Corsairs defeat Seahawks, 11-6, in eight

NEWPORT, R.I. - Junior catcher Dominic Di Sano (Central Falls, R.I.) staked the Seahawks to a 1-0 lead with a second-inning solo home run, his first of the season, but UMass Dartmouth took the lead for good in the third inning to defeat Salve Regina University, 11-6, in eight innings after rain halted the game at historic Cardines Field.

Both teams got production from the top of their batting order. In the Corsair third, freshman Connor Shaw (Goffstown, N.H.) reached on a one-out single to left center. With two outs, sophomore Luke Bomback (Swansea, Mass.) doubled to left field to tie the score at 1-1. Alex Newton (Saco, Maine) followed by fouling off six pitches from Seahawk starter Branden Hoxsie (Warwick, R.I.), before getting hit by a pitch.

Bomback and Shaw came around to score on Matt Worden's (New Bedford, Mass.) double to left.

Salve Regina (16-7) got one run back in its third inning when freshman outfielder Ryan Kelly (Waldwick, N.J.) led off with a single through the left side, stole second, and came around on Tyler Colby's (Easton, Conn.) single to center field.

Hoxsie had a fly out and ground out from the first two batters he faced in the Corsair fourth, before Ryan Medeiros (Acushnet, Mass.) belted a solo homer to right field.

A four-run fifth inning for UMass Dartmouth (8-11) was highlighted by a two-run double for Tyler White (Westport, Mass.) who later scored on Taylor Cacciola's single (West Greenwich, R.I.), knocking out Hoxsie.

In the bottom of the fifth with two outs and the bases loaded, freshman Ryan Sweenor (South Kingstown, R.I.) singled on an 0-2 count to right field to deliver two runs. Sweenor and Joe Haley (North Kingstown, R.I.) executed a delayed double-steal to plate the fifth Seahawk run.

The Corsairs added two runs in their sixth frame including an RBI single for Newton that scored George Aggostini (Dighton, Mass.). Both teams added unearned runs before the game reached the ninth inning.

In the top of that frame, UMass Dartmouth nearly doubled its score with nine runs crossing the plate but rain became heavy and ended the game before completing the ninth inning, reverting the score and statistics back to the eighth - the last completed frame.

Medeiros led all players with three hits while Aggostini, Newton, White, and Worden collected two apiece. Colby and Sweenor had two hits each for the Seahawks.

Salve Regina plays a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) doubleheader on Saturday (12 p.m.) at Nichols College while UMass Dartmouth plays its second of back-to-back night games on the road at Rivier College on Thursday.