University of Massachusets Athletics
Baseball Faces Tough Test At Arizona This Weekend
March 05, 2009 | Baseball
March 5, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. - Coming off a successful opening weekend in Winter Haven, Fla., the UMass baseball team (2-1, 0-0 A-10) will head for a warmer climate once again this weekend, Mar. 6-8, as the squad will play a three game set at Arizona (6-4, 0-0 Pac-10) in Tucson. Friday's contest is slated for a 9 p.m. Eastern start and will be streamed live through All-Access. Gametracker will be available, as well.
Weekend Schedule And Pitching Matchups
• Friday at Arizona - 9 p.m. ET - Gametracker - Watch
RHP Jared Freni (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Preston Guilmet (0-1 5.19 ERA)
• Saturday at Arizona - 4 p.m. ET - Gametracker - Watch
RHP Mitchell Clegg (0-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. RHP Donn Roach (1-1, 6.10 ERA)
• Sunday at Arizona - 3 p.m. - Gametracker - Watch
RHP Mike Dicato (1-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. TBA
Last Time Out...
• UMass opened up the season with three games at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational last weekend, facing Northwestern and Fairfield. Beginning With A "W"
• Sam Boone hit his first career home run last Friday 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.
An Offensive Explosion
• UMass posted 25-4 triumph over Fairfield this past Sunday, 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 two, 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.
Hitting Streaks
• Three Minutemen enter this weekend with three-game hitting streaks on the line: senior Adam Tempesta, junior Mike Donato and junior Austin Weymouth have all hit safely in every game thus far.
• Tempesta has posted two or more hits in all three contests and leads the team in multiple hit games.
• Donato paces the Minutemen in extra base hits with four. He has three doubles and one triple and is hitting .462 through three games.
Rookie Gets The Nod Behind The Plate
• In a lineup laden with upperclassmen, freshman Tom Conley has started behind the plate in each of the Minutemen's first three contests.
• He is currently hitting .333 with an RBI and a run scored. Conley's first career RBI came against Fairfield.
Weymouth's Homecoming
• After just one week in a Minuteman uniform, junior Austin Weymouth is making a return to his home state this weekend against Arizona.
• Weymouth, a native of Phoenix, Ariz., transferred to UMass from Scottsdale Community College where he helped the team advance to the Division II JuCo World Series in 2007.
• So far at UMass, Weymouth has started all three games and is hitting .429 (6-for-14) with four RBI and a team-best five runs scored.
Stone's 600th
• With two wins on the season, UMass head coach Mike Stone is now just 10 wins away from his 600th overall as a head coach. Stone currently holds a 590-534-4 mark in 26+ seasons. He is 536-444-2 as the frontman for the Minutemen (21+ seasons).
Series History
• This weekend's games will mark UMass' first meetings with Arizona.
• Heading into this year Minutemen have previously faced seven teams currently in the Pac-10 all-time and hold a 4-8 record against those opponents.
• The most recent meetings with a Pac-10 school was a three-game series at Arizona State last season. UMass dropped all three games to the Sun Devils.
• The Minutemen's last win over a Pac-10 school came in 1982 vs. UCLA.
Next Up
• Next weekend, Mar. 14-15, UMass will head to Annapolis, Md., and will play two vs. Monmouth and one vs. Navy, all at Navy's Max Bishop Stadium. It will be the first all-time meeting for the Minutemen against both schools. Saturday will begin with a game against Monmouth at 11 a.m., followed by one against the host Mids at 2:15 p.m.