Seven games into his sophomore campaign, Cranston East graduate Jay Bast has been one of the difference makers on the UMass-Dartmouth defense, getting his hands dirty in the trenches for the Corsairs. The former Thunderbolt is currently tied for seventh on the team with 18 total tackles, with all but three of his stops to date coming without the assistance of a fellow teammate. While he may have a nose for the ball carrier, Bast has shown a bigger preference for opposition signal callers, as his four sacks places him in a tie for the UMass-Dartmouth lead alongside Tony Slaughter. Half of the defensive tackle’s quarterback takedowns to date came on October 5 in a 39-33 defeat to Framingham State, who overcame a 26-13 halftime deficit to deal the Corsairs their first defeat of the fall via a 39-33 scoreline. Bast has also found time to reach the end zone, as one of his team-leading two interceptions turned into a pick-six, doing so on October 19 against Bridgewater State. In the third quarter of what ended up being a 56-20 defeat for UMass-Dartmouth, Bast wrapped up the day’s scoring by hauling in a wayward pass from the Bears’ Stefano D’Emilia and returning it 12 yards to paydirt. Last weekend, the Corsairs upped their record to 5-2 on the season with a 46-8 pummeling of Worcester State, defeating the Lancers for the second straight year and in the process snapping their two-game losing skid. Next up for UMass-Dartmouth is a visit this Saturday evening to Western Connecticut, who fell from the ranks of the unbeaten last Saturday with a 39-14 setback to Framingham State as the Rams’ Adam Wojenski threw for four touchdowns in the win.

Cranstonian Arianna Boscia did not have to wait long to open her goal scoring account for the 2019-20 season for the Saint Michael’s women’s hockey team, doing so in the Purple Knights’ season opener on October 18 versus Post. The La Salle alumna was credited with the game-winning marker in the team’s 2-1 defeat of the Eagles, firing a shot past opposing goaltender Jenna Baumgartner 92 seconds into the third period on the power play. It was one of five shots that Boscia managed to get on goal in the contest, a feat she repeated the following day when the two teams locked horns again, with Post picking up a weekend split with a 3-2 triumph. Saint Michael’s return to the ice this Friday with the opener of a two-game weekend set against Long Island, before welcoming Franklin Pierce for a pair of contests the following weekend.