Jenna Oelschlegel/Collegian

It took the Massachusetts baseball team 15 innings, 19 players and two separate comebacks, one in extra innings, but it pulled it off.

“Everyone hung in there, and we found a way to win the ballgame,” said UMass coach Mike Stone.

The Maroon and White were led in the extra-inning affair by its relief pitchers who pitched 10 nearly perfect innings propelling the Minutemen to their second win in a row over Dayton, 5-4.

Nick Serino, Mitchell Eilenberg, Nathan Monroy and Aaron Smith combined for six strikeouts and no walks, giving up five hits and one unearned run.

“It’s a great feeling,” Stone said. “We want to feel comfortable going into the bullpen, and when you have a game like that and they come in and do the job it gives you a lot of confidence.”

UMass starting pitcher Jared Freni struggled to control his pitch count from the outset. After striking out the first two batters, Freni gave up a single to Dayton shortstop Cole Tyrell and was then forced to pitch from the stretch where he struggled to find the plate.

Freni racked up 22 pitches in the first inning, and 25 in the second, bringing his pitch count to 57. In the second inning Freni found himself in a one out, bases-loaded situation. Freni hit Kevin Miller to give the Flyers (27-20, 10-11 Atlantic 10) a 1-0 advantage, but settled down and got the next two outs without giving up another run.

Down 3-0 in the bottom of the seventh the Minutemen pulled within one by working the count and waiting for good pitches to hit. With one on and one out, Kyle Multner doubled to put UMass runners on second and third. After pinch hitter Mike Donato walked, catcher Bryan Garrity tallied an RBI with an infield single.

The Minutemen made it 3-2 when designated hitter, Andrew Black was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Serino, taking over for Freni, pitched until the ninth inning, not giving up a hit.

Brian Baudinet was in a position to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth in which he delivered a game-tying RBI single.

“He’s one of the guys you can count on to take quality swings,” Stone said. “He usually hits the ball hard; they’re pitching him tough, they have to be, they know his stats.”

When senior pitcher Aaron Smith, entered the game in the top of the 12th, with runners on second and third and his team down, 4-3, he did what UMass pitchers before him did, gave his team a chance to win. Smith struck out the first batter he faced and induced the next batter to hit a fly ball to center field to retire the side.

The Maroon and White, in desperate need of a run, played small ball after Baudinet’s lead-off single, moving him to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Franczek. After Adam Tempesta flied out to right field, third basemen Jim MacDonald doubled off the left-field wall to tie the game once again.

The game stayed tied until the bottom of the 15th when Andy Tuetken lined a single to right to drive in MacDonald who doubled earlier in the inning.

“I was glad I could get the job done. My teammates were able to make some great plays behind me,” Smith said.

UMass is in action again on Wednesday against Northeastern in Amherst.

Ryan Fleming can be reached at [email protected].