May 3, 2009

Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. - Massachusetts scored nine unanswered runs, including six in the seventh inning, to rally for a 12-7 win over St. Bonaventure and complete the Atlantic 10 sweep on Sunday at Earl Lorden Field.

The loss drops the Bonnies' record to 21-20 on the season and 7-13 overall. The win combined with a Fordham loss puts UMass in sole possession of the sixth and final A-10 postseason berth in 11-10 in the league.

Sophomore Jesse Bosnik had a solid day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored, his second home run of the season and two RBI. Bosnik's single to left field in the ninth inning was the 100th hit of his career. Freshman Ryan Skellie turned in his second straight three-hit afternoon, going 3-for-5 with a triple and two RBI. Sophomore Jamie Wallschlaeger added two singles.

Bosnik was directly involved in St. Bonaventure's first three runs, scoring a run in the first inning and then hammering a two-run home run in the third inning to give the visitors a 3-1 lead.

The Bonnies lengthened their lead in the fourth and fifth, scoring two runs in each inning for a 7-3 edge. Sophomore Alex Calderon doubled home a run for the first run in the fourth, while Wallschlaeger's bunt single scored the second run.

After the Minutemen plated a run off starter Cael Johnson in their half of the fourth, a triple by Skellie brought Bosnik home to start off the fifth inning for the Brown and White. Junior Kyle Gorby quickly followed with an RBI single, scoring Skellie for a 7-2 lead.

UMass plated another run in the fifth, Johnson's last inning of the game. Johnson left the game with a 7-3 lead after giving up five hits.

Junior Dennis Sherba took the mound in the sixth inning. Sherba entered the game with a 6-1 record and was fresh off the longest outing of his career during a win over Niagara in the Big 4 Classic. A two-run homer by UMass catcher Tom Conley in the sixth drew the home team within two, at 7-5.

The momentum from the home run carried over to the bottom half of the seventh, as the Minutemen scored six runs on five hits to vault into the lead at 11-7. Five of those six runs were charged to Sherba, who recorded just one out before leaving the game after a bases-clearing double. Junior Cory Sudbrook got the final two outs, but the damage had already been done.

The loss was just the second on the season for Sherba, who fell to 6-2. Sherba's counterpart Charlie Benson was credited the win after tossing five innings of scoreless relief work. Benson's five strikeouts combined with starter Jared Freni's five marked the third straight game the Brown and White batters have reached double figure strikeouts.

St. Bonaventure will be back in action on Tuesday with a non-conference doubleheader at Buffalo.