After winning five games in a row and getting back to .500 last week, the Massachusetts baseball team came crashing down to earth over the weekend against Saint Louis, getting swept in the three-game series while being outscored by a total of 20-7.
This week, they’ll try to rebound against a pair of tough non-conference opponents, as the Minutemen travel to UConn Tuesday before heading to Fenway Park Wednesday for the Beanpot Championship against Boston College.
Last year, UMass (11-14, 7-8 Atlantic 10) beat the Huskies for the first time since 2007, earning a 5-4 win behind the bat of leftfielder Dylan Morris and arms of relievers Evan Mackintosh and Brandon Walsh. But UConn is a much-improved team from the one the Minutemen beat a year ago. Coming into Tuesday’s meeting, the Huskies are 25-15, a step up from the 21-22 record they took into last season’s matchup.
Right handed junior Tim Cassidy is scheduled to take the mound for UMass one week after his last start in a win against Central Connecticut. Cassidy pitched a complete game shutout against the Blue Devils, striking out three while allowing just four hits in the outing. Minutemen coach Mike Stone had high praise for the Swampscott native’s performance.
“He had a great start,” Stone said. “He was dominant and really shut them down. It was his best outing since coming to UMass.”
Cassidy will face a UConn team that has thrived thanks to depth at the plate and dominance on the mound. Led by junior Vinny Siena and his team-leading .362 average and 36 runs batted in, four different Huskies have averages over .300 and seven players have recorded at least 20 RBIs. Max McDowell leads UConn in home runs with six to go along with 27 RBIs.
Starting pitchers Anthony Kay and Carson Cross have pitched lights out as a one-two punch at the top of the Huskies’ rotation. Kay leads the team with a 1.29 ERA in over 70 innings pitched, with Cross not far behind with a 1.90 mark in 70-plus innings of work.
Cross has struck out opposing batters at an exceptional rate, leading the team with 85 while boasting a remarkable strikeouts per innings pitched ratio of 10.82. Cross was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013 but elected to stay at school. He leads the team with a record of 7-2 after missing all of 2014 with a shoulder injury.
UConn enters the matchup after losing two of three over the weekend at East Carolina but overall is 6-4 in its last 10 games.
The Minutemen boast just two hitters with averages over .300 (centerfielder Kyle Adie at .347 and second baseman Bryce Maher at .319) and their most effective starter to this point has been sophomore Ryan Moloney (2-3, 4.30 ERA).
They won five games in a row with timely hitting from players like first baseman/designated hitter Mike Geannelis and second baseman Rob McLam along with clutch performances out of the bullpen. But UMass faltered in its trip to St. Louis, getting swept for the second time this season in three games.
“Offensively, we didn’t do much all weekend,” Stone said of the road trip. “We need to come out and play inspired baseball, execute on offense and make things happen.”
Tuesday’s showdown with the Huskies will be weather permitting. Storrs, Connecticut received rain all day Monday and precipitation was expected to continue overnight and early into Tuesday morning. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at J.O. Christian Field.
UMass set for BC in Beanpot Championship
After Tuesday’s matchup, the Minutemen will travel to Fenway Park to play in the Beanpot championship game against Boston College. UMass does so after beating Harvard 6-5 in a back-and-forth affair in the tournament’s first round on March 13.
The Eagles (21-18, 9-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) earned their trip to the title game with a 4-1 win over Northeastern. BC enters the championship game on a hot streak – the Eagles have won five in a row and are 9-2 in their last 11 games.
But they will be without top slugger Chris Shaw, who sustained a hand injury against Clemson in a series starting April 10 and will miss 3-6 weeks. Shaw leads BC with a .339 average, 11 home runs, 40 RBIs and a 1.118 OPS.
Senior southpaw and team captain Conor LeBlanc will get the start for UMass in the championship game. LeBlanc has gotten off to a slow start this season after leading all Minutemen starters with a 3.98 ERA last year. His ERA this season sits at 5.81 and he’s earned wins in just two of his five starts.
But the lefthander is still the No. 1 starter for the Minutemen and Stone spoke at length before the season about the confidence he had in the senior.
Stone also talked about the significance of travelling to Fenway for the matchup.
“An opportunity to play at Fenway Park, to compete for the Beanpot Championship… it would be one of the highlights of the season,” Stone said.
First pitch is scheduled for around 45 minutes after the consolation game, approximately 5:30 p.m.
Ross Gienieczko can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @RossGien.
