University of Massachusets Athletics
Baseball Ready for Pivitol Series at St. Joe's
May 03, 2002 | Baseball
May 3, 2002
After picking up a thrilling 11-10, 13-inning win at Vermont on Wedensday, the University of Massachusetts baseball team will now return to Atlantic 10 action as it travels to Philadelphia to take on St. Joseph's in a crucial three-game series. UMass enters the contest with a 6-12 record in A-10 action, one game behind St. Joe's 7-11 mark. Both teams need wins to stay alive in the hunt for a berth in the 2002 Atlantic 10 Tournament.
UMass Domination of St. Joe's Dates Back 10 Years
UMass has fared favorably against the Hawks of St. Joseph's in recent years, as the Minutemen have won the last five meetings between the two schools, dating back to a 3-1 defeat on May 12, 2000. Before that setback, UMass had claimed 20 consecutive victories over the Hawks, sweeping the Hawks each year between 1994 and 1999.
The Minutemen have posted a 48-11 all-time record against St. Joseph's, including a 21-5 mark in games played in Philadelphia. UMass is currently riding a 10-game win streak at St. Joe's.
On the Mound for the Minutemen
Senior righthander Jesse Santos will take the hill for UMass in Saturday afternoon's series-opener against the Hawks. Santos has pitched 65.2 innings this season, allowing just 28 runs, 25 of which were earned, on 54 hits. He has walked 33 and struck out 52, and posted a solid 3.43 ERA en route to a 6-2 record. Santos has won the first game of UMass' Atlantic 10 series four times in five series-opening starts this season.
Santos, who has been the top Minuteman starter all season, has tossed complete games in each of his last five outings, including a two-hit shutout of Temple two weeks ago. In that contest, Santos walked one and struck out six.
Last weekend, the Chelmsford, Mass., native was touched for six runs in the fourth inning at St. Bonaventure en route to his first loss in five starts. Santos still finished the contest, allowing just one hit outside of that fourth inning.
At Rhode Island earlier this month, Santos picked up a series-opening win, allowing just three runs on seven hits while striking out eight and walking just one. Against Dayton, Santos went the distance in a 9-4 UMass victory on Saturday. In that contest, the senior cruised through six innings before surrendering four runs when the game was out of reach in the seventh inning. In the series opener against George Washington, Santos went seven strong innings, striking out a career-high 10 in the 5-4 Minuteman victory.
In his last five starts, Santos has struck out 31 batters while walking just 10 in 34 innings of work.
In Saturday's second game, University of Massachusetts head coach Mike Stone is expected to send freshman lefthander Keith Doherty to the hill to make his ninth career start. Doherty has started eight games this season, including starts in each of UMass' last five Atlantic 10 series and one midweek start against Harvard at the Beanpot Baseball Classic at Fenway Park. He has compiled a 2-4 record with a 6.70 ERA in 48.1 innings of work. In his 11 appearances, he has walked 29 and struck out 30. Last weekend at St. Bonaventure, Doherty went 7.2 innings, allowing just three seventh-inning runs en route to his first win since March 16. He silenced the red-hot St. Bonaventure bats, holding the Bonnies to just eight hits.
Against Harvard at the Beanpot, the Quincy, Mass., native was impressive, allowing just one run on three hits in four innings. He struck out three and did not allow a walk in the outing.
Two weeks ago against Temple, Doherty started the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. He went 5 innings, allowing six runs on five hits and five walks and picked up his fourth loss of the season.
Earlier this month at Rhode Island, Doherty drew his first Sunday start. The southpaw went 7.2 strong innings, allowing just two runs on five hits before being tagged with three-consecutive, two-out hits, including a three-run home run. On April 11, Doherty tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless relief at Northeastern to pick up his first career save. Against Dayton, Doherty went 4.1 innings, allowing seven runs, six earned, on eight hits. Against George Washington the week before, the southpaw went 4.0 innings, allowing six earned runs on nine hits.
On Sunday, the Minutemen are expected to hand the ball to sophomore righthander Eric Chown. Chown is tied for the UMass team lead with 13 appearances on the season. His last appearance came on Wednesday, as the Fall River, Mass., native went 7.2 innings in relief, picking up the win in UMass' 11-10, 13-inning affair with Vermont. Chown scattered five hits in his effort, allowing three runs, all of which were earned.
Chown has started six times this year, including last Saturday's second game, a 15-6 loss at St. Bonaventure. Chown went just 2.2 innings, allowing eight runs on eight hits and two walks. Of those eight runs, only three were earned. Against Temple a week earlier, Chown went 7.1 innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits and one walk.
Before the Temple outing, Chown had not started a game since a March 30 contest against George Washington. In that contest Chown was touched for seven runs on seven hits in six innings of work.
Chown has been spectacular out of the bullpen, allowing just one run on nine hits in 9.2 innings. Two weeks ago, Chown picked up his first win of the season as he tossed 6.1 innings of scoreless baseball to lead UMass to a Saturday sweep of Rhode Island.
Stone Records 400th Win at UMass
With a 10-3 win over Quinnipiac on Saturday, March 9, head coach Mike Stone recorded his 400th win at the helm of the University of Massachusetts baseball program. Stone has compiled a 415-277-2 (.600) record in his 14-plus seasons at the University of Massachusetts. With the win over Quinnipiac, Stone became the first UMass baseball coach ever to eclipse the 400-win total. Stone became UMass' all-time winningest coach with his 393rd win last season, surpassing legendary coach Dick Bergquist, who managed the Minutemen from 1967-87.
Including five years as the head coach at the University of Vermont, Stone has compiled a 469-367-4 overall record.
Santos Wins Keep Minutemen Alive
Senior righthander Jesse Santos has been a constant savior to a young UMass staff that has struggled through the first half of the season. Santos has posted a 6-2 record in nine starts, pitching six complete games, including five straight after last weekend's series. His 3.43 ERA is tops among regular starters, and ranks fifth in the Atlantic 10. He also leads the team in innings pitched and strikeouts.
Santos Honored for Early Success
After putting together back-to-back quality starts to begin the season, senior righthander Jesse Santos was named the Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week. Santos and Tim Stauffer of Richmond shared the first honor of the year for their accomplishments through the first three weeks of the season.
Santos compiled a 2-0 record in his first two starts for the Minutemen, tossing 16 innings while allowing just one earned run on nine hits. He walked nine, struck out nine and opponents batted just .161 against him. Against South Florida in the season opener, Santos threw the fifth complete game of his career to lead UMass to a 3-2 victory. Santos finished the opening-night contest with 9.0 innings pitched, allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits. Against Quinnipiac, Santos tossed seven scoreless innings, scattering four hits and recording four strikeouts.
Senez Named 2002 Team Captain
Senior third baseman Aaron Senez has been voted team captain for the 2002 campaign by his teammates. Senez has played in 149 games as a Minuteman, with 139 starts.
A solid run producer, Senez is tied for third all-time at UMass in both sacrifice bunts (22) and doubles (42). He has 10 doubles and six sacrifice bunts this season.
Senez Sparks Struggling Offense
On an offense that has struggled mightily through most of the season, Aaron Senez has been one of the few bright spots for the 2002 Minutemen. A .275 hitter a year ago, Senez has put together a team-best .333 batting average this season. He leads the squad in hits (45), RBIs (32), home runs (6), total bases (75) and slugging percentage (.573).
In his last three games, Senez is 8-for-13 with four RBI, five runs scored, he also has a double, a home run and two walks in the last three contest.
He has 25 hits in his last 18 games, including four home runs, four doubles and a triple. He has also driven in 18 runs and scored 13 more over that stretch.
Kulak Heating Up After Tough Start
Senior centerfielder Mike Kulak has finally found his hitting stroke after a rough start to the 2002 season. The Bristol, Conn., native, hitting just .205 as UMass began Atlantic 10 play on March 23, has raised his batting average more than 125 points in his last 24 games.
Kulak has hit safely in 17 of his last 19 contests, and had a team-best, nine-game hit streak snapped a few weeks ago. He has 12 multi-hit games in his last 23 starts, and he drove in three runs in UMass' 19-18 win over Connecticut. He currently stands second on the squad with a .333 batting average and is third on the team with six stolen bases.
Altieri's April Success Carries Over to First Game of May
Junior first baseman Jeff Altieri certainly had a March to forget as the Whitinsville, Mass., native finished the month 14-for-61 (.230) with no home runs, four doubles and four runs batted in.
In April, Altieri went 23-for-62 (.371) with a home run, eight runs batted in, six doubles and a triple. He tied a school record with three doubles in UMass' 19-18, 10-inning win over Connecticut, and he finished that contest 4-for-6 with two RBI and three runs scored.
Against Dayton in the first Atlantic 10 series of April, Altieri went 8-for-11 with two RBI and two runs scored. At Rhode Island, the first baseman went 4-for-10, with a solo home run in the first game of the series.
Altieri, the only Minuteman regular not to make an error yet this season, has improved his batting average nearly 80 points, jumping from .230 to .308.
In the first game of May, Altieri continued his hot-hitting ways, going 3-for-7 with three RBIs at Vermont. In his last two games, Altieri has five hits and five RBIs.
UMass Hitters Spring to Life During Homestand
During a seven-game homestand that spanned 12 days and included two Atlantic 10 series from March 29-Arpil 9, the University of Massachusetts batters looked to have found their collective swing as they scored five or more runs in each outing and pounded out 10 or more hits in five straight games.
The Minutemen, who were hitting .243 entering the homestand, raised their batting average more than 30 points during the stretch. After four games that saw the Minutemen collect 13, 13, 11 and 10 hits against A-10 pitching, UMass exploded in a Tuesday game against Holy Cross. In that game, UMass scored 15 runs on 18 hits, smashing three home runs and seven doubles.
Two weeks ago, UMass returned home after six games away from Amherst. The Minuteman offense again awoke as Massachusetts batters tallied 19 runs on 21 hits, including nine unanswered scores to claim a 19-18, 10-inning win over Connecticut on Wednesday. In that game alone, UMass improved its team batting average by 10 points, jumping from .273 to .283.
Sunshine State, Southern Swing not Kind to Minuteman Bats
The University of Massachusetts baseball team didn't respond well to the warmer climate while on a Spring Break trip to Bradenton, Fla., and Richmond, Va. In fact, the UMass hitters went down right cold in the heat, posting a dismal .193 batting average in 12 games in Florida (including a three-game series at South Florida) and Richmond this season. The Minutemen struck out 96 times while totaling just 75 hits en route to a 2-10 record in those 12 games.
In contrast, UMass batters have hit .321 in 22 games in New England, striking out 137 times while knocking 232 basehits and blasting 18 home runs.
On Deck
After this weekend's series against Atlantic 10 rival St. Joseph's, the Minutemen will host Siena on Tuesday, May 7 at 3:00 p.m. UMass will then make the short drive to New Britian, Conn., to take on Central Connecticut on Wednesday before welcoming Harvard for a make-up contest on Thursday. Next weekend, the Minutemen will close out their regular-season schedule as they host Fordham in a three-game series at Earl Lorden Field.
