AMHERST, Mass. – The Saint Joseph's baseball team battled back to tie the game on two occasions, but UMass ultimately came away with a 7-6 win at Earl Lorden Field on Saturday afternoon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Neither team broke through until the fifth, when Michael Toth hit a two-run home run to put the Minutemen ahead.
 
• Saint Joseph's (17-21 overall, 6-8 Atlantic 10) drew level in the sixth when Conlan Wall walked to start the inning and Ryan Weingartner hit a two-run home run two batters later.
 
• UMass (17-22 overall, 7-7 Atlantic 10) went ahead again in the bottom of the frame on a two-run shot by Marc Willi, but Ryan Picollo led off the seventh with a solo home run to bring the Hawks back within one.  The Minutemen then extended the lead to 6-3 in the bottom of the inning on consecutive RBI singles by Matt Travisano and Carter Hanson.
 
• Picollo came through again in the top of the eighth; after one-out singles by Justin Igoe and Tim Dickinson, Picollo went deep to center to tie the game at 6-6.
 
• Unfortunately for the Crimson and Gray, a walk to Kevin Skagerlind and a pair of wild pitches set up Hanson for the game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Andrew Middleton tossed an inning and two-thirds of scoreless relief to earn the win, while Alec Rodriguez took the loss.
 
• Neither starter figured into the decision, as Will McCausland allowed four runs, two earned, on five hits while fanning a season-high 11 in six innings for the Hawks, while Justin Masteralexis allowed three runs on four hits and six walks in six innings for UMass.
 
• Picollo had his second two-home run game of the week after going deep twice in the late innings against Delaware on Tuesday.  He added a pair of runs scored and four RBI, while Igoe and Dickinson also notched two hits and Weingartner collected two RBI.
 
UP NEXT
The teams will meet at noon on Sunday in the series finale.