Redshirt junior Kyle Adie has been a catalyst at the top of the lineup for the Massachusetts baseball team this season.
The combination of timely hits and consistency at the plate as of late has helped Adie become one of the most productive hitters for the Minutemen in 2014. That was most notable on Sunday when the outfielder roped a walk-off single into right field to drive in Brandon Walsh for a 5-4 win against Dayton, ending the team’s seven-game losing streak.
Adie was 4-for-5 for the game, adding two doubles, three runs and the game-winning RBI to help UMass avoid its third-straight sweep at home. UMass coach Mike Stone acknowledged Adie’s recent success and thinks if a couple of his players can get “hot,” the team will have more chances to win some games.
“He’s looked real good at the plate as of late and he has hit a lot of balls recently,” Stone said. “You know it’s just good to see a couple of guys getting hot. Now hopefully some more guys will do that. “
UMass was outscored 46-23 by its opponents during the team’s seven-game drought, but Adie has been a bright spot in the lineup during that span. The leadoff hitter is batting .409 in his last five games, setting the table and giving opportunities for the players in the middle of the lineup to drive in some runs.
“I hope that this will get us going and just give us some confidence from winning a ball game,” Stone said. “You know, playing well at the end of the game, that’s what we need to do. This should help us stay confident and keep working hard so we can continue to play well at the end of the game.”
The left-handed hitter sat out all of 2013 with a medical redshirt, and hit just .241 in his sophomore season, but showed signs of production in 2012. Adie had a hit in 12-consecutive games from April 14 through May 2 and stole 16 bases without being caught. He scored 25 runs in his sophomore season for UMass.
The Dracut native hasn’t shown signs of setback this season and leads the Minutemen in several of the key offensive statistics, taking advantage of more at-bats in the leadoff spot. He’s ahead of all his teammates in hits (25), runs scored (11), doubles, (six), walks (10) and total bases (34).
Stone took positives out the win against Dayton on Sunday and thinks his team can continue the success if Adie and the rest of the Minutemen can keep their confidence up.
“We just have to keep battling out there,” Stone said. “We need to keep making big plays. Make good pitches and come through like that at the plate.”
Chris Corso can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @ChrisCorso5.
