University of Massachusets Athletics
Bryan Garrity Throws First Pitch At Fenway Park
May 27, 2008 | Baseball
May 27, 2008
AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass baseball team and head coach Mike Stone were honored by the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday for winning the 2008 Beanpot Championship by throwing out the first pitch of the Red Sox' game vs. the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. Senior catcher and team captain Bryan Garrity was given the honor of throwing the first pitch while his teammates looked on from behind the mound. The Minutemen defeated Boston College, 4-3, on April 15 at Fenway to claim their first Beanpot title since 2000. A week earlier, UMass beat Harvard, 3-0, in the semifinal game in Lynn, Mass. to earn its trip to the finals. The Minutemen have won four Beanpots since they started playing in the tournament in 1996.
The Minutemen defeated the Eagles behind a fantastic pitching performance from Mike Dicato. The junior righty took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before allowing a bloop single with no outs. The Eagles looked to make a comeback in the bottom of the ninth, but Mitchell Eilenberg shut down the Eagle's offense by retiring the final two batters of the game to record the save. Brian Baudinet and Jim Macdonald each finished with two hits for UMass.
DiCato's performance stirred up memories of the last UMass no-hitter, the third in the program's history, thrown by Scott Barnsby at Fenway Park in the 1997 Beanpot vs. Northeastern, 1-0. After starting the game by retiring the first seven batters of the game before allowing a walk, DiCato went on to get out 15 of the next 16 batters.
Wednesday's game marked the sixth time UMass has been honored by throwing the first pitch at Fenway Park. Men's soccer coach Sam Koch, who led his team to the 2007 College Cup, threw out the first pitch on May 19, warming up the mound for Jon Lester's no-hitter in Boston's 7-0 win over Kansas City. Men's lacrosse coach Greg Canella had the honor in 2006 in recognition of the Minutemen making the 2006 National Championship game. Former men's basketball coach Travis Ford threw out the first pitch in April 2005, while head hockey coach Don "Toot" Cahoon received the honor in 2003 to commemorate the unveiling of the new UMass Minuteman logo. In 1999, head football Mark Whipple tossed the first pitch in honor of leading UMass to the 1998 NCAA I-AA Championship title.