DARTMOUTH, Mass. – A five-run eighth inning for the Colonels proved to be the difference as UMass Dartmouth baseball fell to visiting Curry College on Saturday afternoon, 11-7. Curry improves to 5-8 on the year, snapping UMass Dartmouth's four-game winning streak and dropping the Corsairs to 6-5.
Corsair junior Taylor Cacciola (West Greenwich, RI.) had a solid day, going 3-for-3 at the plate, stroking two doubles and hitting his third home run of the season with two RBI. Sophomore Kenny Michael (Norwood, Mass.) went 3-for-4 on the afternoon, knocking in a pair of runners.
Curry cracked the scoreboard early with a three-run top of the first, all runs coming with two outs before tacking on another two-out run in the second inning.
The Corsairs tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Cacciola led off the inning and was awarded first base after being hit by the pitch. Sophomore Jack Harrington(Barnstable, Mass.) then drew a walk. After the error by the Curry pitcher, sophomore Jose Vasquez (Roxbury, Mass.) reached safely to load the bases. With no outs in the inning, Michael ripped a double to right field scoring both Cacciola and Harrington. Freshman Ryan Ainslie (Weymouth, Mass.) would follow up Michael's double with one of his own to center field, clearing the bases. The Corsairs would add on one more run in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead to 5-4.
Curry then tied up the game again in the top of the seventh, when senior Phillip Perez (West Covina, Calif.) hit a double to the left center gap, scoring junior Alex McLean (Eliot, Maine) from first base.
UMass Dartmouth took its first the lead in the bottom half of the same frame. After an infield single by sophomore Ervin Kantardzic (Roxbury, Mass.), he advance to third on a sacrifice bunt and following balk r. Kantardzic would eventually score on Cacciola's second home run in as many games, which cleared the right center field fence.
The Colonels' bats would stay hot for the remainder of the contest, though. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Curry would double its score by putting up a five spot in the frame. The half-inning included a bases-clearing triple from senior John Arens (Milton, Mass.) to right center field, scoring three on the play. Curry would put up one more insurance run in the top of the ninth for good measure.
Senior Steve Colella (Leominster, Mass.) started the game for the Corsairs, scattering six hits over seven innings of work. Sophomore David Griffin (Hanover, Mass.) was credited with the win on the afternoon for the Colonels, turning in eight innings of work while giving up eight hits and seven runs (five earned). Sophomore Matt Cronin (Framingham, Mass.) took the loss for the Corsairs in relief.
Curry returns to the diamond for their home opener on Monday, March 28 when they host Framingham State. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 pm.
(Release courtesy of the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth Sports Information Department.)
