After a lead-off double from Eastern Nazarene College’s Elvis Rojas, it was picked off immediately by Beacons starter Ethan Hunt. That spelled the sloppy mess of a game from the Lions, errors and miscues all over the place. It opened the door for UMass Boston’s sixth straight victory, propelling the team to 12–7 as of April 2, a 13–1 dominant win.
As it turns out, the Lions weren’t built for the rain—especially their bench crew, who screamed childlike taunts before what seemed like every Ethan Hunt pitch. Unfortunately, no Beacon reliever had the pleasure of their bush league chants, Eastern Nazarene blew up before they had the chance. Lions starter Francis Ferguson walked eight and gave up six runs—two earned—only to make way for Paul Foster’s five hit, five run—all earned—fifth inning, in which he only made two of three outs.
Eleven different Beacons reached base against Eastern Nazarene, according to Beacons Athletics. (1) Just nine hits, but 10 walks for UMass Boston, they controlled the plate from start to finish.
It wasn’t just an offensive explosion—maybe a self-implosion of Eastern Nazarene—but a gem from the Beacons’ pitching staff. Ethan Hunt is now 4–0 as a starter this year; he struck out five, only put five on via two hits and three walks, making it through five scoreless innings. The Beacons’ bullpen did their job, and were electric for the most part. Four relievers combined for four innings, only allowing one run—a home run deep to left field—in contrast to seven strikeouts.
The Beacons are rolling early, and have put themselves in a good position, moving forward at a 4–0 record in the Little East Conference, and a 6–2 record at home (1). This roster has a good mix of seasoned and young talent, even at the top. UMass Boston’s Justin Gouveia, a second-year, has been a big part of their success.
Gouveia, hailing from Dartmouth, Mass., is nearing or has surpassed just about every major statistic total of his freshman year already, and smashing his averages. Through 19 games, Gouveia has 27 hits while batting .342—he only hit 36 balls with a .269 batting average a year ago. (1) His slugging percentage is .210 above his first year’s, and his on base percentage is nearly a full .100 higher, says Beacons Athletics. (1)
Gouveia’s taken a step into stardom with this team, and he feels he’s come into somewhat of a leadership role as well.
“I want to lead by example… I definitely want to play loud,” said Gouveia. He categorizes himself as a quiet guy, but it’s obvious his team feeds off his passion and production; they’re a tightly knit group. Gouveia says, “team chemistry is through the roof.”
The Beacons understand the position they’re in. Gouveia stressed how important their conference and home record is. They feel Monan Park is a “huge advantage” going into the postseason, and the only way to hold onto it is to, as Gouveia said, “keep grinding.”
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