THE BASICS
Game One: UMass Boston 8, Eastern Conn. St. U. 4
Game Two: UMass Boston 9, Eastern Conn. St. U. 8
(UMass Boston 13-7, Little East 3-1)
(Eastern Conn. St. 7-13, Little East 2-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
After losing their first 40 all-time matchups against the defending LEC Champions, UMass Boston shocked the LEC Preseason Favorite Warriors with a sweep at the Eastern Softball Complex.
Amongst a number of players who had huge days, no one stood out more than freshman shortstop Alexa St. Angelo (Cranston, R.I.). The freshman went 7-for-8 with five RBI , three doubles and a run scored. She scored the game-winning run in game one and drove in the game-winning run in game two.
The Beacons' three-through-six hitters as a whole finished the day 18-for-29 (.621) with 15 RBI and 13 runs scored.
GAME ONE
After falling behind 3-1 through five innings, UMass Boston scored four runs in the sixth and three
more in the seventh to earn an 8-4 comeback win.
St. Angelo was the leading force in game one, as the team's six-hole hitter went a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Junior Gia Raczkowski (Stoneham, Mass.) added two hits and three runs scored, while junior first baseman Lauren Mitsiaris (Taunton, Mass.) tacked on two hits, two RBI and two runs scored.
In the circle, Annie Thomas (Lunenburg, Mass.) improved to 3-0 on the weekend and 7-3 overall. She allowed nine hits and three earned runs, while striking out seven batters.
Emily Komornik took the loss in relief for the Warriors, as she allowed four runs, one earned, in 2.1 innings.
UMass Boston opened the scoring in the top of the third, as Roxanne Vento (Arlington, Mass.) delivered an RBI double with two down to score Raczkowski.
Eastern would answer back though, as the Warriors scored two on a double in the third and made it 3-1 with a single run in the bottom of the fifth.
UMass Boston grabbed the lead for good with a four-run sixth inning. After the first two batters reached, Mitsiaris made it 3-2 with an RBI single to the pitcher, that plated Raczkowski. St. Angelo tied the game at 3-3 with an RBI single to right field that scored Vento.
The Beacons took the lead with a perfectly executed double steal, as Mitsiaris came home on a delayed steal and St. Angelo moved all the way over to third on an errant throw home. On the next play, Taylor Marcotte (Agawam, Mass.) hit a grounder to third. After waiting for the third baseman to throw the ball to first, St. Angelo took off and somehow slid under the catcher's tag, as the throw home beat her by two steps.
Leading 5-3 with only three outs to go, the Beacons tacked on three key insurance runs in the seventh. After the first two batters were retired, Raczkowski walked and Vento singled to put runners on the corners. Mitsiaris tacked on an RBI single to make it 6-3 and St. Angelo blasted a two-run double to left-center field to cap off a 4-for-4 game.
Eastern wouldn't go down quietly in the bottom half of the inning, as they cut the deficit to 8-4 with an RBI double and then loaded the bases with two outs. With the tying run at the plate, Thomas struck out Kayla Santos to secure the Beacons' first-ever win over the Warriors.
GAME TWO
UMass Boston led from start-to-finish in the nightcap, as they tied their season-high with nine runs scored.
Vento was the star in game two, as the freshman finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, five RBI and her first home run of the season. St. Angelo added three more hits and two RBI, while Raczkowski tacked on her first home run of the season and three runs scored.
Junior Kaitlyn Morse (Arlington, Mass.) registered two hits and two runs out of the lead-off spot.
In the circle, freshman Vic Zechello (Foxborough, Mass.) and sophomore Morgan Bishop (Ramsey, N.J.) combined for the win. Zechello allowed eight hits and three runs in four innings to get the win, while Bishop secured her first collegiate save by striking out four in the final three innings.
Warriors' starter Samantha Valentine took the loss after allowing three runs, two earned, in just 0.2 innings.
UMass Boston needed just four batters to grab the lead in game two and they secured a 3-0 lead after the first. Vento opened the scoring with an RBI double to drive Morse home. Mitsiaris followed with an RBI single of her own, and St. Angelo blasted a double to the wall to make it 3-0.
Raczkowski pushed the lead to 4-0 in the second, as the junior hit a line-drive over the center-field fence for her first homer of the year.
Eastern All-American Alyssa Hancock answered back with a solo shot of her own in the third, to cut the Beacons lead to 4-1.
Hancock's home run would be overshadowed by one final Beacons' home run. With the bases loaded and two down, Vento sent a laser over the right-field fence for a grand slam and her first collegiate home run.
The Warriors once again put up a valiant comeback effort. The hosts scored two in the fourth to make it 8-3 and three more in the sixth to cut the deficit to 8-6.
St. Angelo provided a huge insurance run in the top of the seventh, as she sent a hard hit grounder up the middle to plate Raczkowski with two down in the inning.
The Beacons would desperately need that run, as Summer Cipriani belted an RBI triple to cut the score to 9-7 and then came in to score on an RBI groundout. Bishop proceeded to hit the next batter to put the tying run on first, but then struck out Rebecca DeFeo to clinch the Beacons' first-ever sweep over Eastern.
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Boston is 3-1 in Little East Conference play for the first time in program history. The Beacons three conference wins are tied for their third-most in program history, including last year's 3-11 mark.
- After scoring their first 13 runs of the weekend with two outs, UMass Boston scored 10 of their 17 runs on Sunday with two outs.
- Thomas went 3-0 on the weekend and allowed just four earned runs in 21 innings (1.33 ERA). The freshman also struck out 18 batters.
- The Beacons hit their first two home runs of the season in game two. Raczkowski now sits tied for fourth-place in program history with Kristen Smoyer ('05) with her seven collegiate home runs.
- Eastern Connecticut State had not been swept by a Little East Conference opponent in any of the past three LEC regular-seasons.
The Beacons will look to extend their recent hot streak (5-1) on Wednesday, when they travel to Eastern Nazarene College for a non-conference doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. UMass Boston has not played Eastern Nazarene since 1999.
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