March 10, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. -
The UMass baseball team will head to the Sunshine State for for Spring Break and will face eight teams, including two from the Big Ten and three from the Patriot League, at the Russ Matt Central Florida Invitational, March 12-20, in Winter Haven, Fla. To open the stretch of eight games in nine days, the Minutemen will face Toledo at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
RussMatt Central Florida Invitational Schedule (3/12-3/20)
Saturday: vs. Toledo - 9:30 a.m. - Chain of Lakes Park #1 - GameTracker
Sunday: vs. Bradley - 5:30 p.m. - Henley Field - GameTracker
Monday: vs. Navy - 3:00 p.m. - Chain of Lakes Park Stadium - GameTracker
Tuesday: vs. Army - 3:00 p.m. - Chain of Lakes Park Stadium - GameTracker
Wednesday: vs. Indiana - 2:00 p.m. - Lake Myrtle Park Main Field - GameTracker
Friday: vs. Bucknell - 1:00 p.m. - Lake Myrtle Park Main Field - GameTracker
Saturday: vs. Northwestern - 1:30 p.m. - Henley Field - GameTracker
Sunday: vs. UMBC - 10:00 a.m. - Lake Myrtle Park Main Field - GameTracker
Against The Field
Toledo (3-6): UMass leads series 1-0; Last meeting - 5-1 W, 3/26/70
Bradley (6-4): Series tied 1-1; Last meeting - 12-1 W, 3/21/85
Navy (6-6-1): Navy leads series 1-0; Last meeting - 6-5 L (10 inn.), 3/14/09
Army (1-8): Series tied 3-3; Last meeting - 12-11 L, 3/17/08
Indiana (6-4): Indiana leads series 2-0; Last meeting - 5-4 L, 3/18/86
Bucknell (4-7): UMass leads series 3-1; Last meeting - 4-2 L, 3/16/05
Northwestern (2-5): Northwestern leads series 4-3; Last meeting - 7-5 L, 2/28/09
UMBC (0-4): UMBC leads series 2-1; Last meeting 17-0 L, 3/17/90
Leading The Way
Senior co-captain Eric Fredette is the team's top returning hitter after posting a .384 average at the plate last season on his way to Atlantic 10 Second Team Honors.
Fredette racked up 71 hits in 2010, which tied for ninth all-time in program history for a single season. He finished his junior campaign with a team-best 22 multi-hit games.
In his first season at UMass after transferring from Vermont, the second baseman played and started 45 of the squad's 46 games and totaled 32 runs scored, 11 doubles, one triple, four home runs and 31 RBI. His team-best 19 walks helped him boast a .443 on-base percentage, while he led the squad with 10 sacrifices, as well.
Fredette registered a team-high 22 multi-hit games on the year in 2010 and hit safely in 40 of the 45 contests he appeared in, reaching base in all but one.
Young Arms
After losing two weekend starters from last season's rotation to graduation (Bryan Leigh and Jared Freni) and another to the professional ranks (Nick Serino), the Minutemen will be assembling a brand new starting rotation in 2011.
Senior Charlie Benson is the most tenured member of the UMass pitching staff with 61.2 career innings pitched.
Out of UMass' 13 hurlers, seven are from the freshman and sophomore classes.
Junior Leif Sorenson posted a team-leading 3.94 ERA last year in 19 appearances, including one start. Sorenson worked 29.2 innings in 2010, the most among the returning Minutemen. He registered five saves on the season, tying him for fourth all-time on the UMass single season saves list.
Three Minutemen made their first collegiate appearances last weekend at the Bearkat Invitational. Freshman Ryan Lubreski threw 1.2 shutout innings against Michigan and struck out two in his debut. Sophomore Dennis Torres gave up just one earned run in 4.0 innings on the hill and fanned four against Sam Houston State on Saturday. Redshirt freshman Pat McKenna appeared in his first game at UMass, earning the start against Sam Houston in the weekend finale.
Youth Movement
The Minutemen are a young bunch in 2011 as 14 of the 32 players on the roster are freshmen. Making up the rest of the squad are five sophomores, seven juniors and six seniors.
Three newcomers have joined the Minutemen out of the same high school, Essex in Essex Junction, Vt. Dylan Begin, Adam Picard and Aaron Plunkett helped the Hornets win state titles in 2008 and 2010. Picard was named the Vermont Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior.
In the opening weekend of play, freshmen and sophomores accounted for nine of the team's 20 total hits, including two for extra bases.
Career Firsts
Ten Minutemen made their collegiate debuts at the Bearkat invitational last weekend.
On Friday, Mar. 4, vs. Michigan, sophomore Anthony Serino and freshmen Dylan Begin and Josh Messier tallied their first collegiate hits with Serino picking up his first career RBI, as well.
Freshman Nik Campero had his first hit against the Wolverines on Mar. 5, while Begin drove in a run in that contest, his first RBI.
Freshmen Kyle Adie and Adam Picard notched their first hits as Minutemen in back-to-back games against Sam Houston State on Mar. 5 and 6, respectively.
Hitting Streaks
Senior Peter Copa ended 2010 with a six game hitting streak and hit safely in the first three contests to start 2011 to extend the streak to a career-best nine games.
Senior Matt Gedman is the lone UMass player with an active streak. Gedman tallied hits in his final games of last season and his first two of this year for a four-game hitting streak.
Eric Fredette recorded the team's longest hitting streak of 2010 at 16 games. Gedman hit safely in 14 straight last season.
Hitting It Out
UMass brings back two of its three home run leaders from last season in seniors Peter Copa and co-captain Kyle Multner who tied 2010 graduate Mike Gedman with a squad-best eight home runs last spring. Matt Gedman (6), Tom Conley (5) and Eric Fredette (4) also contributed to the Minutemen's total of 51 homers in 2010.
Multner is the active career leader with 20 home runs entering his senior campaign and is also the active leader in career hits (119). He is on the verge of breaking into the program's top-10 all-time for career homers, needing one to match Steve Allen (1985-88) and Doug Clark (1996-98) for 10th.
Copa hit UMass' first home run of 2011 on Mar. 5 at Sam Houston State. He now has 14 for his career with the Minutemen.
Franczek Returns To Alma Mater
Former Minuteman third baseman Ryan Franczek returned to his alma mater this offseason and will begin his first year on the UMass coaching staff this spring.
Franczek, who played at UMass from 2005-08, was a .286 career hitter (155-for-579), totaling 34 doubles, seven triples 12 home runs, 73 RBI and 155 runs scored. He appeared in 164 career games, which ranks ninth all-time, starting 152. His career walks total (77) is presently tied for 10th all-time at UMass.
Franczek's best campaign with the Minutemen was in 2006 when he saw action in 42 games as a sophomore, hit .307, drove in 27 runs and scored 33. He was awarded The E. Joseph Thompson Memorial MVP Trophy that season. Franczek had four triples in 2006, tying him currently for ninth in the UMass record book for a single season and also ranks tied for sixth in a season with 10 hit by pitches that year.
Up Next
The Minutemen will return from spring break and travel to Hartford on Mar. 23 to take on the Hawks at 3 p.m. 
