BY SHUN HASEGAWAStaff Writer

The UMass Boston baseball team could be nearly invisible for most of the campus community.

Without its own home field, the Beacons travel, sometimes across state borders, to practice and play home games. If without an available venue to train, they set up a temporal batting cage inside the gymnasium at Clark Athletic Center regardless of the fine and mild weather outside.

Despite the hardship UMB has left a decent 12-11 overall record while at 2-3 to stand sixth among eight Little East Conference constituents. The Beacons now enter into the final third of the season, with 12 more games to go, six of them conference contests.

Eastern Connecticut State University leads the others in the conference at 6-1, aiming at four straight titles.

On Saturday, April 16, UMB split a doubleheader against LEC-foe Rhode Island College, 7-6 and 4-11, wrapping up the week during it played five games. The Beacons won over Framingham State College (12-3), as Chuck Ritterson pitched six innings giving up two earned runs, and Chris King singled and doubled to drive in four runs. Bowdoin College and Curry College delivered a pair of loss, 10-6, 5-1, respectively.

UMB was fast to pick up the rhythm assailing the Rhode Island College pitchers grabbing a 6-2 lead in the sixth of the first game of doubleheader against the Anchorman. Against a team with a 4.16 ERA, senior first baseman David Waters knocked a two-run homer to left in the second and added an RBI single in the third, UMB pitcher Evan Tardugno hit an RBI double, junior infielder Mike Yagmin drove in another with a double and came back to the plate on an error by a second baseman to widen the gap.

Tardugno pitched with a complete game with 11 Ks to hold a tight lead (7-6). He gave up two runs to make it a one-run game and Rhode Island College still had runners on the corners with two outs. Tardugno recorded an assist to end the jam by himself fielding a comebacker by a pinch-hitter. The sophomore allowed seven hits and six runs (four of them earned) for his second victory of the season.

Rhode Island College revenged at the Beacons hard in the second game with a final score of 11-4, featuring a six-run sixth inning. The Anchorman collected eleven hits (one home run and ten singles) against four of UMB hurlers who have a 5.47 ERA for the season.

Sophomore pitcher/outfielder Pat Donovan hit his third home run of the season and is tied at first in the conference. Yagmin collected four base hits on the day.

The Beacons are scheduled to play two conference games at Plymouth State University on Friday, April 22, and at UMass Dartmouth on the day after.