An outburst of 15 runs helped lift the Massachusetts baseball team (12-30 5-13 A-10) over the Maine Black Bears (27-14) in Gorham, Maine yesterday afternoon.
The 15-8 win marks the fourth in six outings for the Minutemen. They were also able to defeat the Black Bears for the first time in seven years.
“We put the pressure on Maine all day,” UMass coach Mike Stone said after the game.
The Minutemen jumped on top early as Ryan Franczek got the scoring started when he hit a lead off home run. The solo shot was the freshman third baseman’s first career home run as a member of the Minutemen.
In the bottom of the first, Maine was able to tie the score at one, but it wouldn’t last for very long.
UMass regained its lead in the top of the second they same way as in the first – with a home run. This time it was sophomore Michael Weiner’s second shot of the year that put the Minutemen on top again 2-1.
The scoring didn’t stop there. Maine bounced back in the bottom of the second inning to tie the game and eventually take the lead 3-2. The Black Bears’ Ross Cantara and Ray Vallee each reached base with singles. They were then driven in by Aaron Izaryk’s second double of the contest.
Neither side was able to continue the back-and-forth scoring until the fifth inning.
It was in the top of the fifth that UMass had one of its biggest offensive outbursts of the season. They hung seven runs in the fifth inning alone to regain the lead at 9-3 and they never looked back.
Freshman Andy Tuetken drove in Weiner, who doubled to left field, to start the explosion for UMass. He was then able to advance all the way to third on an error by Maine. Tuetken then scored the fourth UMass run when he was driven in by sophomore Adam Munsey’s single to left.
Later in the inning, senior slugger Jason Twomley was intentionally walked to load the bases for fellow upperclassman Curt Szado. He took full advantage of the situation as he hit a two-run single to right field. Twomley was then able to score on a double steal and, in his second plate appearance of the inning, Weiner drove in two with a single.
“We had good hitting finally,” Stone remarked. “And good clutch hitting today.”