Danielle Augeri/Collegian

Sometimes a team needs the comfort and familiarity of home in order to get back to winning ways.

The Massachusetts baseball team will try to do just that when it returns to Earl Lorden Field this weekend to face Rhode Island to start a seven-game home stand.

This will be a pivotal series for the Minutemen as conference wins become increasingly crucial as the season winds down. UMass (19-23, 11-10 Atlantic 10) is currently sixth in the A-10 standings and only one game ahead of Fordham.

Only the top six teams in the conference are invited to the A-10 Tournament and this weekend could make or break the Minutemen’s chances at post-season play.

As UMass gears up to play the Rams (32-15, 17-3 A-10), UMass coach Mike Stone is focused on what his team needs to do to make it to the conference tournament.

‘Right now we’re right in the thick of things, and we need to have a good weekend,’ Stone said.

‘Obviously one of our goals at the beginning of the year was getting into the tournament and we have an opportunity to do that as long as we continue to play well. We’re excited about the opportunity [to face URI] and we’re looking forward to it.’

The Minutemen have won four of their last six games, scoring 42 total runs in that span.

Offensively, UMass is led by outfielder Mike Donato, who paces the team with 58 hits and a .339 average. Against Northeastern on Wednesday, Donato went 1-for-4 with a run scored, as the Minutemen went on to fall to the Huskies, 6-4, in a rematch of this season’s Beanpot Championship. A consistent hitter for Stone, Donato has put together strings of four and five-game hitting streaks on multiple occasions this season.

Another player that is doing well this season is junior outfielder Mike Gedman. Gedman is riding a three-game hit streak, all of which he’s compiled multiple hits in. While he’s not an everyday position player, he wields a .329 average and is productive on the mound as well.

Gedman has a team-leading 2.25 earned-run average, including five saves, good for a tie with Saint Louis‘ Chaz Salembier for fourth in the conference. He’s struck out 18 batters in 20 innings-pitched so far this season.

Gedman’s younger brother, shortstop Matt Gedman, started the season off slow offensively, batting just .219 after 25 games. However, Gedman now boasts a .270 average and has hit safely in his last 11 games, registering nine RBIs during that span, including a 2-for-3 showing in UMass’ last game against Northeastern.

‘That’s big,’ Stone said of Gedman’s offense finally being on par with his defense. ‘ ‘I think that Matt’s a good hitter when he gets balanced and stays squared-up. It’s nice to have people at the bottom part of the order providing offense for us and he swung the bat well [against the Huskies on Wednesday] and hopefully he’ll continue to do that throughout the weekend.’

The last time the Minutemen clashed with URI, the Rams took two of three games in Kingston, R.I., while being outscored, 10-9.

URI is a team that is effective on the basepaths, accumulating a conference-best 87 stolen bases this season. The Rams have three players who have stolen 10 or more bases this season: Jeff Cammans (16), Tom Coulombe (15) and Mike Lebel (12).

One of the offensive leaders for Rhode Island is shortstop Dan Rhault, who is batting .380, with 62 hits, nine home runs and 49 RBIs.

Rhault’s stellar play has put him on the Brooks Wallace Award watch list, the award given to the nation’s top shortstop.

Mike Gillmeister can be reaced at [email protected].