University of Massachusets Athletics
Saturday, March 11
Delray Beach, Fla.
1 P.M.
University of Massachusetts
vs
Maine
Baseball Opens Delray Invitational vs. Maine
March 09, 2017 | Baseball
| University of Massachusetts Baseball Game Notes | |
| Games 4-6 | Massachusetts (0-3) vs. Maine (5-6) |
| Dates | Times | Friday, March 10 - Sunday, March 12 | 10 a.m. / 1 p.m. / 12 p.m. |
| Location | Weather | Delray Beach, Fla. Friday: 83 Degrees, Mostly Sunny, Chance of Rain: 10% Saturday: 82 Degrees, Few Showers, Chance of Rain: 40% Sunday: 83 Degrees, PM Rain, Chance of Rain: 60% |
| Series History | UMass leads 48-47-1 |
| Live Statistics | SideArm |
| Social Media | Twitter: @UMassBaseball | @MaineBaseball |
| Probable Starters | Massachusetts: TBA Maine: TBA |
Batting Practice
- The Massachusetts baseball team continues its non-conference slate on Friday with a trip to Delray Beach, Florida and a three-game series with Maine to open play at the Delray Invitational. The squads begin play at 10 a.m. on Friday, followed by a 1 p.m. start on Saturday and conclude the series with a 12 p.m. contest on Sunday afternoon.
- The teams last met on March 20, 2016 in Lakeland, Florida when the Minutemen offensive erupted and had three players notch multi-hit efforts, including a 4-for-5 day and three RBI from current captain Dylan Morris, as the Minutemen posted 13 hits en route to a 10-1 win.
- Friday morning's game marks the first of eight consecutive games that the Minutemen will play in the state of Florida.
Recap in a Minute
- UMass is coming off of a three-game series at Elon to open the 2017 campaign. The Minutemen lost a heartbreaking duel in the opener of the set by a 4-3 margin, marked by walk-off win for the Phoenix. Elon scored three of their four runs in the last two innings.
- On Saturday the Minutemen fell by a score of 3-0, but freshman LHP Brooks Knapek showed a lot of promise in his Minutemen debut. Knapek worked six innings in his start and surrendered two runs on four hits and walking three in addition to striking out 10.
- The Minutemen dropped the series finale with Elon, 5-1. Senior RHP Mike Geannelis surrendered just two runs on five hits over seven innings pitched. At the plate designated hitter Jon Avallone was the only Minuteman with multiple hits, in addition to scoring the lone UMass run.
Scouting Maine
- Maine meets Massachusetts after a Wednesday matchup with Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. The game, which was the teams 11th of the season, saw the Black Bears fall by a score of 11-3, moving to 5-6 early on in the year.
- Last weekend the Black Bears took two of three games from Atlantic 10 foe St. Bonaventure with both wins coming in extra frames. Game one was decided in 10 innings by a score of 6-5, while game two went 18 innings ending in a 5-4 Maine victory.
- Junior catcher Christopher Bec enters the series with a .353 batting average, the only Black Bear hitting above the .300 mark so far this season. The Miami, Florida, product has been an offensive spark plug for Maine, clubbing one home run and seven doubles thus far, tallying a team leading eight RBI.
- On the mound, sophomore RHP Nick Silva has emerged as a key part of the starting rotation for the Black Bears this season. In three starts, he posts a 0.95 ERA with 16 strikeouts over the course of 19.0 innings pitched.
- Nick Derba is in his first season serving as interim head coach for Maine. This is Derba's fourth season as a member of the Black Bear coaching staff, most recently serving as associate head coach. A 2007 graduate of Manhattan College, Derba was a three-time ALL-MAAC first team catcher and was the only three-year captain in Manhattan baseball history. Derba has also spent time as the catching and hitting coach for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
A Weekend of Firsts
- Five different Minutemen made their collegiate debuts last weekend at Elon. Eddy Hart, Brooks Knapek, Christian Rosati, Nolan Kessinger and Declan O'Malley all made their first appearances in Maroon and White, with Kessinger entering the hits (2) and RBI (1) column for the first time with Massachusetts. In addition, junior transfer Keith Linnane made his Minutemen debut.
- Brooks Knapek received the start on the mound in the second game of the series where he struck out 10, while Rosati entered from the bullpen in the season opener.
Set in `Stone'
- The winningest head coach in team history, UMass skipper Mike Stone embarks on his 30th season directing the Minutemen baseball program. In the summer of 2016, Stone announced that he would retire from coaching following the 2017 season. During his career in Amherst, Stone has helped UMass to 682 victories with eight Atlantic 10 regular season championships, along with two A-10 postseason titles and two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Nearly 40 of his former players have gone on to play professional baseball.
Eight is Great
- Throughout the 2017 season, the Minutemen will play in eight different states: North Carolina, Florida, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and New York; UMass will also head to Washington D.C.
On Deck
- After the three game series against the Black Bears the Minutemen will play mid-week contests against North Dakota State (Tues. 2 p.m.) and Harvard (Wed. 10:30 a.m.), before wrapping the week up with a three-game series against Bucknell.
Players Mentioned
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