The Massachusetts baseball team scored its most runs of the season Wednesday night against Siena College, winning 15-4 over the Saints (8-29, 4-8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Seven different players tallied an RBI for the Minutemen (15-22, 5-7 Atlantic 10) in the win.
UMass had a huge second inning offensively, with a Marc Willi two-run homer plating the first runs for the Minutemen. Mike Gervasi scored on the big swing after, singling through the left side to lead off the inning.
A single by Sam Hill and a Siena throwing error set up Zack Zaetta to drive in two runs of his own with a single through the left side. A second throwing error and a wild pitch scored two more runs for UMass, putting its total at seven in the frame.
Zaetta finished the day 3-4 at the plate with two RBIs, two runs and a walk. It was the first time since the 2023 season that the junior had a game with more than one hit.
The third inning featured three more runs for the Minutemen, after a walk, single and stolen base combo from Zaetta set up Austin Burgess to bring home two runs with a base hit through the left side. Burgess got driven in by Carter Hanson with a sac fly to center field.
Burgess tallied three hits on the night, going 3-6 with two RBIs and three runs, adding on two stolen bases as well. The grad transfer stayed hot, with this performance making it three of his last four games where he’s tacked on three hits.
Hill and Matt Travisano each doubled in a run in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively. Travisano singled in the team’s 15th run of the game in the seventh inning as well, raising the UMass lead to 13.
Travisano’s three-hit night extended his lead on the team’s batting average, with it sitting at .328, currently 14 points ahead of Burgess in second place. The redshirt freshman went 3-5 with a double and two RBIs, adding on a walk and three runs scored.
With this game being a non-conference matchup, the Minutemen’s big lead set the team up for a mercy-rule victory, with the game being called after the seventh inning. Both good offense and productive pitching led to UMass ending the game with an 11-run lead.
Andrew Houghton earned the win in relief for the Minutemen, allowing just one hit and zero earned runs in three innings of work. He struck out five batters and walked four on 57 pitches in just the third performance of his collegiate career.
Houghton only pitched 1.2 innings total in his previous two appearances, allowing a combined nine runs and six hits. This performance lowered his ERA on the season by over 31 points.
Zack Given and Mikey Jensen each pitched one full inning in relief, with neither allowing a hit or a run. Callen Powers got the start against Siena, allowing one run on one hit and a walk in his lone inning. Leif Bigelow got the final two outs for UMass, striking out both batters he faced.
In their last 11 games, the Minutemen allowed more than four runs in all but one game. This pitching performance came just one day after a mid-week game against UConn, and without a high team-wide pitch count, it sets up UMass to be fresh for its upcoming series.
Up next for the Minutemen, they come back home to Earl Lorden Field in Amherst, MA for an A-10 series against Saint Joseph’s. First pitch of the three-game weekend is set for Friday, April 26 at 3 p.m.
Mike Maynard can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter/X @mikecmaynard.
