University of Massachusets Athletics
Baseball Makes Trip To Fordham This Weekend
March 26, 2009 | Baseball
March 26, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. - After winning its second straight on Wednesday at Hartford, the UMass baseball team will look to keep things going this weekend, Mar. 27-29, as the squad heads to the Bronx to take on Fordham in a three-game Atlantic 10 series, beginning on Friday with a 3 p.m. contest. The Minutemen (6-9) hold a 23-14 advantage in the all-time series with the Rams (6-13), however Fordham won last two meetings in Amherst, taking last year's series, 2-1.
Weekend Schedule/Pitching Matchups
• Friday (3/27) at Fordham (Bronx, N.Y.) - 3 p.m. - Gametracker | Watch
RHP Jared Freni (0-1, 3.96 ERA) vs. LHP J.P. Mack (2-2, 5.29 ERA)
• Saturday (3/28) at Fordham (Bronx, N.Y.) - 1 p.m. - Gametracker
LHP Mitchell Clegg (1-0, 6.08 ERA) vs. RHP Max Krakowiak (0-4, 6.58 ERA)
• Sunday (3/29) at Fordham (Bronx, N.Y.) - 1 p.m. - Gametracker | Watch
RHP Mike DiCato (2-2, 7.59 ERA) vs. RHP John Flanagan (3-0, 4.55 ERA)
Tempesta Climbing The Charts
• Senior Adam Tempesta is currently hitting .362 with nine runs scored, five doubles, one triple, three homeruns and 15 RBI. 

• He is tied for the team lead in RBI and multiple-RBI games (4), and is second in multiple-hit games (7). 

• The second baseman entered the season 10th all-time in career doubles and has now moved up to sixth with 40, one shy of Brian Samela for fifth (41) and 10 away from the school record. 

• He has also entered the program's top-10 lists for hits as he is currently tied for eighth with 188. When Tempesta logs his 200th hit, he will be just the third player in school history to reach the plateau. 

• Tempesta has recorded at least one base hit in 12 of 13 games that he has appeared in this season, going 0-for-1 in a pinch hit performance against Monmouth on Mar. 14. 

• Dating back to the end of last season, Tempesta posted hits in 10 straight contests after ending 2008 on a four-game hitting streak and opening this year hitting safely in six straight. The senior's career-high was an 11-game hitting streak as sophomore in 2007. Dating back to May 10, 2008, Tempesta has recorded at least one hit in 18 of the last 20 games he's played, including the past six straight.
Gedman Saves
• Junior Mike Gedman has been the go-to guy out of the bullpen for the Minutemen and has three saves in five appearances, which came in wins over Arizona (9-8), VCU (4-3) and Hartford (6-4).
• Gedman has faced 42 batters in 10.1 innings and has only given up one hit with four walks and 11 strikeouts. He holds a 0.87 ERA and opponents are batting just .030 against him.
Hitting Streaks
• Entering the weekend, five Minutemen possess active hitting streaks of three games or more.
• Junior Austin Weymouth is in the midst of a five-game hitting streak, tying his best of the season as he began the year hitting safely in five straight games.
• Junior Mike Donato posted the longest hitting streak by any UMass player thus far this season with hits in seven consecutive games, a career-best. His previous bests were six-game streaks in both 2007 and 2008. He has currently hit safely in four straight games.
• Sophomore Peter Copa takes a four-game hitting streak into the weekend, the longest of his career. He has recorded RBI in three straight games, as well.
Juniors Stepping Up To The Plate
• Juniors Brian Baudinet and Mike Donato are both well on their way career-best seasons offensively.
• Baudinet, who notched his team-best sixth double of the season on Wednesday at Hartford, already has surpassed his single season high for two-baggers (5) and has tallied at least one in each of the last four games he's played. He is also more than halfway to his career high for RBI as he has 12 in 15 games compared to 23 in 44 games last season.
• Donato has started all 15 games thus far and is hitting .359 (23-for-64) with 11 runs scored, five doubles and 12 RBI, His single-season bests heading into his junior campaign were 12 runs (2007), 31 hits (2008), eight doubles (2008) and 19 RBI (2008).
Smashing the Spiders
• UMass raced out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back, posting a 24-9 victory over Richmond at Pitt Field on Mar. 22. It marked the most runs ever scored by the Minutemen against an A-10 opponent. 

• The Minutemen pounded out 24 hits against the Spiders, two shy of the program's single game mark, including a school single game-record eight doubles. 

• Eleven different players tallied hits for UMass, led by junior Mike Donato's career-best 5-for-7 performance as he contributed four RBI and scored two.
Serino Stifles VCU
• Sophomore Nick Serino fanned a career-high 11 batters over six scoreless innings, helping UMass to a 4-3 victory over Virginia Commonwealth at The Diamond on Mar. 18. 
 

• The Rams had won seven of their past nine games entering the contest. 

• Serino earned the victory, scattering three hits and walking five. He did not allow a hit until the fourth inning. 
 

• His 11 strikeouts were the most by a Minuteman since Apr. 16, 2005, when Matt Torra fanned 16 batters in 10.2 innings against Saint Joseph's. 
 

• Serino's previous career high for strikeouts (7) came in a start at George Washington on Apr. 6, 2008. He worked 6.1 innings against the Colonials.
Team Triples
• UMass has six triples in 15 games, already surpassing the team total from last year. The Minutemen registered five three-baggers in 45 games in 2008. 
 

• Six triples is the highest total by a UMass squad since the team belted eight in 2006.
Stone's 600th
• With six wins on the season, UMass head coach Mike Stone is now just six victories away from his 600th overall as a head coach. Stone currently holds a 594-540-4 mark in 26+ seasons. He is 540-440-2 as the frontman for the Minutemen (21+ seasons).
Minutemen Post Big Win Out West
• The Minutemen never put down their bats as they scored in five of the nine innings to squeeze past the Arizona Wildcats on Mar. 7, marking the first time UMass had taken down a Pac-10 opponent since 1982 when the Minutemen defeated UCLA, 11-7. 
 

• Mitchell Clegg got the nod and the win for UMass as he struck out nine in his seven innings pitched, scattering five hits. 
 

• In the top of the ninth, junior Mike Donato posted what would be the winning run for the UMass after launching the ball over the left field wall for his first homerun of the season.
Starting Off On A Good Note
• Sam Boone hit his first career home run on Feb. 27 in a 4-3 triumph over Northwestern, helping propel the Minutemen to their first victory in a season opener since 2004. Junior Mike Gedman hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning of a 3-3 game to bring in Mike Donato for what would be the winning run. Senior Mitchell Eilenberg earned the win on the mound, pitching 2.2 innings of relief. 
 

• UMass' 9-8 victory over Arizona on Mar. 7 brought the squad's record to 3-2, marking the best five-game start for the Minutemen since 2002 (3-2).
An Offensive Explosion
• UMass posted 25-4 triumph over Fairfield on Mar. 1, marking the most runs the squad has scored since the school record was set with 32 runs against another team from the Nutmeg State, Central Connecticut on April 20, 1993. 
 

• Against the Stags, the Minutemen pounded out 20 hits, including five doubles, two homeruns and a school-record four triples. The previous mark was three, set many times. 
 

• Sophomore Peter Copa paced the squad with a career-best six RBI and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate. Senior Adam Tempesta and junior Brian Baudinet had four RBI apiece.
Next Up
• UMass will travel to Connecticut on Monday, Mar. 30, for a 3 p.m. game, followed by another 3 p.m. contest at Holy Cross on Tuesday, Mar. 31.