University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
11-11
Hartford
12-19
UMass Baseball Wins Fifth Straight, 4-3 Over Hartford
April 15, 2015 | Baseball
Box Score |
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AMHERST, Mass. -
The UMass baseball team picked up its fifth straight victory on Wednesday, defeating Hartford, 4-3 at Earl Lorden Field. With the win, the Minutemen level their record at 11-11, while the Hawks drop to 12-19 on the year.
UMass scored the first run of the afternoon in the bottom of the second as redshirt senior Adam Picard reached with a one-out single to left center and scored on a two-base error with two away in the frame as a ball thrown to second sailed into right field.
Hartford pulled level with the Minutemen in the fourth without a hit. Ben Bengtson drew a one-out walk, moved to second on a ground ball and scored on a dropped pop up with two outs.
In the bottom of the fifth, UMass regained the lead, 2-1. Junior Vinny Scifo walked and stole second and redshirt senior Kyle Adie plated him with a double down the right field line.
The Minutemen later added a pair of what would prove to be valuable insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh. With one down, Adie and senior Paul Yanakopulos reached with back-to-back singles. Then, after a ground ball put both runners in scoring position, sophomore Mike Geannelis drove in the pair with a double to the fence in right center to bring the score to 4-1.
The Hawks threatened to rally in their next turn at bat. After a quick first out in the frame, Trey Stover doubled to right and later scored on an error with two down that extended the inning. Bengston, who reached on the error, came home on a wild pitch after advancing to third on a single up the middle by Ryan Lukach. Reliever Ben Panunzio worked out of the jam, though, inducing a ground ball to Scifo at short to end the inning.
Junior Evan Mackintosh then entered in the ninth and retired the side in order to earn his second save of the season. In his first collegiate start, sophomore Ryan Venditti picked up the win (2-0) as he allowed one unearned run on three hits over six innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. Ben Brown took the loss for Hartford after surrendering one run on one hit with three walks and one strikeout over 1.1 innings out of the bullpen.
Adie (2-for-4), Yanakopulos (2-for-4) and Picard (2-for-3) combined for six of UMass' seven hits in the contest, while Geannelis had the other with a double and two RBI. Dave MacKinnon was the lone Hawks player to register multiple hits on the afternoon, going 2-for-4 at the plate.
The Minutemen next travel to Saint Louis for a three-game Atlantic 10 series beginning Friday, April 17, at 7:00 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Venditti, Ryan (2-0)
L: BROWN (0-1)
S: Mackintosh, Evan (2)
Batting:
2B: STOVER 1
Base Running:
RUNS: STOVER 1 ; BENGTSON 2
HBP: DELDEBBIO 1
Batting:
2B: Adie, Kyle 1 ; Geannelis, Mike 1
RBI: Adie, Kyle 1 ; Geannelis, Mike 2
SH: Walsh, Brandon 1 ; Jennings, John 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Adie, Kyle 1 ; Yanakopulos, Paul 1 ; Picard, Adam 1 ; Scifo, Vinny 1
SB: Scifo, Vinny 1
