Baseball Drops Two Close Games at UMass Boston
Boston, Mass.— The Framingham State baseball team dropped both ends of a non-conference double header at UMass.- Boston on Saturday afternoon at the first-ever doubleheader at Monan Park. The Beacons improve to 8-7 on the season while the Rams fall to 3-7.
In the opener, Zack Kirby (Rochester, Mass.) kept UMass Boston off the board for the first eight frames, but Boudrias capped off a two-run, ninth-inning rally with an RBI single to left-center to plate freshman Frank Johnson (West Haven, Conn.).
In the nightcap, freshman J.T. Morin (Wilton, Conn.) struck out 10 in seven innings and Manny Garcia (Boston, Mass.) threw two perfect innings with four strikeouts to seal the sweep.
GAME ONE: UMass Boston 2, Framingham State 1
Kirby and Dan Mantoni (Northbridge, Mass.) went pitch-for-pitch in the opener, as the two pitchers combined to allow just seven hits over 15.1 innings.
Mantoni struck out a career-high 10 batters over seven innings and allowed just three hits and one earned run. Freshman Bobby Tramondozzi (Peabody, Mass.) earned the win for the Beacons, as he allowed just one walk and struck out five over the final two frames.
Boudrias was the offensive hero, as he had three of the Beacons' four hits (3-for-4) and added the game-winning RBI. Freshman pinch hitter Ryan Olivo (Rochester, N.Y.) added a pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth to tie the game.
Kirby had another phenomenal outing, as the senior allowed four hits and two runs in 8.1 innings. He matched Mantoni with 10 strikeouts of his own, while issuing five free passes.
Framingham State scored their lone run of the game in the top of the fourth. Aaron Rios (Stratford, CT) opened the inning with a single and moved over to second on a wild pitch. Ryan Wardwell (Hudson, Mass.) followed with an RBI single, but Mantoni stranded two runners to close the inning and keep the score 1-0.
After having just two runners reach third base in the first eight innings, the Beacons got to Kirby in the ninth. Anthony Searles (Shelton, Conn.) was hit by a pitch with one out and was joined on the base paths by Chris Fowler (Barnstable, Mass.)-who worked a four-pitch walk. The Beacons then made two changes, with Johnson replacing Fowler on the base paths and Olivo coming on to pinch hit.
Olivo sent a seeing-eye single through the left side to easily score Searles and advance Johnson all the way to third base. Boudrias came through in the clutch, as the freshman third baseman ripped a single to left-center for a walk-off win.
GAME TWO: UMass Boston 4, Framingham State 2
The second contest was nearly as tight, as Morin and Al Wallach dueled in the nightcap.
Morin continued his red-hot start to his collegiate career, as he struck out a career-high 10 batters, while scattering five hits and two runs. Garcia was just as effective, as the freshman closer struck out four and did not allow a baserunner in two innings.
Offensively, Mantoni led the way with two RBI, while Searles and Boudrias also added a hit and an RBI.
Wallach went seven strong innings and was charged with seven hits, four runs, three earned.
Jon Chapman (Waltham, Mass.) led the Rams with an RBI and a run scored, while Ryan Connelly (West Roxbury, Mass.) finished with an RBI.
The Beacons opened the scoring in the bottom of the third, as Josh Lopez (New Haven, Conn.) opened the inning with a double and came in to score on Mantoni's RBI single to left.
In the fourth inning, Boudrias added an RBI single to plate Fowler and Mantoni worked a bases-loaded walk with two outs to extend the lead to 3-0.
Connelly answered back in the fifth to cut the deficit to 3-1, as he doubled to score Chapman from second base.
Chapman cut UMass Boston's lead to 3-2 in the top of the seventh, as the senior delivered an RBI groundout, after a Bill Cuozzo (Woburn, Mass.) leadoff triple.
The Beacons got the run back in the bottom half of the inning, as Dave Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.) doubled to deep center and came in to score on Searles' sacrifice fly.
Garcia came on for the final two frames and was able to set down the Rams in order.
The Rams return to action on Monday, March 28th when they travel to Curry for a 3:00 p.m. non-conference matchup.
*Release courtesy of UMass Boston sports information