University of Massachusets Athletics
Friday, May 17
Amherst, Mass.
12 P.M.
University of Massachusetts
vs
Saint Louis
Photo by: THOM KENDALL FOR UMASS ATHLETICS
Baseball Hosts Saint Louis For A-10 Conference Series To Conclude Regular Season
May 15, 2024 | Baseball
Massachusetts to recognize 11-man senior class prior to Saturday's contest.
| University of Massachusetts Baseball Game Notes | |
| Game 49-51 | Massachusetts (22-26, 11-10 Atlantic 10) vs. Siant Louis (36-12, 15-6 Atlantic 10) |
| Date // Time | Thursday, May 16 // 3 p.m. Friday, May 17 // 1 p.m. Saturday, May 18 // 12 p.m. |
| Location | Amherst, Mass. // Earl Lorden Field |
| Parking | Fans should park in Lot 28 located off Mullins Way |
| Senior Day Program | Senior Day Program |
| Series History | Saint Louis, 17-16 Last Meeting: Saint Louis, 11 (vs) Massachusetts, 1 | April 2, 2023 |
| Live Stats | StatBroadcast Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| Stream | ESPN+ Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| @UMassBaseball | @UMassAthletics | @CoachReynolds25 | |
| UMass Baseball | UMass Athletics | |
Follow UMass Baseball
Follow UMass baseball on Twitter (@UMassBaseball), Instagram (UMassBaseball) and Facebook (UMass Baseball) all season long for the latest news and updates around the team. Fans can also follow head coach Matt Reynolds on Twitter @CoachReynolds25.
Setting the Scene
University of Massachusetts baseball prepares for a three-game Atlantic 10 series against Saint Louis University at Earl Lorden Field on Thursday, May 16 through Saturday, May 18, to close out the regular season. First pitch in the series opener is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Thursday, ahead of a 1 p.m. start on Friday. The series finale is set for 12 p.m. on Saturday. All three contests will be streamed on ESPN+.
Prior to Saturday's series finale, the program will recognize Leif Bigelow, Austin Burgess, Charlie Devin, Mike Gervasi, Jake Given, Zack Given, Renn Lints, Kevin Skagerlind, Jake Swerdloff, Jacob Terwilliger and Nolan Tichy.
The Minutemen are 22-26 overall on the season and 11-10 in the A-10, while Saint Louis currently stands at 36-12 overall, including 15-6 in the league. The Billikens are coming off a 2-1 weekend series win over A-10 rival Dayton.
Recap in a Minute
UMass was swept in a three-game road series against George Washington last weekend.
The Minutemen kept game two of the series close, as a solo home run from Burgess knotted up the game at 2-2. George Washington had an RBI single in the eighth frame to break the tie and hold on to a 3-2 win on the afternoon.
On the day, Burgess went 2-for-3 with a team-high two runs and an RBI. He clubbed his sixth homer of the season. Matt Travisano, Gervasi and Michael Toth contributed a hit on the afternoon, as Travisano registered a double and posted an RBI.
All-Time vs. Saint Louis
The Minutemen and Billikens will meet for the 34th time in program history on Thursday, as Saint Louis holds the slight advantage in the all-time series, 17-16. The two teams first met in 2006 for a three-game series, with Massachusetts sweeping the Billikens with a 5-4 win in game one, an 8-5 victory in game two and 6-3 triumph in 10 innings in the series finale on April 21-23. UMass and SLU met last season for three contests, as the Billikens came away with the series sweep.
Massachusetts last defeated Saint Louis on April 7, 2019 with a dominant 17-8 win in game three. The Minutemen came away with the series win, 2-1, after winning the first game of the series, 7-6, on April 6.
It's Going, Going, And It's Gone
Massachusetts has tallied 54 home runs in 48 games played from 11 Minutemen. Gervasi leads the team with 14, followed by Carter Hanson with eight. Jack Beverly and Burgess have six on the season, while Braden Sullivan and Marc Willi have five and four on the year, respectively. Toth, Skagerlind and Tichy all registered three on the season. Kyle Hoog and Justin Blumenthal both have one on the season.
Gervasi registered his first long ball of the year in the first game of the season against Bucknell, before hitting his second and third in back-to-back games. He had his second homer in game three of the Bucknell series, before hitting his third in game one at No. 13 Virginia. Hanson had a home run as well in game one of the Bucknell series and tallied his second in the game two 10-5 win at No. 13 Virginia. Tichy recorded his lone homer in the final game against Bucknell.
Burgess had his first home run of the year in game two at Elon, while Beverly and Blumenthal hit their first in game three at Elon. Beverly's homer marked the first of his career. Sullivan recorded his first career grand slam, marking his first collegiate home run, at UMES. Willi registered his first career home run in the Beanpot Consolation against Harvard, before recording the second of his career in the next game at Fairfield.
Hoog and Toth both clubbed their first home runs of the year against Sacred Heart. Hoog's homer was his first as a Minuteman and second of his career, with Toth's being the second of his career. Skagerlind recorded his first long ball of the season in game three of the Saint Joseph's series, helping the Minutemen to complete the sweep.
On A Roll…
Twelve Minutemen are riding a current hitting streak, so far this season. Burgess leads with seven games, followed by Gervasi and Jake Given with five. Travisano and Toth are on a four-game streak, while Tichy Zack Zaetta are on a two-game hit streak. Five players are on a one-game hitting streak, currently. Travisano held the team's longest streak of 13 games before it came to an end.
Burgess leads the team with the longest active reached base streak of 21, followed by Skagerlind and Hanson with a streak of 18 and 12, respectiely. Gervasi and Jake Given have a reached base streak of five, while Travisano and Toth follow with four each. Tichy and Zaetta reached base twice, as five Minutemen have a reached base streak of one. Skagerlind held the longest streak for the Minutemen with a 25-reached base streak, before it came to an end.
[Multi]ple Games
In 48 games, UMass has a strong showing with multi-hit games, as the Minutemen have run their total of multi-hit performances to 115. Travisano leads the production with 16, including a four-hit game. Beverly, Skagerlind and Burgess follow with 15, which includes six three-hit games for Burgess. Gervasi has 13 multi-hit games, which includes three hits in five games. Hanson follows with 10 and Toth totaled eight, with one four-hit and three-hit performance for both Minutemen. Willi and Sullivan are on a five-game streak each, as Sullivan put together a four-hit performance in one contest, followed closely by Jake Given with three games, including a three-hit performance. Four Minutemen totaled two multi-hit games, while Zaetta and Sam Hill are on a one-game streak, as Zaetta put together a three-hit game of his own.
Massachusetts also contributed a total of 73 multi-RBI games, led by Hanson and Gervasi with 13 and 12, respectively, including a five-RBI contest for Hanson, marking the third Minuteman to accomplish five-plus RBIs in a game this season. Gervasi totaled two four-RBI games, as well. Beverly and Burgess follow behind with 10 each, with Burgess having five-plus RBI in one contest, as he became the second Minutemen to have five or more RBI in a contest this year. Sullivan and Toth have six multi-RBI games, as Sullivan recorded the team's first five-plus RBI contest this season. Travisano and Willi have had four multi-RBI games, while Tichy and Skagerlind have had three and two, respectively, as Skagerlind had four RBI in one contest. Peters, Zaetta and Jake Given have one multi-RBI game, with Peters and Jake Given registering three RBI in one game each.
A-10 Weekly Honors
Three Minutemen have garnered Atlantic 10 weekly awards this season. Sullivan grabbed the first accolade of the year after earning A-10 Rookie of the Week on March 26, before Hanson collected A-10 Player of the Week on April 29. Robbie O'Connor tabbed A-10 Pitcher of the Week on May 6. It marked the first weekly honors of their careers.
O'Connor is the first Minuteman to collect the Pitcher of the Week award since Justin Lasko achieved the feat in March of 2019. It also marks the first time the program has had an A-10 Pitcher, Player and Rookie of the Week in one season since 2012.
Sullivan earned a .600 batting average, a .625 on-base percentage and a 1.067 slugging percentage. Sullivan totaled nine hits, including two home runs and a double, five runs, eight RBI and a stolen base on the week. In the 12-5 win at UMES, the Taunton, Massachusetts, native recorded a career-high four hits, with his first career grand slam, while adding a career-best five RBI, two runs a one stolen base. During the Seton Hall series, the freshman tallied two hits, which included his second homer of the season, two RBI and a run in the game one of Sunday's doubleheader. The series finale against Seton Hall saw Sullivan register three hits, including a double, two runs and an RBI.
Hanson had a .450 batting percentage, a .435 on base percentage and a .800 slugging percentage. He strung together nine hits, including two home runs and a double, totaled five runs and added 12 RBI in 20 at bats on the week. At UConn, he had one hit, which was a home run, with a run and two RBI on the night. In the 15-4 win at Siena, the junior contributed two hits, including a double, and an RBI. In game one of the Saint Joseph's series, Hanson went 3-for-4 with his seventh homer of the year, while driving in a career-best five runs and scoring two runs of his own. Game two saw one hit, a run and two RBI from Hanson, while registering two hits, one run and two RBI in the series finale against SJU.
O'Connor posted a 1.00 ERA after tossing a complete game, receiving the winning decision. It marked his second win of the season and second complete game of the year. In the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday against St. Bonaventure, O'Connor allowed only one run on four hits, no walks and struck out three in the 4-1 win.
In the field, Hanson tallied 14 putouts and two assists, with no errors.
Career Stats
Reynolds collected his 100th career win on Saturday, April 27, in a 7-6 triumph over Saint Joseph's. Reynolds ranks fourth in the all-time coaching records with an overall record of 105-180-1, sitting behind Mike Stone (697-695-3; 1988-2017), Dick Bergquist (392-321-5; 1967-87) and Earl E. Lorden (189-147-3; 1948-66), respectively.
Skagerlind became the all-time leader in career hit-by-pitch on Saturday, May 11, in game two of the George Washington series. He recorded his 34th career hit-by-pitch to surpass former Minuteman Peter Copa's (2008-11) previous record of 33.
Keeping it in the Family
The 2024 season marks the 58th straight campaign that Massachusetts baseball will have an alumnus of the Flagship campus as head coach. Seventh-year skipper Matt Reynolds is a double graduate (2005, '10G), and was preceded by fellow alumni Mike Stone '82 (1988-2017) and Dick Bergquist '57 (1967-87).
This is the second longest active streak across Division I baseball. Only BYU (62 consecutive seasons) has been led by an alum of its campus for a longer period.
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/ 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