University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
William & Mary
William & Mary Tops UMass Baseball, 7-3
March 19, 2010 | Baseball
March 19, 2010
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The UMass baseball team was unable to overcome a rocky first inning against William & Mary, falling by the score of 7-3 on Friday evening at Plumeri Park. With the setback, the Minutemen drop to 0-7, while the Tribe improves to 11-6 on the year, including a 10-2 record at home.
William & Mary's 4-0 start after the first inning proved to be the difference in the game. Derrick Osteen drew a one-out walk and later crossed the plate to open the scoring. Osteen came in on an RBI single through the left side by Chris Forsten after moving to third on a base hit by Tadd Bower. Stephen Arcure followed with a two-run double that drove in Bower and Forsten to increase the advantage to 3-0. Then with two away, Jackson Shaver sent a double into left to plate Arcure.
Ryan Brown drew a walk with one away the following inning, which resulted in the Tribe's fifth run of the night. Brown came home an RBI double by Forsten with two away in the frame.
UMass cut into the 5-0 deficit with a run in the top of the fourth. Junior Eric Fredette dropped a one-out double into right and advanced to third on a passed ball. After a walk to junior Cameron McMullen, Mike Gedman stepped to the plate and delivered an infield hit that brought in Fredette.
William & Mary pushed its lead to 7-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Bower led off with a solo home run to left, while Ryan Williams homered with two down to complete the scoring for the Tribe. Junior Charlie Benson came on in relief for the Minutemen and held the Tribe hitless over the final 3.1 innings of the contest, striking out four.
In the top of the sixth, back-to-back doubles by senior Brian Baudinet and Fredette to start things off gave the Minutemen their second run of the evening. A pair of strikeouts followed, but senior Mike Donato kept the inning alive with an RBI single down the left field line that scored Fredette. Junior Peter Copa delivered a double in his at bat to send Donato to third. However, Logan Billbrough induced a groundout off the bat of junior Matt Gedman to escape any further damage, stranding a pair of UMass runners.
The Minutemen brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh as sophomore Tom Conley singled to right, junior Kyle Multner walked and Fredette was hit by a pitch. UMass was unable to draw any closer, though, as Jay McCarthy ended the threat by striking out McMullen and getting Mike Gedman to hit a fly ball to center.
Billbrough earned the win (2-1) for William & Mary as he threw 6.1 innings and allowed three runs on nine hits with two walks and nine strikeouts. Senior Jared Freni suffered the setback (0-2) for the Minutemen as he let up seven runs on 11 hits with three walks and four strikeouts in 4.2 innings on the mound. McCarthy threw 2.2 scoreless innings for the Tribe to earn his second save of the season, walking none and fanning four.
Fredette continued his stellar start to his UMass career, pacing the offense with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, including two doubles, to push his hitting streak to seven games. Fredette picked up an RBI and scored two, as well. Copa went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, while Mike Gedman and Donato each logged an RBI.
Shaver was a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish for the Tribe, while Bower finished 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI. Forsten also hit 2-for-4, driving in two and scoring once.
The Minutemen will continue their three-game series at William & Mary tomorrow, March 20, at 4 p.m.
