PLYMOUTH – Tom Michael’s pinch-hit triple in the seventh was the eventual go-ahead run, in Game One, as UMass Boston edged the Panthers 4-3 at Panther field Saturday afternoon.
Both starters’ duked-it-out for eight innings strong and PSU’s Chip Hale went the distance, but ended up taking the loss as Plymouth’s offense could not get a clutch hit, leaving 15 runners on base. LEC Rookie of the Week, UMB’s Mike Andriano went eight innings and picked up the win for the Beacons who improved to 13-15 overall and 4-7 in the LEC. PSU dropped their eight straight with the loss and fall to 8-21 overall and 3-9, which is good for sixth in the conference.
It was a well-played and entertaining game throughout, with the action starting in the top of the first. After a walk of UMB’s Bryan Curran, senior Sean Ketterer delivered an RBI triple past the diving Steve Campo which was followed by another hard-hit liner off of the right field fence by senior Jamie Soto, scoring Curran and giving UMB a two to nothing lead. PSU cut the deficit in half, in the bottom of the first after a Jared LeClaire leadoff double was cashed in by a one-out RBI single for senior Craig Carpenter. LeClaire had a big day at the plate for the Panthers, going three for three with two doubles and reaching base four times and Carpenter finished two for five with the lone RBI.
PSU threatened again in the bottom of the second with the bases loaded, but a rare strikeout by Josh LaBossiere ended the inning and preserved the one run lead for UMB and Andriano. The Beacons would go ahead 2-1 in the top half of the third on another RBI single for Soto, who finished the day two for four with two RBIs while improving upon his team-leading .357 batting average.
The Panthers answered again with a run in the bottom half of the third as a Jay Kleponis double was mishandled on the relay throw to the UMB second baseman, and Carpenter, who had reached on a bloop single, was able to score all the way from first and make it a 3-2 UMB lead.
Both pitchers settled down from then on and did not allow a run until the sixth when PSU was able to tie things up on a Brandon Hodge sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning. The neutral score was broken on UMB’s very next at bat, however, as pinch-hitter Tom Michael drove a one-out triple to the right center field gap and set the table for Sophomore second basemen Ryan Oshima’s RBI single that would put the Beacons on top for good and UMB’s Nick Conway would close the book on the Panthers with scoreless ninth and take Game One for UMB. Sophomore Marc McGinnis collected three hits for the Panthers and junior Brandon Hodge and sophomore Jay Kleponis recorded two hits apiece as well.
PSU’s anemic losing streak was extended to nine straight in the nightcap as a twenty hit attack from UMass Boston helped the Beacons steamroll the Panthers in Game Two 15-7.
Bob Kniffen, UMB’s senior outfielder, collected four hits to lead the Beacons and three other players had three hits apiece including first-year Alnor Rodriguez’s two-run blast in the top of the third, his first of many collegiate homers, that made it a seven-to-nothing advantage for UMB.
PSU was able to get on the board in the bottom of the third with a little help from senior standout Josh LaBossiere’s bases-clearing three-run double that, at that point, seemed to ignite the bats on the Panthers’ side. Like a match in the wind, the flame was snuffed out quickly as the Beacons increased their lead methodically to a 15-4 advantage before The PSU bats came alive once again. In the bottom of the ninth, Jamie Aceto’s two-run single made it interesting, but it was another case of too little-too late and the staunching UMB bullpen gets the job done again, keeping UMB unbeaten when leading after seven innings.
PSU finished with seven runs on 11 hits with Hodge collecting three more hits for PSU in the nightcap, while Junior John Pogorzelski chipped in with a pair of doubles in the loss. UMB inches ever closer to .500 with the sweep and stand at 14-16 overall after splitting a double header on Sunday against Southern Maine. PSU also split their Sunday double header against non-conference opponent Mass. Maritime, snapping their nine-game losing streak.
The Panthers are gearing up for the stretch run of the season as they traveled to Norwich on Tuesday for a non-conference match up then were home against New England College for a 2:00 P.M. start, Thursday, and then Rhode Island College comes to town on Saturday for a 12:00 P.M. start.