Baseball Hosts Hartford on Tuesday

University of Massachusetts Baseball Game Notes
Game 37	Massachusetts (12-24, 6-9 A-10) vs. Hartford (16-21, 7-8 AE)
Date \| Time	Tuesday, May 2, 2017 - 3 p.m.
Location \| Weather	Amherst, Mass. (Earl Lorden Field) Tuesday: 73 Degrees, AM Showers, Chance of Rain: 50%
Series History	Massachusetts leads 23-10
Game Coverage	Live Stats: SideArm Watch: Atlantic 10 Digital Network
Social Media	Twitter: @UMassBaseball \| @HartfordBASE
Probable Starters	Massachusetts: TBA Hartford: TBA

Batting Practice
- Massachusetts baseball takes on Hartford at home on Tuesday afternoon. The game is set for 3 p.m. at Earl Lorden Field, wrapping up a four-game homestand for the Minutemen.
- This is the 34^th meeting between UMass and Hartford. UMass currently leads the series 23-10. The two teams last meet on April 15, 2015 when the Minutemen picked up their fifth straight victory by a score of 4-3 at home.

Recap in a Minute
- The Minutemen took on Atlantic 10 Dayton this past weekend, winning one of three contests. In game one, the Minutemen held an early 1-0 lead, but a pair of Dayton home runs made the difference in the contest as the Flyers defeated UMass, 5-2 in the teams' series opener.
- In game two, UMass took another early 1-0 lead, but Dayton put up the next seven runs in the contest to hand UMass a 7-2 setback. The day was highlighted by a Ryan Lever two-out solo home run over the right field fence, his fourth home run of the season, a team high.
- Behind a stellar pitching performance from senior Mike Geannelis, UMass blanked Dayton in the series finale, 3-0. Geannelis threw a complete game shutout for the win (5-4), allowing just three hits with nine strikeouts and no walks. At the plate, sophomore Alec Norton hit his first career home run, while six Minutemen combined for the squad's eight hits in the contest, with Lever and Norton both going 2-for-3 at the plate on the day.

Scouting Hartford
- Hartford (16-21, 7-8 AE) was most recently in action this past weekend on the road against UMass Lowell in an American East conference series. The Hawks fell to the River Hawks in games one and three by scores on 20-1 and 3-2, respectively. Hartford claimed game two of the series by a score of 5-1.
- Sophomore outfielder Ashton Bardzell has been a leader of the Hartford offense, batting .364 after starting in 33 of the teams 37 contests. With seven home runs and 33 RBI, he leads the team in both categories. Senior David MacKinnon has started in all 37 contests batting .342 and leads the team with 54 hits and 35 runs. Junior catcher Erik Ostberg, who has started 24 games this season, is batting an outstanding .500 in his 86 at bats, with 11 doubles, six home runs and 23 RBI.
- The Hawks pitching staff has seen nine different players earn a win and four different players record a save. Connor Lewis (2-2) has paced the Hartford starters posting a 5.31 ERA through his 10 appearances and seven starts, covering 39.0 innings.
- Justin Blood is now in his sixth season at the helm of the Hartford baseball team. Blood guided the Hawks to a program record 31 wins in 2014 and raised the bar in 2016, his fifth season with the team, when Hartford piled up 37 victories. In five seasons Blood has amassed 124 career wins, the most by any Hartford coach since the Hawks moved to Division I in 1985. Overall, Blood holds a 124-148 record (.456), including 60 victories in America East play. Blood's conference winning percentage (.492) ranks No. 1 in program history.

Geannelis Goes The Distance
- In game three of this past weekend's series at home against Dayton, senior Mike Geannelis threw a complete game shutout for the win (5-4), allowing just three hits with nine strikeouts and no walks. This was Geannelis' third straight complete game and second straight shutout. The right-hander is the first UMass hurler to toss consecutive shutouts since Matt Torra did so in a pair of seven-inning contests in 2005 against St. Bonaventure and Temple.
- On April 23, against at La Salle, Geannelis threw a complete game shutout for the win, scattering five hits and walking just one while tying a career high with nine strikeouts.
- On April 14, he also threw a complete game to pick up the win against Saint Louis as he allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Getting It Done In The Classroom
- Eight members of the UMass baseball team were recognized earlier this spring for their academic success with placement on the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Fall Honor Roll. In total, UMass as an institution had 165 student-athletes earn a spot on the list.
- Casey Aubin, Brett Evangelista, Kevin Hassett, Matt Hosman, Justin Lasko, Bryce Maher, Cooper Mrowka and Dylan Robinson, garnered the laurels for UMass baseball.

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 694 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.

Nine is Fine
- Throughout the 2017 season, the Minutemen will play in nine different states: North Carolina, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia, Kentucky, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and New York. So far, UMass has played in seven of these states.

On Deck
This weekend the squad heads to Kingston, Rhode Island to take on Atlantic 10 foe Rhode Island in a three-game series. The games are set for 3 p.m. on Friday, 1 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday. The following weekend, the Minutemen head to New York to face off against Fordham in a three-day conference series. The games are set for 6 p.m. on Friday, 1 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday.

Follow UMass Baseball on Social Media
- Fans can follow the Minutemen on Twitter @UMassBaseball for up to the minute updates, photos, and other news around the team. In addition, fans who use Facebook can visit Facebook.com/UMassBaseball for the latest with the squad.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Casey Aubin

Brett Evangelista

Mike Geannelis

Kevin Hassett

Matt Hosman

Justin Lasko

Ryan Lever

Bryce Maher

Cooper Mrowka

Alec Norton

Dylan Robinson

University of Massachusets Athletics