Despite his teammates’ combined 18 hits against Siena, junior centerfielder Brian Baudinet only had one on Tuesday afternoon.
It turns out his was the most important, as Baudinet roped a double in the gap of centerfield in the top of the 10th inning, scoring senior second baseman Adam Tempesta from second, en route to an 11-10 victory over the Saints (10-32).
‘It was kind of a strange game,’ UMass coach Mike Stone said.
‘We hit a lot; they hit a lot; we had a big lead, and we gave it up, and we couldn’t seem to get people out, unfortunately.’
While the Minutemen (16-21), were strong offensively, the Saints registered 17 hits, including first baseman Kevin Quaranto’s three homeruns.
‘We didn’t play badly defensively, just everybody hit today,’ Stone said.
The Minutemen’s only error came in the bottom of the 10th ‘- when third baseman Sam Boone overthrew sophomore first baseman Peter Copa ‘- allowing Siena’s (10-32) third baseman Anthony Giasanti to reach and advancing shortstop William Cardona to second.
Cardona was later caught stealing third by freshman catcher Tom Conley, but UMass was still not out of the jam.
Junior Mike Gedman struck out centerfielder Jason DeFilippo for UMass’s second out before walking second baseman, Dan Paolini.
Paolini went 3-for-5 on the day with four RBI’s, including a homerun and double.
With Paolini on first and Giasanti on second, Gedman struck out Quaranto on a slider to get his fifth save of the season.
‘It was kind of a scramble, but some things went our way,’ Stone said. ‘[Gedman] battled and pitched very well at the end.’
UMass got off to a hot start with nine runs in the first six innings, but a shaky starting performance by usual reliever Mitchell Eilenberg kept the Saints in the ballgame.
Baudinet flied out to centerfield in the top of the first inning, scoring Boone from third and giving the Minutemen the first lead of the game.
After Jim Macdonald grounded out, Tempesta moved to second and then to third on a wild pitch.
Tempesta eventually scored the second run of the game on a Mike Danato single to give UMass a 2-0 lead.
Eilenberg pitched a perfect second inning before surrendering three runs in the bottom of the third.
‘He just left the ball up a little bit. He was fairly sharp, and he hadn’t pitched in for a while and definitely needed to get in there and get to work,’ Stone said after the game.
Paolini hit a two-run home run to left field in the third inning followed by a Quaranto solo shot, erasing the Minutemen’s lead.
UMass rallied however, registering three runs in the top of the fourth inning and four in the fifth inning to take a 9-2 lead.
Sophomore leftfielder Kyle Multner hit a three-run homerun to left-center field in the fourth while the Minutemen took advantage of a Saint’s fielding miscue to build a sizeable lead.
Charlie Benson and Sam Mcdonough gave up a combined five runs on six hits, but the Minutemen have been able to survive close games as of late.
‘I think we are playing with much more confidence at the end of the game, and that’s what it’s all about,’ Stone said.
Junior Jared Freni will face off against conference rival Vermont on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Stone coached the Catamounts for five seasons from 1983-1987, but this season will be Vermont’s final season after the program was cut by the school’s athletic department.
‘Well it’s the last year they are playing baseball, which is unfortunate, but it’s always special to play them, even though it’s been 22 years,’ Stone said.
David Brinch can be reached at [email protected].
