Box Score GORHAM, Maine – The Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team (25-14-1, 11-5 LEC) recorded just three hits in a 7-0 loss against the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (20-20, 11-5 LEC) on Thursday morning at Ed Flaherty Field in Gorham, Maine. Adam Maher pitched a shutout for the Corsairs, striking out six batters and allowing two walks in the process.
Matthew Carrera (Mount Sinai, NY) and
Hank Penders (Wethersfield) were the only two Warriors to record a hit in Eastern's opening game of the 2026 Little East Conference Playoffs.
Jake Shaughnessy (Franklin, MA) allowed six runs (five earned) on six hits, walking three and striking out five in his 3.2 innings of work on the mound.
The final three pitchers threw for 1.2 innings or less, allowing three hits and one run in their combined 4.1 innings.
Andrew Merrill (South Paris, ME) was the only pitcher of the four to not allow a hit, forcing three groundouts as he made his way through the bottom of the eighth.
Shortstop Cooper Wixon went 4-5 for the Corsairs, leading his team with two RBIs and three runs, including the game's only home run, a solo shot from Wixon to left center in the fourth. Third baseman Luc Nivaud also had two RBIs for UMass Dartmouth, opening the scoring with his first and making it 4-0 with his RBI in the third.
The bulk of the Corsair runs came in the third and fourth innings off Shaughnessy. Wixon, who scored the first of the day, doubled to right field and allowed Jayden Cruz to score. Cruz would score in the next inning as well, benefiting on a wild pitch to give his team a 5-0 advantage. In the seventh inning, Ryan Jones tacked on the final run with an RBI single through the left side as Nick Bartalini scored the final run for the Corsairs, who win 7-0 in the first game and will face Keene State College at 6 p.m.
The Warriors will have just a few hours of rest before taking on the top-seeded University of Southern Maine Huskies at 3 p.m. on Thursday at Ed Flaherty Field in Gorham, ME. On Wednesday, the Huskies hosted #6 VTSU Castleton at 9 a.m. and defeated the Spartans 10-6. Southern Maine built up an 8-0 lead after just two innings, scoring their final two runs in the third. Despite allowing nine earned runs after three innings, Castleton trusted their starter Nick Lescarbeau, as he finished with 7.1 innings pitched and did not give up a single run after the third, allowing the Spartans to attempt a comeback.
In the two previous meetings with Southern Maine this season, the Warriors split the doubleheader as they won game one 10-3 and lost game two 19-8 (8 inn.).
AJ Rooks (Coventry) had his best performance of the season, pitching four innings of relief and striking out seven batters, allowing no hits and one walk as the Warriors closed out game one. Colin McDonald (was 8-0) was handed his first loss on the mound for the Huskies.
In game two, Southern Maine's Peter Keblinsky went 5-5 with two RBIs, before finishing the game with an inning pitched on the mound. In game three, the Warriors are in a must-win scenario, facing elimination from the Little East Conference Playoffs with a loss.
