Massachusetts Continues Atlantic 10 Schedule at Saint Louis

University of Massachusetts Baseball Game Notes
Games 19-21	Massachusetts (9-9 overall, 2-4 Atlantic 10) at Saint Louis (18-9 overall, 5-1 Atlantic 10)
Date \| Time	Fri., April 6 \| 3 p.m. Eastern Time Sat., April 7 \| 1 p.m./4:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location \| Weather	St. Louis, Mo. (Billiken Sports Center) \| Facility Information Friday: 48 Degrees, Cloudy, Chance of Rain: 10% Saturday: 41 Degrees, Sunny, Chance of Rain: 0%
Series History	Massachusetts leads, 14-10 Last Meeting: Massachusetts 5, Saint Louis 4 \| April 15, 2017
Live Video	TBA
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast: Friday \| Saturday (1) \| Saturday (2)
Twitter	@UMassBaseball \| @UMassAthletics
Instagram	UMass Baseball \| UMass Athletics
Probable Starters	Massachusetts RHP Justin Lasko (2-1, 1.91 ERA), RHP Kevin Hassett (0-3, 10.29 ERA), LHP Brooks Knapek (2-2, 4.57 ERA) Saint Louis RHP Miller Hogan (4-2, 2.51 ERA), RHP Jackson Wark (5-1, 3.82 ERA), RHP Drew Reveno (5-1, 1.65 ERA)
Season Statistics	Massachusetts \| Saint Louis

Batting Practice
University of Massachusetts baseball resumes Atlantic 10 play with a trip to St. Louis, Missouri and a three-game series with the Saint Louis Billikens. Friday's game begins at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, with a doubleheader slated for Saturday and beginning at 1 p.m.

Recap in a Minute
With a Wed., April 4 contest at Boston College postponed, the Minutemen are coming off of a tough 10-8 loss against Northeastern the previous afternoon in the Baseball Beanpot Semifinals. In a game moved from Earl Lorden Field to NU's Friedman Diamond, UMass built up a 7-2 lead in the sixth inning before the Huskies rallied and capped the comeback with a pinch hit grand slam from Kyle Peterson in the eighth.

Starter Anthony Videtto lasted 6.2 innings on the mound, allowing just two runs through the first six frames. His final line included five runs (three earned) on seven hits, a walk and two strikeouts.

Now Leaving Earl Lorden Field
Three different Minutemen in Marcus Fry, Logan Greene and Connor Smith each homered for the first time in their respective careers in the St. Bonaventure series from March 30-April 1. Greene's three-run shot came with the Minutemen down to their final out on Sat., March 31 and forced extra innings, while Smith left the yard with a solo dinger in the second inning. In the fourth inning on Sun., April 1, 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
Heading into the SLU series, Ryan Lever is among the top 15 hitters in the A-10 with a .320 batting average. Additionally, Nolan Kessinger boasts 1.06 RBIs per game, sitting second in the league behind only Davidson's Eric Jones (1.39). With a 1.58 clip, Bren Spillane of Illinois sits atop the country in that category.

Your Destination Is On The Right
Lever has reached base in 17 straight games, a career-high, while also recording a hit in 15 of his last 17 contests. Cracking double figures in the former as well is Marcus Fry with an active 11-game reached base streak.

In those respective spans, Lever is batting .338 with four doubles, 11 RBIs and 16 runs scored. Fry has a .256 clip over UMass' most recent 17 games with four doubles and a home run.

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 longest career outing 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
The Maroon and White face Boston College in the Baseball Beanpot Consolation Game on Tues., April 10. Time of first pitch has yet to be determined.

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Players Mentioned

Marcus Fry

Logan Greene

Kevin Hassett

Nolan Kessinger

Brooks Knapek

Carter Knapek

Justin Lasko

Ryan Lever

Connor Smith

Anthony Videtto

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