University of Massachusets Athletics
Baseball Begins Home Schedule With Four-Game Homestand
April 02, 2009 | Baseball
April 2, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass baseball team will kick off its 2009 home schedule with four games in four days on Earl Lorden Field, beginning with a 3 p.m. contests versus Temple this Friday, Apr. 3, at 3 p.m. The Minutemen will finish their Atlantic 10 series against the Owls with games on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 12 p.m., respectively, before playing host to UConn on Monday afternoon at 3 p.m. UMass is 41-18-1 against Temple since first facing the Owls in 1978 and took the last series between the teams, 2-1, on the road in Philadelphia in 2007.
Upcoming Schedule/Probable Starters
• Friday vs. Temple - 3 p.m. - Amherst, Mass. - Gametracker | Watch
RHP Jared Freni (0-1, 4.50 ERA) vs. RHP Ben White (3-1, 5.82 ERA)
• Saturday vs. Temple - 1 p.m. - Amherst, Mass. - Gametracker | Watch
LHP Mitchell Clegg (1-1, 5.46 ERA) vs. LHP Dan Moller (2-3, 6.91 ERA)
• Sunday vs. Temple - 12 p.m. - Amherst, Mass. - Gametracker
RHP Mike DiCato (2-2, 5.97 ERA) vs. RHP Ryan Thomas (3-1, 3.45 ERA)
• Monday vs. Connecticut - 3 p.m. - Amherst, Mass. - Gametracker | Watch
TBA vs. TBA
Clegg Among The A-10 Leaders
• Senior Mitchell Clegg is among the Atlantic 10 leaders as the left-hander entered the week fourth in opponent batting average (.214), tied for ninth in strikeouts (28).
• Clegg took a no-hitter into the seventh in his start at Fordham, struck out nine in 7.0 innings at Arizona and fanned eight in 5.1 innings at Richmond.
Tempesta Climbing The Charts
• Senior Adam Tempesta is currently hitting .338 with nine runs scored, five doubles, one triple, three homeruns and 17 RBI in 18 games played.
• He is tied for the team lead in RBI and multiple-RBI games (4), and multiple-hit games (9).
• 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 sixth with 193. Next up is Doug Clark (1996-98) and Ryan Jette (1994-96) in fourth with 194.
• When Tempesta logs his 200th hit, he will be just the third player in school history to reach the plateau, joining Muchie Dagliere (257) and Bill Knight (203).
• Tempesta has recorded at least one base hit in 15 of 18 games that he has appeared in this season, 15 of the 17 games he's started.
• 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.
Gedman Contibutes At The Plate And On The Mound
• Junior Mike Gedman has been the go-to guy out of the bullpen for the Minutemen and has three saves in seven appearances, which came in wins over Arizona (9-8), VCU (4-3) and Hartford (6-4).
• Gedman has limited opponents to a .140 batting average and holds a 2.19 ERA (3 earned runs in 12.1 innings pitched) with 12 strikeouts.
• At the plate, Gedman has hit 7-for-25 (.280) with two doubles and two triples for a .520 slugging percentage and has contributed five RBI.
Close Quarters
• UMass has played six Atlantic 10 contests thus far and is 1-5, but has taken every game down to the wire.
• Five of the Minutemen's six A-10 games have been decided by one run, with three going into extra innings. The only exception was UMass' 24-9 triumph over Richmond.
• Overall, 11 of the Minutemen's 20 contests thus far have been one-run games. Fourteen of 20 outcomes have been determined by 2 runs or fewer.
Hitting Streaks
• The following is a list of all hitting streaks five games or longer in 2009:
• Adam Tempesta, eight games, Mar. 14-28
• Mike Donato, seven games, Feb. 27-Mar. 14
• Jim Macdonald, six games, Mar. 7-22 (has an active five-game streak)
• Austin Weymouth, five games, Feb. 27-Mar. 7 (has an active five-game streak)
• Tom Conley, five games, Mar. 22-28
• Brian Baudinet, five games, Mar. 20-27
• Peter Copa, five games, Mar. 20-27
• Sam Boone, five games, Mar. 14-18
A New Face Behind The Mask In 2009
• UMass has a new face behind the plate this season as freshman Tom Conely has been a part of the Minutemen's battery in 19 of 20 games, making 18 starts.
• Conley paces the team in walks with 15 on the year and entered the week tied for 14th in the Atlantic 10.
• Conley has recorded at least one hit in six of the last seven games.
Juniors Stepping Up To The Plate
• Juniors Brian Baudinet and Mike Donato are both well on their way career-best seasons offensively.
• Baudinet belted his team-best seventh double of the season at Fordham last weekend and already has surpassed his single season high for two-baggers (5) and has tallied at least one in five straight games from Mar. 20-27. He is also more than halfway to his career high for RBI as he has 12 in 20 games compared to 23 in 44 games last season.
• Donato has started all 20 games thus far and is hitting .317 (26-for-82) with 12 runs scored, six doubles and 13 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 seven triples in 20 games and surpassed the team total from last year just nine games in to the 2009 season. The Minutemen registered five three-baggers in 45 games in 2008.
• Seven 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 597-542-4 mark in 26+ seasons. He is 540-445-2 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 Brockton, Mass., on Tuesday, Apr. 7, to take on Boston College in the first round of the Beanpot at 7 p.m.