The Massachusetts baseball team was already down to its third-string catcher less than one weekend into its season. With preseason favorites for the job Brandon Walsh and John Jennings injured or unavailable, coach Mike Stone and the Minutemen turned to sophomore Matt Bare.
Bare, who did not travel with the team or play in a single game his freshman year, has delivered.
“We were in a bind,” Stone said. “We were down to our third catcher and he’s played tremendously well.”
After appearing in two games against Army in UMass’ opening three-game series, Bare has started and played every inning of five straight games for the Minutemen. And he hasn’t just played, he’s excelled. Bare’s average of .304 is fourth on the team and his two doubles are tied for second.
“He’s risen to the occasion,” Stone said. “He had an opportunity to play and made the best of it.”
The Cumberland, Rhode Island native played four years of varsity baseball at Cumberland High School and won a state championship playing American Legion baseball. But in his freshman year at UMass in 2014, Bare didn’t even travel with the team, let alone see any game action.
“You work really hard,” Bare said. “And it does suck not to get in there and play. But even though you’re not playing, you’re still contributing to the team. When I wasn’t traveling with the team, I worked hard. I still caught bullpens and helped the team out in the ways I could.
“I knew I would get a chance this year eventually.”
This past weekend against Dayton, Bare contributed at the plate. He had five hits and three runs batted in and his contributions helped fuel an offensive explosion from the Minutemen. UMass scored 26 runs in three games and swept the Flyers to start Atlantic 10 play 3-0.
But according to Stone, Bare’s offense has only made up one portion of his outstanding play.
“(His defense) has been the most important part,” Stone said. “He’s done a great job of receiving, showing the umpire strikes low in the zone. He’s blocked well, he’s thrown well.”
Bare said the pitching staff is getting comfortable throwing to him, which showed in the Dayton series. Conor LeBlanc, Ryan Moloney and Andrew Grant each had quality starts against the Flyers, with LeBlanc’s Friday outing being the gem of the weekend. The senior scattered two hits over eight shutout innings and struck out seven in a 5-0 Minutemen victory.
Bare said the process of getting comfortable with the pitching staff started last year when he was just a practice player.
“When they weren’t traveling, I would catch their bullpens,” Bare said. “We practiced together and we’ve got a lot of time in.”
Stone also commented on the work Bare has done behind the scenes.
“He worked throughout the summer, fall and the preseason,” Stone said. “A lot has been thrown at him in a short period of the time, and he’s really done a great job.”
Stone added that Bare has solidified his spot in the catching platoon moving forward.
“He’s played at a high level,” Stone said. “He took charge.”
Hot start for McLam
After missing all of 2014 with a knee injury, redshirt senior Rob McLam has picked up where he left off two years ago.
McLam, who led the team in batting in 2012 and 2013, is off to another hot start this season, hitting .381 through eight games. Beyond his batting average, McLam has posted an on-base percentage of .519 and is tied for the team lead with four RBIs.
“He’s a good offensive player,” Stone said. “He always has been.”
Stone went on to praise McLam’s approach at the plate and said his hitting has been “contagious” to the rest of the team.
The Minutemen averaged 8.5 runs per game over the weekend on their way to their first road sweep of an A-10 opponent since 2007. It was also the first time UMass has started conference play 3-0 since 1998.
Ross Gienieczko can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @RossGien.
