The Massachusetts baseball team found itself battling from behind for the majority of Tuesday’s 8-5 loss to Connecticut.
Despite scoring the first two runs of the ballgame, UMass quickly fell behind 3-2 in the third inning. That deficit grew to 6-2 after five innings and 8-4 entering the bottom of the seventh inning. Each time the Minutemen battled back into the game, they allowed the Huskies to maintain a firm grip on the lead.
But that almost changed in the seventh inning.
After finally chasing UConn starter Callahan Brown the prior inning, UMass jumped on sidearm Huskies reliever Max Slade and loaded the bases. Slade didn’t record an out in the inning, hitting Dylan Morris before allowing a single to Vinny Scifo and issuing a walk to Kyle Adie. UConn then brought in freshman reliever Patrick Ruotolo in relief of Slade to face the heart of UMass’ lineup in Mike Geannelis, Nik Campero and Dylan Begin.
Advantage Ruotolo.
The freshman struck out all three batters in a row, overwhelming the Minutemen with a bevy of fastballs, the fastest of which topped out at 92 miles per hour. Ruotolo used a deceptive delivery to the plate and located fastballs throughout the strike zone. Just as quickly as UMass looked to threaten the Huskies’ lead, it was headed back to the dugout.
“It’s where as a hitter you want to be, you couldn’t have set it up any better,” Minuteman coach Mike Stone said.
“Bases loaded, nobody out, we got the right people (up),” Stone said. “It’s gotta be an attitude frame of mind, it’s gotta be be more aggressive. A guy is throwing straight fastballs, he’s not fooling anybody. If you’re a ballplayer you love being in that situation.”
Campero, a senior third basemen, was the second hitter to face Ruotolo. He struck out looking on a fastball which nicked the outside corner of the plate. The heater froze Campero and sent him back to the dugout empty-handed.
“I came up in a big situation and I took two pitches down the middle,” Campero said. “It’s definitely frustrating because those are the opportunities you want to take advantage of. As a hitter, you want to be up in that situation and drive those guys in.
Driving runners in was an issue that plagued UMass over the final three innings. The Minutemen stranded five runners combined in the seventh and eighth innings, and Campero grounded into a 4-6-3 double play after the leadoff man got on to start the ninth inning.
The only UMass batter to plate a run was right fielder Adam Picard, who hit his third home run of the season off Ruotolo in the eighth inning. The 400-foot blast to straightaway center field cut the UConn deficit to 8-5, the eventual final score.
“Baseball is a game of mistakes and frustration,” Picard said. “We’ve been playing it all our lives and we’re used to that … it’s part of the game and we just need to take it for what it is and move on to the next pitch.”
Stone noted after the game he was looking for his team to be more aggressive in the late stages of the game, pointing out that his hitters predominantly faced fastballs in the zone. Execution continues to be a focal point for the Minutemen.
“Be aggressive, it’s a frame of mind,” Stone said. “Instead of hoping to get a hit, just take a charge mentally and be more aggressive. That’s what it’s all about, it comes down to that.”
It was a sentiment echoed by Campero.
“Guys have to step up including myself,” he said. “You want to be up in those situations so you have to be more aggressive when you get pitches to hit.”
Mark Chiarelli can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.
