May 19, 2010
AMHERST, Mass. -
The UMass baseball team will look to continue its success at Earl Lorden Field this season as the squad will play host to La Salle this Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 20-22, the final series of the regular season. Currently at 17-26 overall and 11-13 in the Atlantic 10, the Minutemen are battling for a spot in the six-team A-10 Tournament field.
On the Mound
Game 1: LHP Nick Serino (2-6, 7.32 ERA) vs. LHP Eric Van Wyk (6-1, 5.45 ERA)
Game 2: RHP Jared Freni (2-5, 7.11 ERA) vs. RHP Cody Weiss (3-4, 7.65 ERA)
Game 3: RHP Bryan Leigh (5-5, 4.76 ERA) vs. TBA
The Minutemen In 100 Words
The Minutemen closed out the decade last season with the team's highest wins total since 2001 (27). The squad rebounded from a 1-7 start to Atlantic 10 play in 2009 and won 16 conference games on the way to the A-10 Tournament, its first trip to the postseason since 2003. A veteran lineup, which includes players with three of the top-five batting from 2009 and four of the five top five ERAs (20 or more innings pitched). UMass was picked seventh out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll. Twelve newcomers fill out the squad as well.
About The Opponent
La Salle enters its series with UMass at 20-28 overall and 13-11 in the Atlantic 10, coming off a sweep over St. Bonaventure last weekend. On the season, they have swept two A-10 foes with Dayton being the other opponent and 4-4 in A-10 series taking 2-of-3 against Xavier and Temple.
As a team, the Explorers are batting .296 with 20 home runs, 249 RBI, and 282 runs scored, led by Brendan Norton (.397), Jon Gyles (.364) and Tony Negrin (.361). Gyles boasts a team-best 45 RBI and has tallied 21 doubles. Norton has scored a team-leading 48 runs and is 15-for-18 in stolen base attempts.
Reliever Pat Christensen holds a squad-best 3.72 ERA in 48.1 innings with 49 strikeouts and nine saves over 24 appearances. Game one starter Eric Van Wyk is 6-1, while Kevin Christy has struck out a team-leading 74 batters.
UMass is 16-8 all-time against La Salle since the teams' first meeting in 1998. The Explorers won the series last season in Philadelphia two games to one.
Baudinet Honored After Record Breaking Performance
After a record-breaking performance against George Washington on May 2, senior centerfielder Brian Baudinet was honored as co-Atlantic 10 Player of the Week, co-UMass Athlete of the Week and as one of the Louisville Slugger National Players of the Week according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Baudinet carried the Minutemen to a series-clinching victory over George Washington, becoming the first player in over 130 years of UMass baseball to hit four home runs in a single game. Baudinet drove in half of UMass' runs in the 14-13 win, going 5-for-5 in the contest and scoring four times. His record-setting homer in the eighth proved to be the deciding run.
Just the second player in the nation to homer four times in a game this season, Baudinet's long balls came off of four different Colonials pitchers. Only two players in NCAA history have hit more than four home runs in a game. Florida State's Marshall McDougall had six vs. Maryland on May 9, 1999, while Henry Rochelle of Campbell tallied five vs. Radford on March 30, 1985.
More A-10 Recognition
Junior Peter Copa and freshman Ryan Cusick were both honored by the Atlantic 10 on May 10 after helping the Minutemen to a 4-1 week.
Copa's was his first career A-10 Player of the Week award, while Cusick picked up his second Rookie of the Week accolade. The A-10 honors were the sixth and seventh collected by the Minutemen this season.
The third UMass player to be named A-10 Player of the Week in consecutive weeks, Copa led the Minutemen at the plate, hitting .500 (11-for-22) with eight runs scored and 10 RBI. Five of his 11 hits were for extra bases, contributing to an .864 slugging percentage. In UMass' 18-12 series opening win at Dayton, Copa was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle and drove in five runs. He registered four multi-hit games on the week and scored in every contest. In the series against the Flyers, Copa batted .467 (7-for-15) with seven RBI and five runs scored.
Cusick, who was previously selected as A-10 Rookie of the Week on Apr. 26, hit .476 on the week (10-for-21) with eight runs scored. He boasted a .607 on base percentage and was a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts. UMass' leadoff hitter, Cusick batted .500 (6-for-12) against the Flyers and posted a career-best 4-for-5 performance at the plate against Dayton in the series-clinching game three win. He hit safely in all five games on the week and drew five walks in three games vs. the Flyers.
Leigh Collecting Honors
Senior right-hander Bryan Leigh picked up a pair of honors on Apr. 19 as he was tabbed co-Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week and UMass Athlete of the Week, the first honors of his career. Leigh repeated as A-10 Pitcher of the Week, being recognized once again on Apr. 26.
Leigh was initially honored after pitching two complete games for a total of 18.0 innings, logging a pair of victories with a 2.50 ERA and nine strikeouts. On Apr. 14 on the road at Boston College, Leigh threw 145 pitches on the way to his first win of the season, helping the Minutemen defeat the Eagles, 8-4.
On Sunday, Apr. 18, Leigh clinched UMass' series victory at Rhode Island by posting a stellar performance on the mound as the Minutemen pounded the Rams, 13-1 in game three of the teams' A-10 series. Leigh went the distance without walking a batter and closed out the contest with seven shutout innings. He scattered nine hits and struck out three, as well.
Leigh won his third straight start on Apr. 24 as he pitched eight shutout innings in the series-clinching 12-0 win over Saint Louis. He scattered four hits, walking only two and striking out a career-high eleven batters.
In a streak spanning from his URI start to his start vs. George Washington on May. 2, Leigh strung together 17 consecutive shutout innings.
With the 10-2 victory at Dayton on May 10, Leigh pitched his third complete game of the season, which is tied for third most in the A-10. He won his fifth consecutive start and fourth in A-10 play. He has now thrown four complete games, which ranks third in the Atlantic 10.
Leigh has appeared in 11 games on the year, starting seven, with a 4.76 ERA, good for 14th in the A-10. He holds a 5-2 record with a 2.73 ERA as a starter with 47 strikeouts in 56.0 innings.
In A-10 play, Leigh has posted a conference-leading 2.70 ERA in 43.1 innings pitched. He rank fourth in opponent batting average (.239) and is tied for third with three complete games.
Three Makes History
Joining senior Bryan Leigh who was named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week on Apr. 26, junior Eric Fredette and freshman Ryan Cusick were tabbed A-10 Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively. It marked the first time in program history that UMass garnered all three awards in one week.
Fredette had a monster week at the plate, hitting .636 (14-for-22) with a double, two home runs, 10 RBI and seven runs scored. In game two against Saint Louis, Fredette capped off the Minutemen's comeback from a 9-3 deficit, hitting a three-run game-tying homer in the bottom of the eighth.
Cusick, UMass' leadoff hitter, scored a team-high nine runs on the week, including a squad-best five in the three-game series against Saint Louis. He hit .409 (9-for-22) over the team's five games, going 6-for-13 (.462) at the plate vs. the Billikens with a pair of doubles.
Meat Of The Order
Senior Mike Donato, senior Brian Baudinet and junior Peter Copa, UMass' four, five and six hitters, have spelled trouble four Atlantic 10 foes this season.
Copa is batting .370 in conference play, while Donato is hitting .351 and Baudinet .340. The trio has combined for 100 hits, 22 doubles, five triples 11 home runs, 67 RBI and 72 runs scored in 24 conference games.
In A-10 games, Baudinet ranks fourth with 29 RBI, and Copa is tied for eighth with 25. Copa is tied for third in triples (3), Donato is tied for seventh in runs scored (26) and fourth in doubles (9). Copa is eighth in the A-10 stats in slugging percentage (.649), as well.
Juniors Stepping Up Offensively
Junior infielders Eric Fredette and Matt Gedman currently rank first and fourth on the squad in batting average at .395 (68-for-172) and .316 (59-for-187), respectively.
Fredette, a transfer from Vermont, has started 42 of 43 games thus far for the Minutemen and began his UMass career with an eight-game hitting streak. He has hit safely in 37 of those contests he has played in and has reached base in all but one.
Fredette leads the Minutemen in multiple hit games this season with 22, while Matt Gedman is tied for the team lead in multi-RBI games with 10.
Fredette's 68 hits this season surpasses his two-year production at Vermont as he had a total of 24 hits in 50 career games with the Catamounts.
Gedman, who predominately played shortstop and second as a sophomore in 2009, has started all 43 games this season.
Having hit safely in his final game of 2009, Gedman extended his hitting streak to 12 straight. The hit streak ended in the second game of the squad's doubleheader at Saint Joseph's, though Gedman drew walks in each of the final two games of the series against the Hawks.
Gedman has set several new career highs for a season, set in 44 games in 2009, for doubles (had eight in 2009, has 14 in 2010), home runs (had three in 2009, has six in 2010), hits (had 37 in 2009, has 59 in 2010), RBI (had 25 in 2009, has 33 in 2010) and runs scored (had 18 in 2009, has 35 in 2010).
Hitting Streaks
Ten Minutemen have registered hitting streaks of five or more games this season, led by junior Eric Fredette who hit safely in 16 straight from Apr 4. To May 2.
Other UMass players with streaks of 5+ games include: Matt Gedman (14 games), Brian Baudinet (11 games), Mike Donato (nine games), Mike Gedman (nine games), Ryan Cusick (seven games), Peter Copa (seven games), Tom Conley (six games), Alex Fischer (six games) and Kyle Multner (five games).
Conley holds the longest active hitting streak, now at four straight games.
Welcome Re-Leif
Sophomore Leif Sorenson has emerged as the UMass closer, holding a team-best 4.13 ERA in 28.1 innings pitched. In 18 appearances, Sorenson has a 2-1 record, five saves and 14 strikeouts.
In Atlantic 10 play, Sorenson has given up just four earned runs in 11 appearances, a total of 17.0 innings, and is 1-0 with four saves.
Sorenson began the week fourth in saves in A-10 play and fourth overall, as well.
Record Watch
Senior Brian Baudinet is currently climbing the career lists in the UMass record book. He is currently: second in triples (10, needs two to tie record), third in at bats (617), fifth in total bases (304, needs six for fourth), tied for third in sacrifice flies (12, needs two for second), seventh in runs scored (133, needs three for sixth), eighth in walks (82, needs eight for sixth), ninth in hits (189, needs one for eighth), tied for 11th in home runs (20, needs one for 10th) and 12th in doubles (35, needs two for 10th).
Senior Mike Donato is fourth in at bats, tied for eighth in doubles (38, needs two for seventh).
On the single season lists: junior Eric Fredette is tied for 10th in single season hits (68, needs three for ninth), Baudinet and junior Peter Copa are one shy of third in triples (have four), Baudinet is five shy of 10th for RBI (has 44) and 11 shy of total 10th for total bases (has 97).
Jared Freni became the sole owner of the UMass record for career starts when he took the mound at Rhode Island on Apr. 17. He is currently adding to his own record and is at 43 for his career, having surpassed Bob Kostro's (1983-86) and Keith Doherty's (2001-05) previous record of 39. Freni is eighth in career innings pitched (228.2).
Junior Nick Serino is seven shy of the top-10 for single season strikeouts (has 75) and sophomore Leif Sorenson is tied for fourth in single season saves (5) and is tied for sixth in single season appearances (18).
Counting The Ks
As a staff, the Minutemen have struck out 10 or more 10 times in 40 games. Serino has four games this season with 10+ strikeouts (13 at Saint Joseph's, 10 vs. Richmond, 10 at Rhode Island, 13 vs. George Washington), while Mike Gedman fanned 10 against Saint Joseph's and Freni struck out 13 against Richmond and Bryan Leigh K'd a career-high 11 against Saint Louis.
The Minutemen pitching staff set a program record with 387 strikeouts in 53 games in 2009. In 40 contests thus far, UMass has fanned 307.
A CLASS-y Guy
Senior outfielder Mike Donato has been selected as one of 10 national finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Donato, the lone representative from the Atlantic 10, is joined on the list of finalists by Daniel Bibona (University of California, Irvine), Stephen Cardullo (Florida State), Blake Dean (LSU), Jim Klocke (Southeast Missouri State), Cory Kovanda (Ohio State), Tyler Lyons (Oklahoma State), Matt Payton (Western Kentucky), Tony Plagman (Georgia Tech) and David Towarnicky (Appalachian State).
Nationwide balloting will determine the winner, which will be announced in June at the NCAA Men's College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Donato, along with the nine other candidates, will be placed on the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award baseball ballot for a nationwide vote concluding May 31. Fan balloting is available on the award's official Web site, www.SeniorCLASSaward.com, as well as through text messaging. Fans can text BASEBALL to 74567 to vote for the finalists. These votes will be combined with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Beyond his success on the field, Donato boasts a 3.43 grade-point average as a History major and aspires to become a teacher and work in a low-income community.
Home Runs Threats
Eight different UMass players have combined for the squad's 45 home runs thus far with seniors Mike Gedman and Brian Baudinet and junior Peter Copa leading the way with seven apiece.
Several Minutemen have set new career highs for home runs, including Matt Gedman who hit his first career grand slam on Apr. 18 at Rhode Island and now has six on the season.
Six UMass players have tallied multi-home run games this season, led by junior Kyle Multner who has done it twice.
Multner hit two out at William & Mary on Mar. 21 and had two at Dayton on May 7, Copa belted a pair at Saint Joseph's on Mar. 27, junior Eric Fredette launched the first two long balls of his collegiate career on Apr. 7 vs. UConn, Mike Gedman belted a pair against Harvard on Apr. 21 in the Beanpot Consolation game, Tom Conley had two vs. George Washington on May 2 and Brian Baudinet hit four in that contest, a new UMass single game record.
Brothers Matt and Mike Gedman have homered twice in the same game this season, on Mar. 20, at William & Mary and on Apr. 7 vs. UConn.
The Minutemen have hit back-to-back homers five times this year: Tom Conley and Multner (ninth inning at William & Mary, 3/21), Fredette and Matt Gedman (first inning vs. UConn, 4/7), Fredette and Matt Gedman (eighth inning vs. Saint Louis, game one, 4/24), Copa and Mike Gedman (fourth inning vs. Saint Louis, game two, 4/24) and Baudinet and Copa (sixth inning vs. George Washington, 5/2).
Home Sweet Home
The Minutemen enjoyed a great deal of success at Earl Lorden Field last year, posting a 14-6 record with a .356 (255-717) team batting average, including ending the 2009 campaign with six straight victories and won their home opener in 2010 to make it seven straight before having the streak snapped against UConn on Apr. 7.
UMass is 9-5 at home this season and is batting .350 with 123 runs scored, 38 doubles and 24 home runs.
Eric Fredette and Matt Gedman are hitting over .400 at home, Fredette leads the way at .458 (27-for-59) with four homers, 17 RBI and 15 runs scored.
Tremendous Trio
UMass returns all three of members from its talented outfield contingent from a year ago, comprised of Kyle Multner (left), Brian Baudinet (center) and Mike Donato (right). The trio accounted for 148 games played out of a possible 159 in 2009, including a school-record 53 by both Baudinet and Donato.
Baudinet has started 135 consecutive games in a streak dating back to March 9, 2008 at Arizona State.
Multner, Baudinet and Donato combined for 22 of the team's 60 home runs and 104 of the Minutemen's 340 RBI. Multner finished 2009 tied for the team lead in homers with nine, while Baudinet and Donato ranked second and fourth on the squad in RBI.
The three outfielders are the team leaders in career homers, Baudinet with 20, Multner with 18 and Donato with 14. Baudinet started off the 2010 campaign on a high note, leading off the season opener at Oklahoma State by hitting a home run on the second pitch of the contest. Multner has six homers on the season, while Donato has three, most recently hitting one out on May 8 at Dayton.
Donato, a co-captain along with Baudinet and senior Jared Freni, was an All-Atlantic 10 First Team outfielder in 2009. Baudinet was an All-New England selection in 2008.
First Series Win Over The Spiders
With a 6-3 win over Richmond on Apr. 11, UMass captured its first series against the Spiders all time, going 0-6 in its previous six series with Richmond.
UMass entered the weekend 7-15 all-time against the Spiders since 1997.
New Faces
In addition to the squad's eight freshmen, UMass has four transfers who have seen their first action as Minutemen this season.
Sophomore Isaac Oakley transferred to UMass from Oregon State prior to last season but missed all of 2009 with an arm injury.
The Minutemen have also added three transfers from Vermont, which discontinued its baseball program at the conclusion of 2009: junior Eric Fredette (2B), sophomore Leif Sorenson (RHP) and sophomore Ben Hart (RHP).
Freshman Firsts
Freshmen Ryan Cusick and Rich Graef earned their first collegiate starts on March 24 against Hartford.
Cusick went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored, all firsts for the infielder. He tallied his first career triple a Dayton on May 9.
Graef tallied a hit in his first collegiate at bat at Oklahoma Sate on March 13 and was 2-for-3 against Harford with a double an RBI and a run scored.
Anthony Serino started his first collegiate game on Apr. 4 at Charlotte.
Serino's Strikeout Success
Junior Nick Serino, who spent the bulk of the 2009 season as the Minutemen's No. 2 starter in the weekend rotation, finished his sophomore campaign with an Atlantic 10-leading 10.62 strikeouts per-nine innings and ranked 30th in the nation.
His 72 strikeouts, which ranked second on the team, placed Serino sixth in the Atlantic 10 in 2009.
Serino carried his success into summer ball where he earned an all-star nod playing for the Lowell All-Americans of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL).
In his 2010 debut, Serino struck out six batters in five innings of work at Oklahoma State on March 14.
Serino rung up a career-high 13 batters at Saint Joseph's on Mar. 27, but suffered a hard-luck 1-0 loss against the Hawks. It marked the junior's third career game with 10+ strikeouts.
In two career starts against Saint Joseph's, Serino has logged two complete games and a combined 23 Ks.
The southpaw added his fourth career 10-strikeout game, ringing up 10 in his start against Richmond on Apr. 10. He then made it two consecutive starts with double-digit strikeouts as he fanned 10 batters in 6.2 innings on Apr. 16 in UMass' 6-4 win over Rhode Island.
Serino matched his career high with 13 strikeouts vs. George Washington on Apr. 30, his fifth career contest with 10+ Ks and fourth of the year.
Serino has 181 strikeouts in 169.1 career innings pitched, an average of 9.62 strikeouts per nine innings. He is currently seventh in school history for career strikeouts, needing eight more for sixth.
Entering his next start, Serino is 53 shy of the program record (234), held by Jeff Reardon and Carl Boteze.
He entered the week ranked 22nd in the nation in strikeouts per-nine innings (10.77) and currently ranks seventh in the A-10 in strikeouts, second in conference games with 69 in 55.0 innings pitched. In A-10 games, Serino is ninth in innings pitched.
A Solid Core
Despite losing two All-Region players to graduation in designated hitter Jim Macdonald and left-handed pitcher Mitchell Clegg, along with the just the third player in program history to tally 200+ career hits, Adam Tempesta, the 2010 squad includes a solid core of returnees.
In the field, seven players currently on the Minutemen roster had 40+ games played last season.
Even with the absence of 2009 staff ace Clegg, UMass brings back its number two and number three weekend starters from a year ago in senior co-captain Jared Freni and junior Nick Serino.
Freni and Serino ranked second and third on the squad last season in innings pitched at 73.2 and 61.0, respectively.
In 2009, Freni set a program record for games started in a season with 15.
Young But Experienced
Tom Conley was thrown right into the fire as a freshman in 2009, earning the role of starting catcher as he played in 49 of 53 games, starting 46 behind the plate.
Conley was an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honoree and hit .312 with 22 runs scored, seven doubles and drew 24 walks. He was a perfect 5-for-5 on the base paths.
Defensively, Conley boasted the squad's best fielding percentage among regular starters (.979) and had just five passed balls. He picked off three and thwarted 19 stolen base attempts.
2009 Records
The 2009 season was a year of record-book performances for the Minutemen co-captains. Senior outfielders Mike Donato and Brian Baudinet played all 53 games last season, tying each other for the single-season record.
Donato also took first in at-bats (217) and tied for sixth in hits (73), while Baudinet tied for third in single-season triples (5), fourth in walks (35), fourth in at-bats (209), seventh in runs (54) and seventh in total bases (113).
Senior Jared Freni started a program-record 15 games last season.
Family Affair
With the addition of Anthony Serino, two sets of brothers are on the Minutemen squad this season.
Anthony, a freshman outfielder, joins his brother Nick, a junior left-handed pitcher who went 5-4 last season and finished with 72 strikeouts, second-most on the team, in 61 innings.
The other brothers, junior Matt and senior Mike Gedman, had a combined 78 hits and 50 runs batted in last season. Mike also pitched in 15 games, holding down a 2.42 earned run average to go along with five saves in 2009. The Gedman's have combined for 103 hits, 19 doubles, 13 home runs, 59 RBI and 59 runs scored thus far in 2010.
Hometown Heroes
Of the 31 members of the team, 21 hail from within Massachusetts.
Five of the Minutemen are alums of Malden Catholic High School, while two of their conference rivals, Boston College High and Catholic Memorial, are also represented on the team with one player each.
The 10 out-of-staters come from Connecticut (7), New Hampshire (1), Pennsylvania (1) and New York (1). 
