May 1, 2008
AMHERST, Mass. -
Key position in the Atlantic 10 standings is on the line this weekend as UMass baseball (14-20, 7-11 A-10) hosts Dayton (26-18, 9-9 A-10) in a three-game series this weekend at Earl Lorden Field. The first game begins at 3 p.m. on Friday, continues with a 1 p.m. start on Saturday, and concludes at noon on Sunday.
With nine games left in the conference schedule, every game is crucial as the Minutemen look to move up into a playoff spot. The Minutemen are currently in 11th-place in the standings. Dayton is in a three-way tie for the sixth and final playoff spot. All of UMass' remaining A-10 games are against team's in either fifth (URI) or sixth-place (UD, Fordham).
UMass is 5-6 at home this season, while Dayton is 12-8 on the road.
All of this weekend's games will be aired on UMassAthletics.com as well as live stats being available on Gametracker.
Series History
Friday's game will mark the 17th all-time meeting between the Minutemen and Flyers in a series that dates back to 1997. UMass holds a 9-7 edge.
Last season, UMass swept Dayton in a three-game series played at Time Warner Cable Stadium by scores of 12-4, 4-3, and 4-2. It was the first time the clubs had met since the 2004 season.
Ryan Franczek smashed two home runs and drove in three runs to lead a UMass attack that pounded out 14 hits on the way to a 12-4 victory in the series-opener in 2007. Bill Rankin went 4-for-5 with four runs scored, while Chris Lloyd tossed six solid innings to pick up the win and Mitchell Eilenberg threw three shutout frames to earn the save.
In game-two, Jim Cassidy went 7 1/3 innings, allowing only two runs on seven hits to lead the Minutemen to a 4-3 win. Travis Munsey collected three hits and Adam Tempesta and Bryan Adamski each had to two. UMass jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and was able to hang on for the win.
In the series finale, Jared Freni fired 6 1/3 shutout innings, surrendering only three hits and striking out four in UMass' 4-2 win. Ryan Franczek and Bryan Garrity each drove in two runs. The Minutemen again held off a late rally, as the Flyers scored both their runs in the ninth inning.
Scouting Dayton
Since experiencing a season-worst six-game losing streak between March 29 and April 6, the Flyers have won 12 out of 16 games since. They are 7-3 in their last three conference series, winning all three (SJU, GW, UR).
Senior outfielder Kevin Miller leads the team with a .362 average and is joined by four other Flyers hitting over .300. Junior Marshall MacDonald leads the club with seven home runs and is hitting .302 with 33 RBI. Junior outfielder Jake Hoover is the team's top run-producer with 34 RBI and is hitting .308 with six home runs and 10 doubles.
On the mound, lefty Quinn Haselhorst and righty Alex Dye have been the top starters, posting matching 4-1 records with ERA's of 4.37 and 4.38, respectively. Freshman right-hander Burny Mitchem is the top arm out of the bullpen. In 18 appearances, he is 4-2 with a 1.82 ERA and has struck out 39 batters in 29 2/3 innings.
As a team, Dayton has a .296 batting average and a 4.10 ERA.
Wednesday At Vermont
Two big innings did in the Minutemen on Wednesday as Vermont scored seven runs in the second inning and six more in the seventh as the host Catamounts topped UMass,17-4, at Centennial Field. Kyle Massie collected four hits, scoring twice, and Justin Milo drove in five runs for Vermont. Brian Baudinet went 3-for-5 with two doubles for UMass and Ryan Franczek was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Eric Thompson threw two shutout innings in relief of starter Kyle Henry (3.0 IP, 4 ER) to earn the victory. Nick Serino allowed five runs in 1 1/3 innings to take the loss.
Last Weekend At Saint Joe's
Randy Mower allowed four runs on seven hits over seven innings of work to lead Saint Joseph's to an 11-4 victory over UMass in the series-opener. The Minutemen broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the top of the fifth, but the Hawks came back with four of their own in the bottom half of the inning and added two in the sixth and three more in the eighth. Bryan Leigh took the loss for UMass, allowing six runs on seven hits in five innings. First baseman Brian Hartsell led Saint Joe's at the plate, hitting two doubles and driving in three runs. Brian Garrity drove in a pair of runs for UMass and Andrew Black added two hits.
UMass scored seven runs over the first three innings to jump out to a 7-0 lead and cruised to a 12-5 victory over SJU in game-two. Mike Dicato pitched a complete-game for the Minutemen, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits, to win his fourth-straight start. Adam Tempesta was 3-for-6 on the day with five RBI and two runs scored. Kyle Multner also collected three hits, while Ryan Franczek and Garrett Glashoff scored three runs each.
UMass took the series with a 6-4 win on Sunday at Latshaw-McCarthy Field. Mitchell Clegg pitched eight strong innings to lead the Minutemen to the victory, allowing three runs on six hits. Mitchell Eilenberg closed things out in the ninth for his fourth save of the season. Adam Tempesta's single in the seventh inning drove in what proved to be the game-winning run. Tempesta went 3-for-4 at the plate, while Ryan Franczek drew three walks and scored three times. Andy Tuekten drove in a pair of runs.
Back Over .400
With a 3-for-5 day on Wednesday at Vermont, center fielder Brian Baudinet got his batting average back over the .400 mark, to .403 (52-129). He leads the team in that category as well as home runs (5), slugging (.558), on-base percentage (.487), walks (22), and stolen bases (14).
The sophomore from Watertown, Conn. is making a bid to be the first UMass player to hit .400 in a season since Muchie Dagliere set the UMass record in 1998 with a .444 mark. In all, there have been six .400 seasons in UMass history.
The Streak Continues
Brian Baudinet has reached base safely, via either hit or walk, in every game he has played this season, a streak of 33 games. During the streak, he has collected hits in all but seven games in which he had to rely on walks to get on base. He also has 15 multi-hit games in 2008.
Last season, Adam Tempesta reached base in 28-straight games.
Offense Comes Alive
The Minutemen are hitting .282 as a team in 2008, a 23-point improvement over the club's 2007 team batting average of .259. The team on-base percentage is .362 this season, compared to .334 last season.
Adam Tempesta was UMass' lone .300 hitter in 2007 (.306), but this season the junior second baseman (.338) is joined by Brian Baudinet (.403), Kyle Multner (.328), and Jim Macdonald (.321).
The single-season record for team batting average is the Minutemen's .351 mark in 1997. The club record for on-base percentage was set the same season, .446.
DiCato's Dealin'
Junior pitcher Mike Dicato has proven himself as UMass' top pitcher this season. The right-hander is 4-1 this season with a team-leading 3.64 ERA and holds opposing batters to a .234 batting average.
On April 15, the Winthrop, Mass. native almost made history in a place that already has plenty of it. In the Beanpot Championship vs. Boston College at Fenway Park, DiCato took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before a bloop single broke it up. We still went on to earn the victory in the game, and along with his win vs. Harvard in the semifinal, led UMass to its first Beanpot title since 2000.
On April 20, DiCato shutout Charlotte over the first five innings on the way to the Minutemen's first-ever win over the 49ers.
Franczek Is Back
After getting off to a slow start this season, Ryan Franczek's bat has come to life as of late. In his last seven games, the senior shortstop is batting .500 (12-24) with four doubles, a home run, 12 runs scored, and nine RBI. He also walked eight times to give him a .636 on-base percentage in those seven games.
Franczek leads the team in runs scored this season with 32 in 33 games. He is also tied for the club lead in doubles with 11.
Mr. Contact
Entering the week, Adam Tempesta ranked as the 12th toughest hitter to strike out in the country. He came in to the week averaging only one strikeout in every 21 at-bats. He hasn't just been slapping the ball into play either, along with his .338 average, he leads the team in RBI with 32 and is tied for the team lead in doubles with 11.
Currently, the junior second baseman has struck out only six times in 130 at-bats.
Last season, Tempesta struck out a total of only 13 times in 186 at-bats.
The next toughest to K Minuteman is Andy Tuetken. He has struck out 11 times in 104 at-bats.
Looking Ahead
After this weekend's games, UMass will remain at home for its final non-conference home game of the season, taking on Northeastern on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Next weekend the Minutemen head to Kingston, R.I. to take on Rhode Island in a three-game set.
