UMass Boston Baseball opened up the season with three quick home games. According to Beacons Athletics, they began their year March 1 against the Pilgrims of New England College. Grad student right-hander Max Moss was on the mound for the Beacons against lefty Brett Patnode (1,2).
It was an old-fashioned pitchers duel in the first two innings, with only one hit squeaking through for New England College. But in the third, the bats came alive for the Beacons. Freshman outfielder Justin Gouveia homered to right field near the flag poles for a solo bomb that would put the first run on the board, but UMass Boston would not stop there. Pantode would load the bases shortly after, setting up junior catcher Mike Meagher for the grand slam, blowing the game wide open, with the Beacons growing the lead to 6–0 in only the third inning.
The Pilgrims would head to the bullpen after only three innings, but UMass Boston would pile on more runs in the fourth. Freshman Elliot Miles doubled to bring home senior Aidan Blake and first year first-baseman Connor Seeley, which was followed by a single from Boystyn Burris that brought home another run. The Beacons had a monster 9–0 lead heading into only the fifth inning.
UMass Boston would add even more runs in the seventh. First year catcher Brandon Gaer doubled with one out and drove home junior Luke Leavitt, while fellow first year and third baseman Ryan Slack followed up with a triple to drive Gaer home. Junior left fielder Reed Burkett-Schneider would hit a sac-fly to left field to bring home Slack for three more runs, running the tally up to 12–0 in the process.
The Pilgrims would show some life with a measly run of their own in the eighth, but it was too little too late. Per Beacons Athletics, UMass Boston would go on to win their home opener 13–1 (3).
The Beacons’ pitching staff gave a dominant performance, allowing nine hits and amassing 15 total strike-outs. Eight of them came from senior Thomas Kierce in four innings of work (2).
This big win was the perfect confidence booster, as the Endicott Gulls—who were ranked as the third best team in the country—were soon coming to Beaconville March 2. Beacons Athletics reported that it was senior right-hander Dillion Ryan for the Beacons slated to square up against senior lefty Jordan Gottesman for the Gulls [4].
It was another pitcher’s duel to start the game; Ryan took control of the side, retiring the first four batters with ease. Gottesman replied with the same intensity on the mound, only allowing UMass Boston one hit, and the Beacons left one runner on base heading into the second. The next three innings were more of the same. Both teams totaled only three hits, hanging around and trying to be the first to blow it open.
The Gulls were the ones to blow it open in the fifth inning as they swung for three hits to drive in four runs in a spurt of offense, putting the pressure on UMass Boston with time running out. In the sixth, the Beacons would put up one run to shrink the lead to three, making their mountain climb a little smoother. In the remaining innings, the defense clamped up for both teams—unfortunate for the Beacons who couldn’t match Endicott’s slew of offense in the fifth, losing a tough game 5–1 (4).
Both teams were matched in the hit column with seven, but as seen on Beacons Athletics’ box score, the Gulls had the edge with strike-outs with 13, putting only two pitchers on the mound (5).
After a postponed game against MIT, the Beacons’ next home game will be March 20 against Johnson and Wales University (1). It’ll be a much needed return to Monan Park for the Beacons, who spent their spring break out west in Oregon; here’s to giving them a warm welcome home after a grueling road trip to the Beaver state.
- https://beaconsathletics.com/sports/baseball/schedule
- https://beaconsathletics.com/sports/baseball/stats/2024/new-england-college/boxscore/11669
- https://beaconsathletics.com/news/2024/3/1/baseball-the-beacons-open-their-season-with-home-victory-over-pilgrims.aspx
- https://beaconsathletics.com/news/2024/3/2/baseball-ryan-holds-gulls-to-one-hit-through-four-innings-beacons-fall-short-against-endicott.aspx
- https://beaconsathletics.com/sports/baseball/stats/2024/endicott-college/boxscore/11670
