Bases loaded. Two outs. Top of the ninth inning. Down 1-0. Left fielder Collin Shapiro collects himself as he stares at a full count. Shapiro confidently stands his ground as the payoff pitch is placed just outside the strike zone, walking in Michael Grounds as the Massachusetts baseball team gets its first run and ties Northeastern (6-5-1) at 1.
As the sun begins to set over the Friedman Diamond in Brookline, Mass., Cole Hebble strides to the plate, but is unable to punch home the go-ahead run, as he sent a high fly ball into center field that did not carry over the fence in the cold March weather.
Now a tie game, lefty pitcher Jack Pawloski steps onto the mound for the Minutemen (1-2-1) looking to send the game into extra innings. He goes three up, three down, striking out pinch hitters Mark Darakjy and Jack Doyle, and gets Luke Beckstein out on a pop fly. With no lights to illuminate the diamond, the game ends in a draw and the umpires deem the game too unsafe to continue with the field nearly shrouded in darkness.
After opening the season with some hot hitting in its series against Georgetown, UMass’ bats went cold as both teams dealt on the mound.
The Minutemen’s Tyler Dalton got his first start of the season today, appearing in five innings and allowing one unearned run on four hits, no walks and five strikeouts. His five strikeouts tied his career-high, which he set last season versus La Salle. Dalton and Northeastern’s Eric Yost tied on the day, as Yost allowed zero runs on two hits, no walks and four strikeouts through four innings. Yost did not give up a hit until the fourth inning. Charlie Devin pitched two innings, giving up zero hits and walking two batters, while Zach Clevenger and Pawloski pitched the final two frames. Clevenger allowed one hit and had one strikeout, and Pawloski sealed the draw by striking out two.
After four innings of scoreless baseball, one error changed the course of the game and thwarted Dalton’s solid day, allowing the Huskies to take the 1-0 lead.
With a runner on second in a two out situation, UMass was looking at an easy end to the fifth inning. Northeastern’s Jeff Costello sent a ground ball to third, which third baseman Aidan Wilde fielded cleanly and whipped across the diamond. Dalton was already clapping his hands, anticipating the easy out, as first baseman Steve Luttazi couldn’t corral the throw and bobbled the loose ball, giving Beckstein plenty of time to touch home plate.
Even with the unearned run, Dalton, the senior from Mansfield, Mass., managed a strong outing against the Huskies. Last year, Dalton started in five of seven games, and had 16 strikeouts in 19 total innings.
UMass’ pitching was encouraging, but the team’s offense failed to get anything going on offense. The Minutemen’s bats were led by Drew DeMartino and Luttazi, who each had two hits apiece. Shapiro’s lone hit was the team’s only RBI. Nolan Tichy, a bright spot in the series against Georgetown, went 0-for-2 in his two at bats against the Huskies, striking out twice. He went down swinging both times at bats.
UMass will travel to North Carolina to take on Penn State in a three-game series from Friday, March 11 to Sunday, March 13. Friday’s game will start at 2 p.m., while Saturday’s game will kick off at 1 p.m. and Sunday’s game at 11 a.m.
Michael Araujo can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @araujo_michael_.
