University of Massachusets Athletics
Tuesday, March 27
Albany, N.Y.
3 p.m.
University of Massachusetts
at
Albany
Baseball Visits UAlbany Tuesday Afternoon
March 25, 2018 | Baseball
Massachusetts has won five of its last six non-conference matchups
| University of Massachusetts Baseball Game Notes | |
| Game 14 | Massachusetts (7-6 overall) at UAlbany (9-7 overall) |
| Date | Time | Tues., March 27 | 3 p.m. |
| Location | Weather | Albany, N.Y. (Varsity Field) | Driving Directions 51 Degrees, Partly Cloudy, Chance of Rain: 10% |
| Series History | Massachusetts leads, 4-1 Last Meeting: UAlbany 9, Massachusetts 4 | April 1, 2012 |
| Live Video | Stretch Internet |
| Live Statistics | StatBroadcast |
| @UMassBaseball | @UMassAthletics | |
| UMass Baseball | UMass Athletics | |
| Probable Starters | Massachusetts RHP Anthony Videtto (1-0, 3.27 ERA) UAlbany LHP Connor Takacs (0-0, 5.40 ERA) |
| Season Statistics | Massachusetts | UAlbany |
Batting Practice
University of Massachusetts baseball briefly breaks from the Atlantic 10 schedule on Tues., March 27, trekking to the Empire State for a matchup with America East foe UAlbany. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Varsity Field.
Live streaming video of the tilt will be available on Stretch Internet and fans can also follow along with live stats on StatBroadcast.
Recap in a Minute
The Minutemen claimed the middle game of their three-game series at Richmond from March 23-25, sandwiching a 2-1 victory between 17-5 and 7-1 setbacks on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Marcus Fry hit .455 in the stretch with two doubles while Cooper Mrowka drove in three runs. On the bump Saturday, southpaw Brooks Knapek allowed just two hits over eight innings of one-run ball, before Casey Aubin posted two strikeouts in the ninth en route to his first collegiate save.
Richmond bookended the series with big innings to secure the opening and rubber matches of the weekend. On Friday, the Minutemen surrendered a seven-run seventh inning before Richmond put up a six-spot in the fifth on Sunday.
Scouting UAlbany
The Great Danes opened up America East play this past weekend, taking one of three from UMass Lowell in a series moved to Kingston, Rhode Island due to weather. All three games were decided by one run, with UMass Lowell pocketing the first contest, 3-2, in 11 innings before the sides alternated 1-0 victories to close the weekend. Prior to the season, the squad was slotted fourth in the America East Coaches' Poll.
Collectively Albany is batting .218 on the season with Connor Powers (.263) and Patrick Lagravinese (.262) leading the charge at the plate. Powers has four home runs to his name as well as 13 RBIs, both of which are team-bests.
As a team the Great Danes rank atop America East with a 4.30 ERA. Freshman lefty Connor Takacs (0-0, 5.40 ERA) is expected to make his first start of 2018 after throwing five innings out of the bullpen.
The All-Time Series With UAlbany
Four of Massachusetts' five all-time meetings with Albany came in 2011 and 2012 with UMass claiming the first three. Most recently, the teams split a doubleheader on April 1, 2012 at Earl Lorden Field.
In the opener of the twinbill, Glen Misho tossed seven innings and Rob McLam drove in two runs as part of a 5-1 win, before the Great Danes countered with a 9-4 victory in game two. That game took on a back-and-forth nature before Albany posted six runs in the eighth inning to claim the lead for good.
UMass in the Atlantic 10 Ranks
Entering Tuesday's game, the Minutemen find themselves at or near the top of the Atlantic 10 in multiple statistical categories. Massachusetts boasts the league's top figure in doubles per game (2.08) and fourth-best offensive production (5.5 runs per game).
Individually, Ryan Lever's .357 batting average is third in the league, as are the junior's 1.54 hits per game.
You're Invited To The Hit Parade
Lever has hit safely and thus reached base in each of Massachusetts' last 12 games. He has six multi-hit games to his name this season including two three-hit performances. The Leominster, Massachusetts native has started at shortstop in all 13 games this year, while spending time in both the second (10) and third (3) spots in the batting order.
Call Them The Comeback Kids
In a sweep of Bucknell from March 12-14, Massachusetts was forced to come from behind in each of the three matchups. The last time the Minutemen eliminated consecutive deficits en route to a three-game series sweep was on May 8 and May 9, 2001, when UMass claimed both doubleheader tilts against Saint Joseph's (13-8 and 9-5) before posting an 11-9 triumph to close the weekend.
That year the Maroon and White won the Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championship after going 16-6 in the league, ultimately finishing the campaign with an overall record of 27-19.
Not To Be Confused With Brothers Osborne
The Minuteman pitching staff features one set of twin brothers in sophomores Brooks Knapek and Carter Knapek. The duo threw back-to-back in a win over Central Connecticut on Sun., March 11, with Brooks earning the win after four no-hit innings of relief, during which he struck out four and surrendered just one walk. Carter then entered for the ninth and posted his first career save. That capped a strong day on the mound for the Minutemen as Justin Lasko started on the hill, striking out five over his four innings of work.
Welcome Back, Coach
A former UMass infielder and captain, head coach Matt Reynolds returns to the Pioneer Valley after three years (2014-17) guiding Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland and seven seasons as an assistant coach at Navy (2007-14).
Prior to Navy, Reynolds served as a graduate assistant under Mike Stone at UMass for three seasons (2005-07). He played his final two collegiate seasons in Amherst after transferring from the University of Maine. He earned Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team honors in 2003 and was named the Minutemen's Most Valuable Player the following year.
All Across The Map
Throughout the 2018 campaign, the Minutemen will play at least one game in seven different states: Florida, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Virginia, New York, Missouri and Pennsylvania.
On Deck
UMass resumes Atlantic 10 play and opens Earl Lorden Field on Fri., March 30, beginning a three-game series against St. Bonaventure. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Follow UMass Baseball
Follow UMass baseball on Twitter (@UMassBaseball), Instagram (UMassBaseball) and Facebook (UMass Baseball) for the latest news and updates around the team.
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
SS/2B
/ Baseball
1B
/ Baseball
RHP/UTIL
/ BaseballUMass Base | Highlights vs Siena | 04.30.25
Wednesday, April 30
UMass Baseball vs. George Washington | Broadcast Highlights | 04.27.25
Monday, April 28
UMass Baseball vs. George Mason | Broadcast Highlights | Game 2 04.19.25
Saturday, April 19
UMass Baseball vs. URI | Broadcast Highlights | Doubleheader Game 1 | 3.28.25
Friday, March 28