April 16, 2007

AMHERST, Mass.- The UMass Minutemen (9-13-0, 4-8-0) head to Lynn, Mass. on Wednesday for the first round of the annual Beanpot Tournament. The Minutemen will face Northeastern (16-9) in the first game at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, which is a change from the original date due to field conditions. The game against Sacred Heart, originally scheduled for Wednesday at 4 p.m., has been postponed and a make-up date has not been determined.

The Minutemen are winless at the Beanpot in the last four years. The most recent win for Coach Mike Stone's crew was a 5-3 victory over Harvard in the consolation game in 2002. UMass last won the Beanpot in 2000 when the team took a 13-8 decision over the Northeastern Huskies. The last time UMass was in the championship game of the tournament was in 2001 when they fell to Boston College after downing Harvard in the preliminary round.

Wednesday's meeting will be the 74th meeting between the two clubs. UMass holds the all-time series lead, 38-36, with the most recent victory over the Huskies coming on May 5, 2003.

UMass is coming off a disappointing weekend when they lost two of three games against George Washington at Earl Lorden Field. In the second game of the series, Jim Cassidy (Medway, Mass.) threw eight strong innings to hold off the Colonials for the win. Centerfielder Bill Rankin (Willington, Conn.) drove in two and senior Bryan Adamski (South Deerfield, Mass.) pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save of the year.

Fans can listen to the action on Wednesday on WMUA on 91.1 FM and via the link on UMassAthletics.com.