BROCKTON, Mass. – A six-run eighth inning blew open a one-run contest and with a shutdown performance by senior lefty Harlan Zeerip (Bridgewater, Conn.) baseball earned an 11-4 non-conference win over Saint Joseph's College Wednesday evening at Campanelli Stadium.
In a game that featured more fans than the Baltimore Orioles versus Chicago White Sox game, the Beacons bats continued to fire on all cylinders, as they also took advantage of six Monks errors. UMass Boston improved to 19-13 with the victory, making it the third-most successful campaign in the program's history, and first 19 win season since 2010. For The Monks they dropped to 24-15 following the loss.
After a near miss in the bottom of the first inning, that would have given the Beacons an early 1-0 lead, the Monks broke the scoreless draw in the top of the third. UMass Boston would respond with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning on a sac-fly by Delvis Baez (Lawrence, Mass.).
The Beacons would earn their first lead of the night when Ezequiel Sanchez (Manati, Puerto Rico) scored on a wild pitch after crushing a triple to very deep left center field.
The Monks would then come back in the top of the fourth scoring one run on a balk, another on a sac-fly, and the final on a wild pitch to take a 4-2 lead over UMB.
Just like the first inning, the Beacons would respond in-kind scoring a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame. Daniel Bonito (Swampscott, Mass.), fresh-off of his game-winning two-run bomb against Endicott College on Monday, drove in Daniel Mantoni (Northbridge, Mass.) on an RBI single through the right side. Trevor Bouvier (Salem, N.H.) then made it a tie ball game as he hit an infield single, which scored Anthony Searles (Shelton, Conn.).
Neither team would score a run through 1.5 innings as the score remained deadlocked at 4-4. It would be another wild pitch that would score the Beacons fifth run of the night. With lefty Zeerip dealing on the hill, the Beacons gave their senior some breathing room to earn his second win of the year.
Nick Brothers (Danville, Calif.) would capitalize on a bases loaded situation driving in a pair of runs on a single to left field. Josh Lopez (New Haven, Conn.) would then score the Beacons third run of the inning on an error by the Monks catcher, his first of two in the inning.
Senior Todd Ezold (Westfield, Mass.) then extended his recent hit-streak to 11 consecutive games, on an RBI single which plated Brothers. Another throwing by St. Joseph's would score Coley Barker (Pembroke, Mass.) and an Bonito RBI single would cap-off the big inning as UMass pounded out the six runs on five hits.
In the ninth senior closer Josh Cummiskey (Lowell, Mass.) shut-down any chance of a Monks resurgence as he allowed one hit, while striking out one to give the Beacons their 19th win of the year.
Zeerip improved to 2-0 after going 3.1, and did not allow a run or a hit during the impressive outing. He also struck out one. Freshman Steve Witkowski (Pittsfield, Mass.) got the start and went 4.2 and had 5 K's.
Monks ace Alex Valenti went seven innings and allowed five runs, three earned, on eight hits as he fell to 3-3 on the season. The righty also had six strike outs.
At the dish, Bonito went 2-for-5 with two RBI and one run scored. Sanchez finished 2-for-4 with the triple and two runs scored. Bouvier also ripped a triple to start off the big eighth inning for UMB.
The Monks would combine for just five hits in the loss, with two hits going to Lincoln Sanborn, one of which was a double, as he also had one RBI and one run scored. Taylor Black accounted for two of the Monks four runs, as he also had one hit.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
