University of Massachusets Athletics
Minutemen Head To Richmond For A-10 Finals
May 20, 2003 | Baseball
May 20, 2003
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THE SLATE: The Minutemen (26-17 overall, 14-7 Atlantic 10) travel to Richmond (44-13, 19-4 Atlantic 10) this week, to take on the Spiders in a best two-out-of-three series for the Atlantic 10 Tournament title. The teams will play single games on Thursday, May 22, and Friday, May 23, starting at 1:00 p.m. each day. If UMass and Richmond split those two games, a third contest will take place on Saturday, May 24, at 12:00 p.m. The winner of the series will receive the Atlantic 10's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
UMASS SWEEPS THROUGH FIRST WEEK OF A-10S: The Minutemen, who entered the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship last week at the No. 2 seed, won both of their games at Dodd Memorial Stadium in Norwich, Conn., to advance to this weekend's series. UMass received a first round bye, then posted a 3-1 victory over George Washington on May 16. In their next game, on May 17, the Minutemen defeated Xavier 8-5 to capture the winner's bracket. Top-seeded Richmond went 2-1 to take the loser's bracket, and will host this weekend's series due to a better regular season conference record.
STONE LOOKS FOR 500TH CAREER VICTORY THIS WEEK: Now in his 16th season as UMass' head coach, Mike Stone will look to pick up the 500th victory of his collegiate coaching career against Richmond this week. Stone currently owns an overall record of 445-300-2 at UMass, while his career record stands at 499-390-4, including five years as the head coach at Vermont. Stone guided UMass to NCAA Tournament appearances during the 1995 and 1996 seasons, and was a three-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year selection in 1994, 1995 and 1996. In addition, Stone's Minutemen have won the Atlantic 10 Conference regular season or East Division title eight times in the last 10 years, while claiming a pair of Atlantic 10 Tournament titles. A 1982 UMass graduate, Stone earned three letters as a member of the football team.
MINUTEMEN CLAIM REGULAR SEASON CROWN AGAIN: UMass finished with a 14-7 record in conference games this season, to tie with Rhode Island for first place in the Atlantic 10 East Division. This marks the eighth time in the last 10 years the Minutemen claimed an Atlantic 10 regular season title. UMass previously won Eastern Division titles in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999, while taking the Atlantic 10 title outright in 1994, 1995 and 2001 (The league did not use a divisional format from 1993-1995, and in 2001).
UMASS IN THE ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT: The Minutemen are making an Atlantic 10 record 16th conference tournament appearance this season, and are taking part in the tournament for the 14th time in the last 17 years. UMass has posted a 28-24 record in its previous 15 appearances in the Atlantic 10 Championship, with the 28 victories being the most of any school in league tournament history. The Minutemen have won the Atlantic 10 Tournament title on three previous occasions, in 1980, 1995 and 1996. UMass also had the second-longest string of consecutive tournament appearances with eight from 1994-2001, behind only Rutgers' 10-year stretch from 1986-1995.
ON THE MOUND: Junior righthanded pitcher Eric Chown (Fall River, Mass.) is expected to start for the Minutemen against Richmond on Thursday. Chown enters the week with an overall record of 7-3, a 3.90 earned run average and 45 strikeouts in 64-2/3 innings pitched. Sophomore lefthanded pitcher Keith Doherty (Quincy, Mass.) is the probable starter for game two of the series. Doherty currently stands 4-3 on the season with a 6.56 earned run average and 31 strikeouts in 46-2/3 innings. Freshman righthanded pitcher Matt Torra (Pittsfield, Mass.) would then start for the Minutemen if there is a third game on Saturday. Torra has a 5-4 record this year with a 4.79 earned run average and 44 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched.
THE SERIES WITH RICHMOND: UMass stands 3-5 all-time against the Spiders, in a series which began in 1970. The teams have played only one series since Richmond joined the Atlantic 10 in 2002, with the Spiders sweeping three games from the Minutemen in Richmond last year. UMass has not defeated Richmond since the 1980 season, when it posted a 10-3 road victory. The Minutemen and the Spiders have never met in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
ATHAS LEADS OFFENSE FROM LEADOFF SPOT: Junior shortstop Mike Athas (Holyoke, Mass.) has been a huge spark for the Minutemen this season, hitting out of the leadoff spot in the batting order. Athas currently owns a .350 batting average, in addition to posting an impressive .413 on-base percentage. He had a 14-game hitting streak snapped in UMass' last game against Xavier, after going 26 for 51 (.510) with a .552 on-base percentage in those 14 contests. Overall this season, Athas has also recorded 36 runs scored, seven stolen bases, eight doubles, a triple, two home runs and 20 runs batted in.
TWO MINUTEMEN NAMED TO ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM: A pair of UMass players were honored last week, as they were named to the 2003 All-Atlantic 10 Conference squad. Sophomore lefthanded pitcher Scott Ratliff (Helendale, Calif.) was selected first team all-conference, while junior righthanded pitcher Eric Chown was a second team all-league selection.
CURRERI HAS ANOTHER BIG WEEK: Freshman outfielder Frank Curreri (Weymouth, Mass.) developed into one of the biggest surprises for the Minutemen this year, having a breakthrough season as a true freshman. Curreri had a pair of outstanding games during the Atlantic 10 Tournament last week, going five for six with a triple, seven runs batted in and a pair of walks. He drove in all three of UMass' runs in the 3-1 win over George Washington, then totaled four runs batted in during the 8-5 victory over Xavier. On the season, Curreri is now batting .352 with eight doubles, three home runs and 27 runs batted in. He was particularly impressive in Atlantic 10 regular season games, leading the team with a .407 average, while belting all three of his homers and driving in 13 runs.
MORGAN CONTINUES TO SWING A BIG BAT: Senior designated hitter Chris Morgan (Cranston, R.I.) continues to be a huge threat in the middle of the UMass lineup. He enters this week's series on a seven-game hitting streak, including a huge series against St. Joseph's to conclude the regular season. In three games against the Hawks, Morgan was four for 10 with two homers, three runs scored and seven runs batted in. Overall this season, Morgan leads the team in home runs (seven), runs batted in (32), doubles (14) and slugging percentage (.587). In addition, he ranks fourth on the team with a .343 batting average.
CHOWN CONTINUES TO IMPRESS: Junior righthanded pitcher Eric Chown has been a huge part of UMass' success during the second half of the season. He has thrown six consecutive complete games in his last six starts, posting a 5-1 record in those contests. Last week against George Washington, Chown tossed the first nine-inning complete game of his collegiate career, allowing only one run on six hits while striking out six in the 3-1 win. The previous week against St. Joseph's, he did not allow any earned runs, while surrendering only six hits and two walks in a 10-2 victory. On the year, Chown leads the team in victories (seven), starts (11) and complete games (six). His earned run average stands at 3.90 in 2003, including a 2.74 mark in Atlantic 10 regular season games.
RATLIFF EMERGES AS CLOSER: Sophomore lefthanded pitcher Scott Ratliff (Helendale, Calif.) has turned into a force out of the UMass bullpen this season. In last weekend's Atlantic 10 Tournament action, he picked up a save in the win over Xavier, allowing three hits and striking out three in three shutout innings. For the season, Ratliff now has a 2-2 record with seven saves and a 3.70 earned run average, while striking out 27 batters in 24-1/3 innings pitched. He has tied the school single season record for saves with seven, while his 18 appearances are the third-highest single season total in UMass history.
TORRA SHINES IN ROOKIE SEASON: Freshman righthanded pitcher Matt Torra has been one of the top starters for the Minutemen all season. In late April and early May, he put together a string of three consecutive nine-inning complete games, all coming in Atlantic 10 Conference action. That streak included games against Rhode Island (allowing only one earned run on five hits, while striking out four in the 7-2 win), Temple (did not allow any earned runs and struck out nine, while scattering 10 hits and walking only two in a 7-2 victory) and St. Bonaventure (tossed a 1-0 shutout, striking out six while allowing three hits and no walks). For the year, Torra owns a 5-4 record with a 4.79 earned run average, five complete games and 44 strikeouts.
BOULANGER FINISHES CAREER WITH STRONG SEASON: Senior outfielder Matt Boulanger (Westfield, Mass.) is having an outstanding season during his final year in a UMass uniform. After moving from shortstop to the outfield last fall, Boulanger ranks third on the team with a .346 batting average, while belting four homers and driving in 26 runs. He has been particularly impressive over the last month, going 25 for 59 (.424) with six doubles and 17 runs batted in during UMass' last 19 games.
ALTIERI REMAINS A CONSISTENT THREAT: Senior first baseman Jeff Altieri (Whitinsville, Mass.) continues to produce out of the clean-up spot in the UMass batting order. He is currently batting .281 with five homers and 30 runs batted in, while also collecting a team-best seven sacrifice flies. Altieri enters the Atlantic 10 Tournament ranking seventh all-time at UMass with 38 career doubles, while also totaling 18 career homers and 103 career runs batted in.
THE ROAD WARRIORS: The Minutemen posted an impressive 7-5 record in Atlantic 10 Conference road games this season. UMass was one of only three schools in the league to have a winning record on the road, joining Richmond (9-2) and Rhode Island (7-5). Overall this season, the Minutemen stand 14-14 in games played away from Earl Lorden Field.
KNOCKS: Senior catcher Tom Ellerbrook (Northampton, Mass.) and senior third baseman John Seed (New Bedford, Mass.) are the co-captains of the 2003 Minutemen ... Junior second baseman Cullan Maumus (New Orleans, La.) has broken the school single season and career records for sacrifice bunts this season. Maumus has 14 sacrifices on the year to break the old mark of 10, while his 28 career sacrifices have topped the old record of 25 ... Sophomore outfielder Jason Twomley (Fitchburg, Mass.) leads the Minutemen with 11 stolen bases in 17 attempts this season. As a team, UMass has totaled 51 stolen bases in 73 attempts on the year.
