University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Massachusetts
Spiders Win Another Marathon Over UMass, 12-11, In 13 Innings
03/21/2009 | Baseball
March 21, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - Junior Evan Stehle ripped a bases-loaded single up the middle with two outs in the bottom of the 13th inning to lift Richmond past Massachusetts, 12-11, Saturday at Pitt Field. Junior Cameron Brown homered twice and drove in three runs for the Spiders, who won their second-straight game in extra innings.
Freshman 2B Adam McConnell scored the winning run and finished the day four-for-seven with an RBI and three runs. He got the Spiders started in the 13th with his lead off bunt single.
The win improved the Spiders to 11-4 overall and 2-0 in Atlantic 10, while the Minutemen slipped to 4-9, 0-2.
Brown reached behind McConnell when his sacrifice attempt was bobbled by the pitcher, but Mike Mergenthaler lined into a double play and it appeared UMass would weasel out of the jam. Chris Cuppia, though, kept the inning alive with his pinch-hit walk and the Spiders loaded the bases when Ryan Metzroth was intentionally walked to set the stage for Stehle.
"It was another battle and another great college baseball game between two good ball clubs," said head coach Mark McQueen. "I give our guys a lot of credit and I like the way we're competing right now."
For the second-straight day the Spiders and Minutemen dueled deep into extra frames after Richmond needed 14 innings to win 4-3 Friday. Saturday's game went back and forth as Richmond took a 5-0 lead in the first, UMass struck for seven in the second, the Spiders seized a 9-7 lead in the fourth and then needed two runs in the seventh to pull even at 11-11.
The game featured five lead changes and was tied four times.
The Richmond bullpen again came up big again with four relievers combining to allow just four hits, two runs and two walks over the final eight innings. Senior Josh Horn worked the eighth, ninth and tenth and fanned four with one hit and no walks. UMass tagged starter Matt Zielinski for five hits and nine runs over five innings, including a second-inning grand slam from Adam Tempesta. The nine runs allowed tied Zielinski's career high to A-10 opposition.
"I can't say enough about the job our bullpen has done over the last two games, especially Horn," said McQueen. "We held them to just two hits over the final six innings and that gave our offense a chance to win it."
Sophomore Billy Barber pitched a hit-free 13th inning and was credited with the win (2-0). Bryan Leigh worked the final six innings for UMass out of the bullpen, fired 104 pitches and was tagged with the loss.
Brown had three hits, three RBI and scored twice, while freshman Matt Zink launched his first collegiate home run - a grand slam - to put Richmond up 5-0 in the first inning. Freshman Phil Ruzbarsky laced a pinch-hit, two-run double down the left field that tied the game at 11-11 in the seventh inning.
After playing 27 innings and combining for 956 pitches through two games, Richmond goes for the series sweep of UMass Sunday at Pitt Field. First pitch is slated for 12 p.m. Please note there will be no video stream for Sunday's game.
