BOSTON — Peabody native Bobby Tramondozzi and the UMass Boston baseball team carried high expectations coming into this season, and with good reasons.
All the Beacons did last spring was finish with a 38-12 mark, set a program record for wins and make run in the Division III College World Series. Along the way, Tramondozzi emerged as a reliable reliever for the Beacons, collecting six saves and going 4-3 with a 3.49 ERA in 24 appearances as the team’s closer.
Now a junior, Tramondozzi has turned things up a notch in sealing UMass Boston’s wins. Through 13 appearances in 29 games, Tramondozzi has matched his save total from last season with six. In 21.2 innings of work, Tramondozzi has allowed just one earned run, five hits and 11 walks. He currently holds a 0.42 ERA for the season.
Earlier this week it was announced that Tramondozzi had been named to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week, for his efforts in last Saturday’s wins over UMass Dartmouth. He picked up saves in both Beacons wins of the doubleheader.
“I’m not the typical closer,” Tramondozzi, a two-year starter at Peabody High for Tanners coach Mark Bettencourt, said. “I can come in, throw the ninth inning and close the game. Coming out of the bullpen I just want to get those three outs and get the win. My goal is to get the win for the team.”
The Beacons were expected to make noise this season, holding the No. 1 spot in the Division III rankings at one point this year, and they haven’t disappointed. UMass Boston’s 24-5 and riding a 13-game win streak that includes seven Little East Conference victories.
“We’ve been starting to click with the bats,” Tramondozzi said. “The order, one through nine, is really starting to hit. Even the guys coming off the bench are coming through with quality at-bats. The pitching staff is coming into its own. Our starters are pitching well and the relievers are coming in shutting the door.
“We didn’t really expect to lose many games,” Tramondozzi added. “Some of the losses we had shouldn’t have been losses. Coming into the season we thought we’d be very good. It’s impressive to be where we are today.”
Tramondozzi isn’t the only Peabody native contributing the UMass Boston’s success on the diamond. Fellow junior reliever Joe Maguire, who was also a teammate of Tramondozzi’s at Peabody High, has made 12 appearances this spring. Maguire’s younger brother, Pat, a freshman pitcher, earned his first college win earlier this week when the Beacons rolled past Salem State, 15-1.
Also on the team are freshman pitcher Nick Lepore, a Malden Catholic product, and freshman outfielder Nick Palma, who has 3 RBI this season.
“It’s pretty cool. Before me and Joe came here there weren’t many guys from Peabody here,” Tramondozzi said. “It’s a cool transition having these friends come in here and seeing us all do well together.”
Peabody has grown into a recruiting pipeline for the Beacons. Bettencourt, who played Division I baseball at Boston College, coached the Beacons before taking the job at Peabody High. Tramondozzi credited Bettencourt for establishing a program that molds its players and prepares them for the college level.
“My senior year we had 16 seniors at Peabody and seven went onto to play college baseball,” Tramondozzi said. “It shows how Coach Bettencourt really helps develop us into the players that we are today. He’s a huge help to all of our careers.”
Although the Beacons have laid a solid foundation for themselves thus far, the work isn’t done yet. UMass Boston has 11 regular season games remaining on its schedule, seven of which are against LEC opponents. The Beacons, currently ranked No. 5/6 in Division III, are in first place in the conference standings.
“We just need to keep doing what we’re doing,” Tramondozzi said. “We go out there and play every day. We play baseball. We’re not worried about rankings or anything like that. If our pitching continues to play to its potential we’ll be able to win ball games.”
Tramondozzi and the Beacons host Keene State for a doubleheader Saturday afternoon (12/3).