After five consecutive home losses and only one win in its last 11 games, the Massachusetts baseball team will be looking to right its ship when it hits the road this afternoon for a non-conference matchup with Northeastern.
First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friedman Diamond in Brookline.
The contest will mark the second meeting of the season between the two Bay State Rivals. The Huskies edged UMass 4-3 in the first round of the 2004 Baseball Beanpot on April 20 at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton.
It was the first of nine straight losses for the Minutemen, and a game that featured a controversial balk call against UMass closer Scott Ratliff in the bottom of the eighth inning that allowed the eventual winning run to score.
The Huskies went on to finish second in the tournament, falling to Boston College in the championship game, while UMass finished fourth after falling to Harvard 7-4 in the consolation game.
For the Maroon and White, the game will also serve as a precursor for the weekend and what will be a very important Atlantic 10 series with Temple at Earl Lorden Field.
With both teams currently tied for fourth in the A-10 East at 6-9, wins will be vital for positioning in the A-10 tournament, and a sweep of the three games could potentially mean a jump to as high as second place in the division.
With that in mind, UMass head coach Mike Stone will save top starters Eric Chown, Matt Torra and Keith Doherty for the weekend and use his younger pitchers this afternoon.
Nevertheless, whoever is on the mound for the Minutemen will not control the team’s fate.
“It’s not just one or two guys out there who are the reason we’re struggling,” Stone said. “We’re not making plays as a team, and by that I don’t mean we’re making errors, there are just things we need to be doing that we’re not doing, and its hurting us.
After being held mostly in check by Siena starter Josh Burnett in Tuesday’s 7-5 loss, Stone also hopes that the offense will receive a jumpstart as soon as possible.
“We’re not hitting like we’re capable of,” the veteran coach said. “I don’t know what it is, but whatever it is we need to fix it as a team or we’re going to be in trouble.”
Three players who will be looking to duplicate their performances from Tuesday are senior second baseman Cullan Maumus, sophomore catcher Frank Curreri and junior rightfielder Jason Twomley.
Maumus, who has missed most of this season with a broken arm, and Twomley both went 2-for-3 against the Saints, while Curreri was the offensive star, collecting three hits in five at-bats, including a two-run homerun and a pair of doubles.
The Huskies, meanwhile, are coming off of a 12-6 win over Harvard on Tuesday that saw them hit six homeruns as a team. Leading the charge was left fielder Mike Steinberg, who led off the game with a round tripper and went on to hit three on the afternoon.
In addition, five Huskies recorded at least two hits in the game, while four had at least two runs batted in.
