Tuesday's Baseball Game Moved To Northeastern's Friedman Diamond

University of Massachusetts Baseball Game Notes
Game 18	Massachusetts (9-8 overall) vs. Northeastern (14-10 overall)
Date \| Time	Tues., April 3 \| 3 p.m.
Location \| Weather	Brookline, Mass. (Friedman Diamond) 44 Degres, Showers Possible, Chance of Rain: 65%
Series History	Massachusetts leads, 45-44 Beanpot: Tied, 7-7 Last Meeting: Massachusetts 6, Northeastern 5 \| April 19, 2017
Live Video	TBA
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast
Twitter	@UMassBaseball \| @UMassAthletics
Instagram	UMass Baseball \| UMass Athletics
Probable Starters	Massachusetts TBA Northeastern RHP Brian Rodriguez (1-1, 7.59 ERA)
Season Statistics	Massachusetts \| Northeastern

University of Massachusetts Baseball Game Notes
Game 19	Massachusetts at Boston College (9-16 overall)
Date \| Time	Wed., April 4 \| 4 p.m.
Location \| Weather	Brighton, Mass. (Brighton Baseball Field) 63 Degrees, Partly Cloudy, Chance of Rain: 80%
Series History	Massachusetts leads, 35-27 Last Meeting: Boston College 13, Massachusetts 1 \| March 29, 2017
Live Video	TBA
Live Statistics	Sidearm Stats
Twitter	@UMassBaseball \| @UMassAthletics
Instagram	UMass Baseball \| UMass Athletics
Probable Starters	Massachusetts TBA Boston College TBA
Season Statistics	Massachusetts \| Boston College

Batting Practice
The 2018 Baseball Beanpot lies ahead for University of Massachusetts baseball as the Minutemen open the annual tournament against Northeastern on Tues., April 3 with a 3 p.m. first pitch. Due to forecasted inclement weather in the Amherst area, Tuesday's game has been moved to Northeastern's Friedman Diamond in Brookline, Massachusetts. The winner of that matchup will move on to face either Boston College or Harvard in the Championship Game on Tues., April 10 with the Consolation Game also taking place on that date.

After meeting Northeastern Tuesday, UMass will turn around and visit BC on Wed., April 4 in a 4 p.m. game from the Brighton Baseball Field.

Recap in a Minute
Despite taking only the opening game of a three-game set with St. Bonaventure this past weekend, Massachusetts mounted comeback efforts in each of its final two contests with the Bonnies at Earl Lorden Field. After picking up a 5-3 win on Fri., March 30 in part highlighted by an eight-inning start from Justin Lasko, SBU pocketed a 6-5 decision in 12 innings on Sat., March 31 before the rubber game resulted in a 7-5 outcome in favor of the visitors.

Logan Greene hit .308 in the series and clubbed his first career home run to go with four total RBIs. Two other Minutemen also went yard for the first time in Marcus Fry and Connor Smith.

Now Leaving Earl Lorden Field
Three different Minutemen in Marcus Fry, Greene and Connor Smith each homered for the first time in their respective careers against St. Bonaventure. Greene's three-run shot came with the Minutemen down to their final out on Saturday and forced extra innings, while Smith left the yard with a solo dinger in the second inning. In the fourth inning on Sunday, Fry smacked a 3-0 pitch into the trees beyond right center field to join the long ball festivities.

UMass in the Atlantic 10 Ranks
With the St. Bonaventure series in the books, Ryan Lever is among the top 10 hitters in the A-10 with a .338 batting average. Lever has reached base in 16 straight games, a career-high, while also recording a hit in 15 of his last 16 contests. Additionally Nolan Kessinger boasts a run batted in per game, sitting second in the league behind only Davidson's Eric Jones (1.41).

Lasko On The Bump
Justin Lasko lowered his ERA to a team-best 1.91 following his most recent start against St. Bonaventure (March 30). The junior tossed eight innings to tie his career-high and despite allowing seven hits, was on the hook for only one run while striking out four. He improved to 2-1 over his five starts this season with opponents hitting .273.

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.

On Deck
Massachusetts picks up Atlantic 10 play once again on Fri., April 6, opening a three-game road series at Saint Louis. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern Time at the Billiken Sports Center.

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