded Gordon College on Saturday at noon on the campus of Roger Williams University. UMass Boston (29-7) hosts Rhode Island College in conference action on Friday.