Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
MANSFIELD, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team (22-11-1, 9-4 LEC) won both games of its Little East Conference doubleheader against the University of Massachusetts Boston (17-18, 5-8 LEC) Sunday afternoon at Holowaty Family Field. The Warriors snap their five-game losing streak and look to stay hot as they enter the last week of the regular season.
 
Eastern won the first game by a score of 3-2 and the second game 9-2.
 
AJ Rooks (Coventry) earned his first career win at the end of the Warriors' comeback in game one, pitching 3.2 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, and striking out three batters when he took the mound for Stephen Rickert (Williston, VT). Rickert allowed four hits and both of the UMass Boston runs in his 5.1 innings pitched, striking out four and walking four batters.
 
For the Beacons, Cameron Fisher was dominant on the mound in his seven innings of work. Fisher allowed four hits and just one run, striking out five Warriors before he was replaced by Owen Ellsworth. After pitching the eighth inning, Ellsworth made way for Alex Meesig, who walked two batters, allowed one hit, one run, and hit Teige Kimbler (Albany, NY) to bring in pinch runner Sean Hickey (Manchester) for the game-winning run.
 
Ryan Slack delivered a RBI double to left field in the top of the fourth, allowing Ben Sherry to score the game's first run. Elliot Miles repeated the feat in the next inning as Dylan Agvent scored off an RBI double to make it 2-0 for the Beacons. The Warriors got one back in the bottom of the sixth when a high pop-up from Hank Penders (Wethersfield) troubled the Beacons outfielders and brought home Nicolas Martini (New Fairfield).
 
A chaotic bottom of the ninth proved to be exactly what the Warriors needed to break their five-game losing streak. Two runs were scored on one hit in an inning that had three walks and a hit by pitch. Eastern turned to Kieran Scruggs (Fairfield) with runners on first and second and Scruggs delivered yet again, singling to left field to load the bases. The Warriors leveled the game when Matthew Carrera (Mount Sinai, NY) was walked and Dylan Jackson (Manchester) scored, as the winning run came through on Kimbler's HBP.
 
In game two, Tommy Martorano (Wrentham, MA) got the start on the mound and pitched 4.2 innings, allowing one run, five hits, and eight strikeouts. Jonny Pagano pitched 4.1 innings for the Beacons, allowing five runs, six hits, four walks, and striking out four batters. Penders went 2-4 with two runs and Cole Bissaillon and Elliot Miles went 2-4 for the Beacons.
 
Eastern struck first in the bottom of the second when Martini hit an RBI single to score Jackson. Chad Byrd (Bridgeport) made the difference in bottom of the third, clearing the bases on a single into right field to give the Warriors a 5-0 advantage. The Beacons scored their first run in the top of the fifth off Martorano with a Brandon Gaer sacrifice fly that scored Nick Farnacci. Andrew Merrill (South Paris, ME) replaced Martorano and was able to get the final out of the inning.
 
The Warriors came close to adding more runs in the bottom of the fifth, but reliever Connor Curtis forced Martini to ground into a double play with the bases loaded and one out. In the sixth inning, Eastern brought home four runs off just one hit and two errors. Two of the Warrior runs were earned, while Penders and Lucas Malave (Toms River, NJ) scored unearned runs.
 
A diving play by Carrera in the top of the eighth inning limited the Beacons to just one run. He was able to prevent at least one additional run on a hard-hit ground ball up the middle, flipping the ball to Martini at second for the third out of the inning. Daniel Lapham (Middletown) made just his second appearance this season in the ninth, allowing one hit and sealing the win for Eastern.
 
The Warriors host No. 18 nationally-ranked Endicott College  Monday at 3:30 p.m. in a game that was rescheduled from March 27 at Holowaty Family Field. The Gulls are on an eight-game winning streak and most recently swept Johnson & Wales University in a doubleheader on Saturday. In the first game of the doubleheader, the Gulls scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull away from Johnson & Wales in their closest game of the eight-game stretch. Last year, the Warriors were defeated by the Gulls 11-2 at North Field in Beverly, MA.