The Massachusetts baseball team got back in the win column against Siena in its fifth game across the past six days. In a matchup containing five lead changes, the Minutemen (13-26-1, 6-15 Atlantic 10) came away with an 8-6 win over the Saints (16-26, 12-9 MAAC), thanks to an offensive burst late in the game.
Trailing 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Gavin O’Brien led off the inning for UMass with a double hit deep into the left-centerfield gap. Jack Peters followed with a blooper that deflected off the glove of Siena’s shortstop, Jeremy Sangalang, and fell into the outfield grass for a base hit.
This put men on the corners for Anthony Tirado as he stepped up to the plate, representing the tying run. Tyler Tilton balked in a run as he pump-faked a throw to first, allowing O’Brien to cross home and Peters to move up to second.
Tirado split the next pitch into the opposite field gap, scoring Peters easily from second as he got a jumpstart attempting to steal third on the play. MarkAnthony Glickman replaced Tilton after the hit, but this change didn’t slow down the Minutemen’s hitting barrage.
Reece McCarthy dug in for UMass with the tying run at second base. Tirado moved 90 feet closer on the second pitch of the at-bat, stealing third as Aidan Paradine whiffed on receiving the pitch for the Saints.
With the infield in for Siena, McCarthy rifled a ball down the first base line and into the outfield for an RBI knock. The freshman tied the game with a stand-up double as part of a four-hit performance with four RBIs, notching career highs in both categories.
Carter Hanson had a chance to play hero as McCarthy led off from third base after taking advantage of a wild pitch. Hanson poked a single into center field, knocking in the speedy third baseman to put the Minutemen ahead 7-6.
“[We kind of] knew in a game like this that you’re [going to] need a multi-run inning, especially coming off of them having it,” head coach Matt Reynolds said. “So that was [a] great response right there.”
Evan Saulys shut down the inning with a pair of strikeouts for the Saints, but got his own taste of UMass’ hot hitting his next time out. O’Brien led off with a single in the bottom of the seventh, moving to second with a sacrifice bunt from Peters.
McCarthy brought in the centerfielder with a base hit through the middle infield, giving UMass an insurance run with six more outs to get defensively.
The Minutemen bullpen stepped up in the late innings as Adam Merritt got a hold through two innings of work, setting up Michael Aceto for the save. In his second straight day of work, the UMass closer set down three straight batters with a pair of strikeouts in the top of the ninth.
“Merritt hasn’t been on the mound in a while, [he gave up] one hit, no walks [and] three punchouts, we’ll take that all day long,” Reynolds said. “Aceto, coming back after 30 pitches yesterday and being able to go one-two-three for us in the ninth with a two-run lead [and] get a save, it’s awesome.”
The Minutemen’s rough patch defensively came in the middle of the game, where they surrendered the lead twice. In the top of the fourth, Sangalang hit a two-RBI double for Siena, giving the Saints a 2-1 lead after an RBI sacrifice fly by O’Brien in the bottom of the second.
UMass took the lead back with a two-RBI single from McCarthy in the bottom of the fourth, but lapsed again defensively in the fifth. After a lead-off homer by Paradine tied the game, Siena loaded the bases with a single and two hit batters by JJ Blanchard. Nick Bergamotto cleared the bags with a double to right-center field, giving the visitors a 6-3 lead.
Blanchard shut down the Saints in the next inning, earning the win after the Minutemen’s offensive outburst in the bottom of the sixth.
After a difficult midweek back-to-back, UMass will travel to face Saint Louis in a weekend A-10 series starting on Friday, May 2, at 6 p.m. Those games will be available to watch on ESPN+.
Tym Brown can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @tym_brown1.
