AMHERST — If there’s ever been a way to respond to a disappointing loss in baseball, having a season high for runs and hits the next day would certainly suffice.
After splitting a Saturday doubleheader that saw a walk-off win for UMass followed by a less eventful loss, the Minutemen bounced back on Sunday with a 17-8 win over Saint Louis at Lorden Field for UMass’ first series win over the Billikens since 2014.
“To take two out of three from a really good program and the defending (Atlantic 10) champs last year feels good,” UMass head coach Matt Reynolds said.
Saturday’s doubleheader was an up-and-down day for the Minutemen. Senior Justin Lasko started Game 1 for UMass (8-16, 3-6 Atlantic 10), struck out seven and allowed two runs on seven hits over six innings. Yet, trailing by one heading into the ninth inning, UMass outfielder Collin Shapiro roped a two-out single into right field, driving in two to secure a walk-off win..
Game 2 didn’t provide the same excitement for the home team. UMass starting pitcher Jack Steele had trouble finding the strike zone, going 3-2/3 innings with five walks and three hit batsmen. That allowed the Billikens to jump out to a 4-0 lead. Saint Louis pulled away from UMass in the ninth inning, adding three insurance runs to secure a 9-4 win.
The offense came alive early for UMass in Sunday’s contest, as the Minutemen drove in nine runs in the first three innings. The Billikens stayed in the game, putting runs on the board in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.
“It was one of those games that even when we jumped out 9-0 lead we knew there was still a lot of outs to collect,” Reynolds said.
One of the biggest producers for the Minutemen over the weekend was Shapiro. The redshirt freshmen went a combined 10-for-15 and was a triple shy of a cycle on Sunday.
“It definitely feels good to see the ball, find holes and get in the gaps,” Shapiro said.
One of Shapiro’s bigger moments of the weekend came in the third inning Sunday as he sent a ball over the right-field wall for his first home run of his collegiate career.
“I was just honestly happy that we had just scored more runs to be completely honest,” Shapiro said. “I didn’t even think about it being my first home run.”
With the offensive rolling early, UMass starting pitcher Sean Harney felt a confidence boost, even when he struggled finding the plate in his five innings.
“As a pitcher when you’re not confident with all your pitches that day, having your offense behind you getting the runs you need to win a baseball game is a great feeling,” Harney said.
The Minutemen will hope to continue their offensive success this week as they take on Northeastern at 3 p.m. Tuesday and UMass Lowell on the road at 7 p.m. Wednesday.