Surging Minutemen Host Richmond For A Three-Game Set

May 3, 2007

AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts (17-18, 9-9) hosts the Richmond Spiders (26-19, 14-10) this weekend for an Atlantic 10 Conference series at Earl Lorden Field. UMass currently sits tied for seventh place in the A-10 standings, a half game out of the sixth and final playoff spot. Richmond comes into the series in second place, behind Charlotte. The games are scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at noon, and Sunday at noon.

The Minutemen enter the series on a season-best five-game winning streak. They have also won eight of their last ten games and five of their last six Atlantic 10 contests.

Richmond is 5-5 in their last ten contests. Last weekend, they lost two of three at home to Fordham, dropping their first conference series of the season. First baseman Alex Wotring is the Spiders' top hitter at .347 (52-150). He also has five home runs, 34 RBI, and 33 runs scored. Designated hitter Joe Mahoney is Richmond's big power bat with 13 round-trippers, 48 RBI, and 44 runs scored, all tops on the team. His 14 stolen bases are tied for the team lead with lead-off man Benji Marshall. Their top pitcher this season has been junior Alex Hale. He posts a 7-2 record and averages one strikeout per inning. Brian Alas is their top reliever, boasting a record of 3-0 with 11 saves.

The two teams have met 16 times in the past, with Richmond winning 11. Last season the Spiders took two of three from the Minutemen in an April series in Richmond. The home club took the opener in a 15-10 slugfest. UMass bounced back with a dramatic 11-9 win in 10 innings before the Spiders won the finale, 10-5. Ryan Franczek (Chicopee, Mass.) .455 (5-11), HR, 7 RBI, 4 R; Adam Tempesta (Brockton, Mass.) .467 (7-15), 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R; and Lou Proietti (Hamilton, Ont.) .429 (6-14), 2 2B, 4 R were the top UMass hitters in the series.

Fans that can't make it out to Earl Lorden Field can follow the action of all three games on Gametracker at UMassathletics.com. Friday and Saturday's games will be broadcast on WMUA 91.1 FM. Sunday's live game audio will be available on UMassathletics.com.

Pitching Probables:
Friday: Chris Lloyd, Sr., 4-3, 5.82 ERA vs. Matt Zielinski, Fr., 4-3, 3.92 ERA
Saturday: Jim Cassidy, Jr., 5-1, 3.35 ERA vs. Alex Hale, Jr., 7-2, 5.14 ERA
Sunday: Jared Freni, Fr., 2-3, 5.55 ERA vs. Josh Horn, So., 4-3, 5.72 ERA

UMass W-L vs. Richmond:
2006: 1-2
2005: Did Not Play
2004: 1-2
2003: 0-2 (A-10 Championship)
2002: 0-3
2001: 0-1

UMass Notes:

Sophomore second baseman Adam Tempesta (Brockton, Mass.) is the top UMass hitter, logging a .311 batting average and has scored 21 runs. He has reached base safely in 32 of 34 games. In the other two games he has still found his way onto the base paths via errors.

Senior first baseman Bryan Adamski (South Deerfield, Mass.) has been swinging a hot bat. Over the last five games, he is hitting at a .368 (7-19) clip with three RBI, five runs, and slugging .632.

One reason for the Minutemen's success of late has been increased production from the bottom half of the order. Senior centerfielder Bill Rankin (Willington, Conn.) is hitting .395 (15-38) since April 24, a period of seven games. Fellow senior outfielder Travis Munsey (Durham, NH) is hitting .400 (10-25) over that same stretch.

After going his first 90 at-bats this season without a home run, junior third baseman Ryan Franczek (Chicopee, Mass.) hit two long balls in four at-bats at Dayton last Saturday. He now has eight for his career.

Junior right-hander Jim Cassidy (Medway, Mass.) continues to be UMass' hottest pitcher. The South Florida transfer has won five straight starts to run his record to 5-1 with a 3.35 ERA. Since April 3 his ERA has been a stellar 1.75.

Sophomore Mitchell Eilenberg (Brooklyn, NY) picked up the win Wednesday in his first start of the season. He went six innings, allowing one run on four hits and struck out five Vermont batters in the 4-2 victory. He has made a team-leading 14 appearances out of the bullpen, posting a 2-0 record with a 3.75 ERA.

Freshman Jared Freni (Malden, Mass.) comes into the weekend off the heels of the best performance of his young career. On Sunday at Dayton, he hurled 6 1/3 innings of three-hit shutout ball in a 4-2 win.

Sophomore Tim Comiskey (Great River, NY) also had his best starting performance of the season this week. On Tuesday at Siena, he tossed 8 2/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits in a 8-1 victory.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics

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