Baseball Travels to Rhode Island to Take on Rams

University of Massachusetts Baseball Game Notes
Games 38-40	Massachusetts (12-25, 6-9 A-10) at Rhode Island (25-16, 13-4 A-10)
Dates \| Times	Friday, May 5 - Sunday, May 7 \| 3 p.m. / 1 p.m. / 1 p.m.
Location \| Weather	Kingston, Rhode Island (Bill Beck Field) Friday: 58 Degrees, Rain, Chance of Rain: 100% Saturday: 60 Degrees, PM Showers, Chance of Rain: 50% Sunday: 57 Degrees, Partly Cloudy, Chance of Rain: 10%
Series History	Massachusetts leads 106-70
Game Coverage	Live Stats: Game 1 \| Game 2 \| Game 3
Social Media	Twitter: @UMassBaseball \| @RhodyBaseball
Probable Starters	Massachusetts: RHP Justin Lasko \| RHP Ryan Moloney \| RHP Mike Geannelis Rhode Island: RHP Matt Murphy \| RHP Taso Stathopoulos \| RHP Vitaly Jangols

Batting Practice
- This weekend Massachusetts baseball travels to Kingston, Rhode Island for an Atlantic 10 Conference series against the Rhode Island Rams. The games are set for 3 p.m. on Friday, 1 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
- Game one will mark the 177^th meeting between UMass and Rhode Island. UMass currently leads the series 106-70. The two teams last met on May 15, 2016 when UMass went on to win by a score of 6-3 in a series finale, after dropping the first two contests. Senior Brandon Walsh struck out eight over 7.2 innings and current sophomore Cooper Mrowka had three RBI, plus his first collegiate triple.

Recap in a Minute
- The Minutemen hosted Hartford on Tuesday, but fell behind early to the Hawks, who scored seven runs in the first two innings to hand UMass a 13-4 setback.
- This past weekend's series at home against Dayton was highlighted by a stellar pitching performance from senior Mike Geannelis in the series finale. UMass blanked Dayton, 3-0, as Geannelis threw a complete game shutout for the win (5-4), allowing just three hits with nine strikeouts and no walks.

Scouting Rhode Island
- Rhode Island (25-16, 13-4 A-10) was most recently in action this past weekend, sweeping Fordham in an Atlantic 10 conference series. The series finale was highlighted with a walk-off grand slam in the 14^th inning, giving URI a 7-3 victory.
- With 62 hits in 168 at bats, redshirt junior infielder Chris Hess leads the Rams offense through there 41 games so far with a .369 batting average. Hess paces the team with 17 doubles, three triples, 34 runs and 11 stolen bases. Teammates Jordan Powell (.348) and Matt O'Neil (.315) have also been key contributors to the Rhode Island offense. O'Neil leads the team with 44 RBI and a .597 slugging percentage.
- On the mound, redshirt junior RHP Matt Murphy (4-2) has been the most effective pitcher for the Rams this season. Over the course of 11 starts, Murphy holds a 3.18 ERA, in a team-high 62.1 innings pitched, with 32 strikeouts and 21 walks. Tyler Barrs (1.52) has earned himself the closing role, picking up nine saves on the season so far.
- Rhode Island alum Raphael Cerrato is now in his third season directing the Rams baseball program. Cerrato was named interim head coach of the Rhode Island baseball team on July 17, 2014 and - following a successful first season with the Rams - officially became the program's permanent head coach on June 23, 2015. With the interim tag lifted and a core group of players returning in 2016, Cerrato's Rams won seven of their eight conference series, including three weekend sweeps, en route to a 18-6 mark in league play as well as the Atlantic 10 regular-season title. It was Rhody's first outright Atlantic 10 regular-season title since 2006.

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 last month 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 688 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. After this trip, New York will be the last state the Minutemen travel to.

On Deck
-After this series at Rhode Island, 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. The following Tuesday, May 16, UMass returns home to Earl Lorden Field for the last four regular season games, with a non-conference against Fairfield at 2 p.m. The regular season will then come to a close with an Atlantic 10 series against Davidson. A doubleheader will be played on Thursday starting at 12 p.m. and the series finale is set for 12 p.m. on Friday afternoon.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Casey Aubin

Brett Evangelista

Mike Geannelis

Kevin Hassett

Matt Hosman

Justin Lasko

Bryce Maher

Ryan Moloney

Cooper Mrowka

Dylan Robinson

Brandon Walsh

University of Massachusets Athletics