University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
8-20, 0-7
La Salle
19-11, 5-2
La Salle Pulls Away Late in Doubleheader Finale
April 18, 2021 | Baseball
Massachusetts led in both contests but was unable to weather Explorer rallies down the stretch
Massachusetts is scheduled to play next in a four-game series at A-10 foe Rhode Island beginning Fri., April 23. The game vs. Sacred Heart, scheduled for Tues., April 20, has been cancelled due to a pause in the Sacred Heart program.
Game 1
La Salle 4, Massachusetts 3 (7 innings)
UMass led 3-0 after two innings, taking advantage of a two-out La Salle miscue in the first frame to score Kevin Skagerlind. In the bottom of the second, a bases-loaded balk brought in Aidan Wilde and Collin Shapiro followed up with a sac fly two batters later to bring Chris Pearsons 90 feet home.
But that would be the only scoring the home side could muster in the first game, as La Salle pulled even with a two-spot in the third and the game-tying run in the fifth, logging the go-ahead run in the seventh.
The Minutemen loaded the bases in their last at-bat, putting the tying run at third in Eddy Hart. With two out and Aidan Wilde at the plate, the 1-2 pitch went past the reach of catcher Tatem Levins and toward the backstop. As Hart broke for home, so too did pitcher Colin Yablonski to cover the plate and set up a bang-bang play that brought the ballgame to an end.
Yablonski pitched the final 2.2 innings for La Salle to earn the win, and the loss went to Tucker Wittman.
Game 2
La Salle 11, Massachusetts 6
Eddy Hart and Mike Gervasi contributed two hits and two RBI apiece for UMass, but the Explorers rallied from a 6-1 deficit to tie the score in the seventh inning before a five-spot in the ninth. Hart scored twice and Aidan Wilde added a double in the loss.
Massachusetts tagged the Explorers for six unanswered runs after a second inning sac fly from Will Binder. The squad sent nine men to bat in the third frame, getting on the board with Hart's two-run single that scored Ryan Coleman and Collin Shapiro. Dylan Judd knocked in Kevin Skagerlind on a base hit, then Judd came in on a Mike Gervasi single. Hart also scored in the sequence on a wild pitch.
Dylan Maria was the winning pitcher for La Salle and Colin Kennedy came on for the save in the bottom of the ninth. For UMass Jack Pawloski took the loss. Starter Tyler Dalton received a no-decision, working five-plus innings of four-hit, four-run ball (three earned) in which Dalton struck out five batters and walked two.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: MARIA, Dylan (2-1)
L: Pawloski, Jack (0-3)
S: KENNEDY, Colin (4)
Batting:
2B: LEVINS, Tatem 1 ; DICKERSON, Elijah 1 ; DI VIETRO, Nick 1
HR: DICKERSON, Elijah 1
RBI: CUCINOTTA, Jack 2 ; LEVINS, Tatem 1 ; DICKERSON, Elijah 4 ; DI VIETRO, Nick 1 ; BINDER, Will 2 ; SADALLAH, Alfonse 1
SF: BINDER, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CUCINOTTA, Jack 1 ; LEVINS, Tatem 2 ; DICKERSON, Elijah 2 ; GUCKIN, Ryan 2 ; O'DAY, Nick 1 ; BINDER, Will 1 ; SADALLAH, Alfonse 1 ; COOLAHAN, Connor 1
SB: CUCINOTTA, Jack 1
HBP: COOLAHAN, Connor 1
Batting:
2B: Wilde, Aidan 1
RBI: Hart, Eddy 2 ; Judd, Dylan 1 ; Gervasi, Mike 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Shapiro, Collin 1 ; Skagerlind, Kevin 1 ; Hart, Eddy 2 ; Judd, Dylan 1 ; Coleman, Ryan 1
HBP: Shapiro, Collin 1
