FROM CBB NEWS SOURCES
LYNN, Mass. – Mike DiCato (Winthrop, Mass.) and Nathan Monroy (Flemington, N.J.) combined on a four-hit shutout to defeat Harvard, 3-0, in the opening round of the Beanpot at Fraser Field on Wednesday night. DiCato (1-1) hurled 6 2/3 shutout innings, allowing only three hits while striking out five to earn his first victory of the season. Monroy surrendered only one hit in 2 1/3 innings to pick up his second save of the year. Brian Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) was 2-for-2 on the night with a double, a walk, a run scored, and stole a base. Adam Tempesta was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Mike Donato (East Hartford, Conn.) and Bryan Garrity (Peabody, Mass.) each drove in a run. Every batter in the UMass lineup recorded a hit, as the Minutemen outhit the Crimson, 12-4. UMass advances to face Boston College in the Beanpot final to be played at Fenway Park on Wednesday, April 16.
Anthony Nutter (0-1) went seven innings on the mound for Harvard, allowing three runs on nine hits to take the loss. Taylor Meehan had two of the Crimson’s four hits, including its only extra-base hit, a double.
It was a pitchers’ duel early on, as neither pitcher allowed a run until the sixth inning. DiCato didn’t surrender a hit until a Matt Rogers single in the sixth.
Tempesta led off the UMass half of the sixth with a double to deep left-center before being bunted over to third by Jim Macdonald (Cheshire, Conn.). Donato followed with a single to center field to break the scoreless tie and give UMass a 1-0 lead.
It was another leadoff double that started things off for the Minutemen in the eighth inning. This time Baudinet doubled deep to center. Ryan Franczek (Chicopee, Mass.) reached first on a perfectly executed bunt single down the third base line to give the Minutemen runners at first and third. Tempesta then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Baudinet and make it 2-0. After Franczek stole third, Garrity’s two-out single through the left side gave UMass a 3-0 lead.
Harvard’s best scoring threat came in the bottom of the seventh when the Crimson used a walk, a single, and a hit batsman to load the bases with two outs, but Monroy came in and induced a groundball to get the Minutemen out of the inning.
UMass turned three double plays in the game.
UMass returns to action on Friday when it heads to Olean, N.Y. for a three-game Atlantic 10 series with St. Bonaventure. The first game is slated for Friday at 3 p.m.
