BROCKTON, Mass. – Lesley University dropped a non-conference affair to UMass Boston 9-4 this afternoon at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Mass. Freshman Steve Witkowski (Pittsfield, Mass.) pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out two and allowing just two hits to earn his first win of the season to propel the Beacons to 14-12 on the season. The loss drops the Lynx to 8-19 overall.
UMass got on the board early as Todd Ezold (Westfield, Mass.) connected for a two-run home run in the first while the Beacons tacked on three more to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Josh Lopez (New Haven, Conn.) would drive in the first run of the second inning on an RBI single. Sal Frosceno (Derby, Conn.) would then make it a four-run affair after scoring on a wild pitch. Lopez would eventually come around to score on a throwing error in the Lynx infield.
After a scoreless third inning, an RBI single by Delvis Baez (Lawrence, Mass.) in the bottom half of the fourth made it 6-0 Beacons. Witkowski would allow his first of only two hits, both singles, in the top half of the third, but the Beacons defense would not allow the runner to reach second.
The sixth inning would see two more runs put-up on the board by the Beacons to make it 8-0 UMass Boston. Frosceno would plate Luke Nagle (Pembroke, Mass.) on an RBI groundout, while another wild pitch by Lesley would allow Anthony Searles (Shelton, Conn.) to earn his first run of the afternoon. The Beacons would add one more in the seventh to cap their scoring on the day.
Lesley did not go down quietly as they battled back in the eighth scoring three in the inning. Freshman Nick Iadevaio (Mineola, N.Y.) drew a two-out walk before classmate Tom Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) followed with a single up the middle. Senior Rob Parson (Commack, N.Y.) would put the Lynx on the board as he brought both runners around with a triple to left-centerfield. Junior Gustavo Polidor (Caracas, Venezuela) would connect for Lesley's third straight hit in the inning as he singled through the left side to plate Parson and cut the deficit to 9-3.
Lesley continued to battle back in the ninth as sophomore Mike Slaby (Foxboro, Mass.) led off with a single before senior Joe Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) reached on an error. Fellow senior Adam Ciampi (Westford, Mass.) would then reach on an infield single that scored Slaby before Beacons reliever Josh Cummiskey (Lowell, Mass.) ended the inning with a pop-out and a groundout to preserve the 9-4 victory for the hosts.
The Lynx will return to New England Collegiate Conference play on Saturday when they host Becker College for a doubleheader at Trum Memorial Field at 5:00p.