The Massachusetts baseball team was swept by Kent State, losing the final two games of the series on Saturday and Sunday.
Mistakes riddled UMass’ (5-10, 1-8 Mid-American) Sunday thriller, clouding an otherwise stellar performance. A 3-homer performance from catcher Will Briggs couldn’t take down the Golden Flashes (18-4, 8-1 MAC), as the Minutemen came up short 9-8.
Briggs launched both of UMass’ first two runs over the fence with solo shots in the second and fourth innings. His third solo homer brought the Minutemen within just a run of Kent State in the bottom of the ninth, but the rest of their offense couldn’t complete the comeback.
Justin Masteralexis started on the mound for UMass, stretching four full innings. Five walks and four earned runs later, the visitors had a two-run cushion headed into the top of the fifth.
Freshman Brayden Mercier took to the mound in the fifth, giving the Golden Flashes offense another four-run inning. Kent State made its victory on the mistakes of opposing pitchers, via walks and plunked batters.
The Minutemen walked five times compared to the visiting teams’ 13 — hitting four batters alongside. Free bases are a death sentence in college baseball, with UMass sealing their own fate and halting a potential comeback.
The seventh and eighth innings were the Minutemen’s to capitalize in, scoring five runs across two innings as UMass sat just a run away from the tie. Ty Fox knocked in a run and scored one himself, breaking a two-game hitless streak with four in the series finale. Gavin O’Brien knocked Fox in on his first career triple.
Aggressive eighth inning baserunning forced the Minutemen into a one-run ninth-inning hole. That one run got bigger in the top half of the inning as the Golden Flashes sent across a security run. This added run turned Briggs’ ninth inning blast from a clutch statement piece, to a failed last-ditch effort.
Kent State’s dominant fifth inning forced UMass to fight an uphill battle during Saturday’s matchup. Starter Adam Merritt opened the contest with four strong innings, striking out five — including three in the second — while only allowing one run. Still, that effort wasn’t enough, as the Golden Flashes scored eight runs on just one hit in the fifth.
Three batters hit by pitches and three walks to open the inning helped Kent State take a 3-1 advantage. Even as Ben Thomason replaced Merritt on the mound, the home team’s deficit grew as pitches continued to miss the strike zone. Three more runs were scored on two walks and a wild pitch before opposing catcher Brody Williams delivered a three-run home run deep to left field, increasing the Golden Flashes’ lead 9-1.
The Minutemen attempted to stage a comeback, as pitcher Dylan Terwilliger replaced Thomason at the start of the sixth inning. The right-handed senior didn’t allow a single run through the final four frames, recording a 1.93 ERA, striking out one and throwing 29 strikes on 44 pitches.
From there, the bats also connected, with a run scoring in each of the bottom fifth and sixth innings. First baseman Jack Beverly immediately opened the fifth frame with a double towards left field, while right fielder Vance Bonior led off his second at-bat with an RBI double to right field, advancing Beverly to home plate.
In the sixth, third baseman Reece McCarthy reached third after being walked and later progressed home on a Briggs sacrifice fly to center field.
Despite UMass’ efforts Kent State’s lead stood too tall for the Minutemen to overcome. Following Saturday’s game, co-head coaches Max Weir and Brandon Shileikis mentioned the team’s need to continue building on offensive execution, making the plays that are in front of them and limiting opponents’ high-scoring innings.
The Minutemen will take a brief hiatus from conference play and continue their 10-week road trip to New York as Albany hosts UMass for its first home contest of the season on Tuesday, March 24. The matchup begins at 3 p.m. and can be watched at americaeast.com.
Matt Ford-Wellman can be reached at [email protected] or followed on X @MattFW_4 and Andrew Guindon can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @NestPgs.