Bristol Reporter

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth baseball team ended in a tie for the first time since the 2003 season, finishing in a 12-12 draw in 11 innings, at Roger Williams Thursday afternoon. It was just the eighth tie in the 56 years of the program.

Seniors Kyle Denis and James Pedersen each hit solo home runs for the Corsairs (13-21-1). Sophomore Matthew Klett finished 3-for-6 with a triple and a double, four RBI and three runs scored, while sophomore Chase Carey went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored. Denis and freshman Zakary Droukas each tallied two hits.

UMass Dartmouth took the lead in the early stages of the contest with one run in each of the first, second, and third innings. In the first, sophomore Andrew Possi singled home Klett, who led the inning off with a base hit, Pedersen struck his first home run of the year in the second, and an error allowed Klett to score in the third to make it a 3-0 lead.

Roger Williams got it all back with a three run bottom of the third with back-to-back doubles.

Four more runs scored for the Corsairs in the fourth. Klett tripled to bring home Droukas and Pedersen, Carey then singled to right to score Klett, and Denis hit an RBI single to bring home Carey to take a 7-3 advantage. An RBI double by the Hawks in the home half of the fourth made it a 7-4 game.

Klett did it again in the fifth with a two-RBI double down the right field line to extend the Corsair advantage to 9-4. Carey then sent two home with a double of his own in the seventh to bring the score to 11-4. RWU hung around, putting up three runs in the home half of the seventh with an RBI double, a sacrifice fly, and an RBI single, making it an 11-7 game.

Denis cranked his first homer of the year over the right-center field fence to give the Corsairs a 12-7 lead. Roger Williams evened the score with a double and a three-run home run in the eighth, and an RBI fielder's choice in the ninth, to force extras.

Neither side would score in the extra frames and the game was called after 11 innings.

UMass Dartmouth closes the regular season with a key Little East Conference (LEC) doubleheader at Keene State on Friday at 12 and 3 p.m. If the Corsairs win both games they are in the LEC Tournament. If they split they still have a chance, but will need help from the other teams in the conference.