Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BOSTON – Sophomore righty Billy Oldham (Brookfield) pitched into the eighth inning of the opener to remain unbeaten this year, and senior leftfielder John Mesagno (Tappan, NY) had three extra-base hits and drove in five runs on the day to lift the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team to 5-3, 7-1 Little East Conference wins over the University of Massachusetts Boston Saturday afternoon at Monan Park on the final day of the regular season.

With its first regular-season sweep of UMass (7-7, 7-7 LEC) since 2016, Eastern (29-4, 15-1 LEC) has established a season record for LEC regular-season wins -- one more than the 2007 team (14-0) and 1997 squad (14-1). This year marks the second 16-game LEC regular season.

In winning its 13^th LEC regular-season title – its first outright regular-season title since 2011 – the Warriors finish three games ahead of 2019 regular-season champion University of Southern Maine and Rhode Island College, both closing at 12-4 in the conference. The Warriors end the season riding an eight-game winning streak into the LEC tournament.

As the top seed, Eastern -- ranked first in New England and 17th nationally -- will host one of two three-team pods when the double-elimination LEC tournament gets underway Thursday. In 2019, UMass Boston became the first team in conference history to win a third straight tournament title.

Oldham (4-0) scattered five hits and struck out eight in the opener, leaving with a 4-3 lead after getting the first batter of the inning. Senior righty Bryan Albee (Killingly) came on to strand the go-ahead runs on base after giving up a single and walk, and sophomore righty Nathan Furino (East Haven) preserved a two-run lead in the ninth for his fourth save. Furino was making his first appearance in a week and only second in two weeks.

In the second game, senior righty John Parker (Brunswick, ME) gained his third win in four decisions  with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief as the second of four relief pitchers behind junior lefty starter Aidan Dunn (Westfield, MA). Dunn scattered three hits while fanning seven and left with a 4-1 lead and a runner aboard in the fifth. Parker ended the inning with consecutive strikeouts.

Batting 1-2 in the lineup, freshman rightfielder Jason Claiborn (Prospect) and Mesagno combined for five hits, three runs and two RBI. Mesagno doubled in a run in the fifth and homered leading off the ninth to give Furino a two-run cushion in the opener.

Senior third baseman Luke Broadhurst (Stafford) led off a four-run second inning in the second game with his team-leading eighth home run. With two out, five consecutive Eastern batters reached as the Warriors added three more runs. Junior catcher Matt Malcom (East Lyme) doubled and rode home on junior shortstop Owen Marica's (Haddam) single and after a hit batter and walk, Mesagno made it 4-0 with a two-run single. When Eastern scored three unearned insurance runs in the sixth, Claiborn and Mesagno stroked back-to-back run-scoring doubles.

On the day, Mesagno and Claiborn each had four hits and Malcom and junior second baseman Noah Plantamuro (Bristol) added three each. Claiborn reached six times on the day batting leadoff and Plantamuro scored four runs batting ninth.

Mesagno has ignited the current eight-game win streak by hitting safely in all eight with a .424 batting average, with Plantamuro at .450, Broadhurst at .440, senior first baseman Holden White (Wallingford) at .421 and Marica at .400.  Mesago has driven in 13 runs with five home runs and three doubles and has scored 14 runs in that stretch and Broadhurst has three doubles and three home runs, nine RBI and nine runs scored. The conference leader in hitting (.416) and among the top three in most offfensive categories, Broadhurst shares second place in the LEC in runs scored but was 0-for-5 in the first game that ended a streak of 18 consecutive games with at least one run scored.

No Eastern team since 2009 has won more than this year's 29 games in the regular season (prior to the LEC tournament), with this year's team matching the 29 victories compiled by the 2011 and 2014 teams in the regular season. In 2009, the Warriors were 32-6 prior to the LEC tournament and went on to capture the LEC tourney title and reach the NCAA New England tournament championship game.