University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Massachusetts
Baseball Beats UMass 4-3 In 14 Innings To Open A-10 Play
03/20/2009 | Baseball
March 20, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - Freshman Robby Massar scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 14th inning as the Richmond baseball team won its Atlantic 10 opener over Massachusetts, 4-3, at Pitt Field Friday afternoon. The game stands as the longest for the Spiders in over five years.
The win improved Richmond to 10-4 overall (1-0 in the A-10), while UMass slipped to 4-8, 0-1. A total of 420 pitches were fired in the game that took four hours and three minutes to complete.
Massar, who entered the game as a pinch runner in the eighth, led off the 14th with a hit-by-pitch and Ryan Metzroth moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Freshman Chris Cowell was walked intentionally and the freshmen duo pulled off a double steal to each reach scoring position.
UMass reliever Mike Gedman pitched the final 6.1 innings for the Minutemen and fanned Kyle Leith for the inning's second out. But with Victor Croglio batting, a wild pitch in the dirt got past catcher Kevin Spatkowski and allowed Massar to score as the winning run.
"What a great college baseball game," said head coach Mark McQueen. "It had a playoff feel to it and the emotions were high in both dugouts. I liked the way we kept battling, we faced adversity and we were able to pull it out."
The game marked Richmond's longest since a 15-inning win over Kent State, 6-4, on Feb. 29, 2004 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
UMass had appeared to be in drivers' seat after taking a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth when pinch hitter Matt Gedman singled home the go-head. Gedman had put his brother Mike in position for the win, but the Minutemen's lone error would send the game to extra innings.
Andrew Lowry got hit with a pitch to lead off the ninth; he moved to second with a sacrifice bunt and took third on a deep fly out. With two outs, Mike Mergenthaler's ground ball went through the legs of the UMass second baseman to plate Lowry as the tying run.
Gedman was the third of three UMass pitchers and was tagged the loss, while sophomore Anthony Cafagna worked the final two no-hit innings for Richmond and got the win.
The game cruised into the late innings as each starter took perfect games into the third. Junior starter Stephen Owens fanned five and allowed just three hits and two runs (one earned) over his 5.2 innings for the Spiders. Jared Freni went 6.1 innings and allowed two runs and five hits with four Ks and four walks.
Senior closer Brian Alas worked a season-long 3.2 innings with four strikeouts and senior Josh Horn went 2.1 innings and allowed just one hit in relief of Owens.
Richmond pitchers walked just two batters with 12 punch outs in the contest.
"I can't say enough about the job our pitching staff did," said McQueen. "Owens gave us a great start, Horn did his job and Alas gave us everything he had. And for Cafagna to sit in the cold for three hours, and then come out and pump strikes in there was a huge lift for us."
Freshman Phil Ruzbarsky broke up Freni's no-hitter with a single to lead off the third inning. He eventually scored on freshman Adam McConnell's double and the Spiders had a 1-0 lead.
Richmond's defense unraveled in the fifth and after Owens' perfect-game bid was snapped with a lead-off double by Brian Baudinet, the Spiders committed three errors in the frame and UMass had seized a 2-1 lead.
Richmond pulled even in the seventh when Lowry chopped an RBI single through the right side scoring Ruzbarsky, who walked to lead off the frame.
The series continues Saturday at Pitt Field at 2 p.m.
