The Massachusetts baseball team suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of Citadel over the weekend, extending its losing streak to five games. All three games of the series featured a competitive game between the Minutemen (3-11) and the Bulldogs (14-5) through the first half of the game, before Citadel turned up the heat in the later innings.
This was most apparent in the middle game of the series, where UMass commanded a 9-1 lead after the top of the fourth inning. 10 runs scored between the bottom of the fourth and seventh put the nail in the coffin, and UMass lost Saturday’s game 11-9. Jack Beverly accounted for one-third of the Minutemen’s runs in the middle game, singling in Austin Burgess in the first inning to open up the scoring, before hitting a two-run home run two innings later, which at the time put UMass up 5-2.
Beverly’s weekend didn’t stop there, as he also homered in the final game of the series on Sunday. It was the top of the first once again, and with runners on first and third, Beverly swung at the first pitch he saw and put one over the left field fence, giving UMass another early lead, this time 3-0. After a strikeout, Nolan Tichy came to the plate and hit a ball deep into the left-center gap, going over the fence for the Minutemen’s second home run of the inning, and Tichy’s second of the year.
It was the same story in game three as in game two, however, as by the bottom of the fifth, UMass was down 8-6. The Minutemen were held to just two hits from innings six to nine, with both hits coming in the top of the ninth, trying to start a comeback to avoid the sweep. Their attempt was unsuccessful, and UMass ended its three-game set against Citadel without a win.
The first game of the series on Friday was the lowest scoring game between the two squads, a game that UMass lost 6-2. This was the only game of the series in which the Minutemen did not hold a lead, but the game was tied 2-2 after the top of the fifth inning. Carter Hanson drove in the runs for UMass on Friday, singling in Matt Travisano in the top of the fourth, and drawing a bases-loaded walk which tied the game up at two in the top of the fifth.
Sam Belliveau was the only UMass pitcher that went more than five innings for the weekend, throwing seven and two-thirds innings in the opening game of the series. He allowed six runs, five of which were earned, in addition to 10 hits, two walks and three strikeouts. Mikey Jensen came in relief of Belliveau on Friday and was one of only two UMass pitchers who allowed no runs over the weekend, with the other pitcher being Zack Given who pitched an inning of relief on Saturday, striking out two while allowing no hits or walks.
On the offensive side, Beverly led the way with two home runs in the series, and he also led the team in RBIs with six. Hanson finished right behind him with five RBIs, while Travisano led the team in hits for the series with six. The Minutemen committed eight errors over the course of the series, with five of them coming on Sunday’s matinee.
UMass is next in action on Tuesday, March 19, taking on Norfolk State in Norfolk, Va. That game starts a slate of five games in six days for the Minutemen, and first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Johnny Depin can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Jdepin101.
