Tuetken's RBI Single Gives UMass The Victory, 5-4, Over Dayton In 15 Innings :: UMass came back to tie the game twice before Andy Tuetken drove in the game-winning run.

UMass came back to tie the game twice before Andy Tuetken drove in the game-winning run.

May 4, 2008

AMHERST, Mass. - After tying the game in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings and scoring again in the 12th inning to stay alive, UMass baseball (16-21, 9-12 A-10) came through with a run in the 15th inning to take a 5-4 victory over Dayton (27-20, 10-11 A-10) on Sunday afternoon at Earl Lorden Field. Andy Tuetken (Smithfield, R.I.) drove in Jim Macdonald (Cheshire, Conn.) with a one-out single to end the game. Macdonald, who was 4-for-6 on the day, had doubled in the previous at-bat to put himself in scoring position. Aaron Smith (Westfield, Mass.) (1-2) pitched 3 2/3 shutout innings of relief to earn the victory. Chris Beesley (5.1 IP, 2 ER) took the loss in relief for Dayton.

It was UMass' longest game since a 15-inning, 4-2 loss to Saint Louis on May 12 of last season. The Minutemen are now 2-1 in extra inning games this season.

UMass starter Jared Freni (Malden, Mass.) pitched 5+ innings, allowing three runs on six hits and struck out three. The Flyers got their first run in the second inning when Kevin Miller was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. They added a second run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Miller and took a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning when Ryan Nevill scored on a double play after leading off the inning with a double down the left field line.

The Minutemen got two runs back off Dayton starter Alex Dye in the seventh inning. They loaded the bases when Macdonald was hit by a pitch, Kyle Multner (Peabody, Mass.) doubled to left-center, and pinch-hitter Mike Donato (East Hartford, Conn.) walked. Bryan Garrity (Peabody, Mass.) then delivered with an infield single to drive in UMass' first run. In the next at-bat, Andrew Black (Baltimore, Md.) was hit by a pitch to force in Multner, making it 3-2.

Pinch-hitter Peter Copa (Malden, Mass.) led off the bottom of the ninth with a single to center field off Dayton closer Burny Mitchem. After Garrity bunted Copa to second and a strikeout, Brian Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) delivered in the clutch with a two-out single to right field that scored Copa with the tying run, forcing extra innings.

Nick Serino (Saugus, Mass.) fired four perfect innings after coming into the game in the sixth and gave way to Mitchell Eilenberg (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who hurled two more scoreless frames in the 10th and 11th.

The Flyers took the lead in the top of the 12th on an RBI single by Marshall MacDonald, but the Minutemen answered in the bottom half of the inning. Baudinet led off with a single through the left side and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Franczek (Chicopee, Mass.). With UMass down to its last out once again, Macdonald drove in the tying run with a double to left center.

With one out in the 15th, Macdonald once again blistered a double to left center, setting the table for Tuetken's game-winning RBI single to right off Lucas Farden.

The Minutemen return to action on Wednesday when they host Northeastern at 3 p.m. at Earl Lorden Field.