Freshman attack Chris Connolly scored a career-high six times and senior attack Buddy Carr added six points, thanks to five goals and an assist, as the UMass men’s lacrosse team thwarted a pair of Hartford comeback attempts for a 17-13 victory at Garber Field in Amherst Saturday afternoon.
The win brings the Minutemen back to the .500 mark at 4-4 overall. The Hawks fell to 2-4 with the loss.
Freshman Kevin Tobin added a goal and three assists from his spot on the first-line midfield. Tobin’s position-mates Jake Lisauskas (two goals) and Jeff Trainor (two goals, two assists) fueled the UMass offense as the top midfield group provided 10 points combined on the day.
Two additional Minutemen had multi-point outings as sophomore midfielder Charlie O’Brien and junior close defenseman Isaac Paparo dished a pair of assists each. Junior midfielder Ben Spencer scored once while freshman attack Clayton Proctor and senior long-stick midfielder Shane Rinkus dolled out an assist apiece.
Noah Rak dominated the faceoff dot for the third consecutive game to the tune of a 21-of-27 outing and 17 groundballs.
UM women fall in OT
Ida Farinholt scored with 1:56 remaining in the second overtime session as No. 23 Cornell held off the UMass women’s lacrosse team, 11-10, Saturday afternoon in dramatic fashion at the U.S. Lacrosse Headquarters’ Tierney Field.
The game was the second straight overtime contest for the Minutewomen, who fell to 4-3 overall. The squad returns to action Wednesday night when it hosts Harvard at Garber Field (7 p.m.).
Hannah Burnett led UMass with three goals and an assist, followed by Kiley Anderson, who added a pair of goals and an assist. Holly Turner notched two goals while Kaitlyn Cerasi, Cassidy Doster and Brinley Anderson each had one.
Lauren Hiller made 11 saves in goal, including a pair in the two overtime sessions. Kasey Keane led the defense with four caused turnovers and a career-high eight groundballs. Kiley Anderson led the Minutewomen with seven draw controls.
UM baseball finishes trip
Bradley University opened with six unanswered runs over the first four innings and never looked back as the Braves topped the UMass baseball team, 6-3, Saturday at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Fla.
The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Minutemen (6-4) and wraps up the team’s spring break trip, during which the club went 5-1.
Eddy Hart and Ryan Lever extended their hitting streaks to nine games apiece, while both reached base safely for 10th and ninth consecutive game. Lever went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Frank DiOrio contributed a 2-for-3 effort, scored once and drove in a run out of the nine-hole. Hart also smacked a double in the fifth inning.
Softball splits doubleheader
The UMass softball team racked up 13 hits and scored 12 runs Sunday, capping off the weekend with a doubleheader split, defeating St. John’s, 12-2, in five innings. The Minutewomen (11-10) had five batters record two or more hits while Jena Cozza and Jackie Kelley each drove in four runs.
The day began with a 7-4 loss to Boston University. Madison Gimpl led the offense with three hits and two RBI.
UMass is scheduled to return to the field Wednesday for its home opener against Boston College at Sortino Field at 4 p.m.
Montague Parks programs
The Montague Parks & Recreation Department has several upcoming programs for the spring season.
• Tee-Ball — Open to children 4 through 6 and runs from April 21 through June 2 on Saturday mornings from 10:30 until 11:30 a.m. Cost is $35 for residents and $40 for non-residents as of March 23, and $5 more after that.
• Rookie League — Open to children ages 7 through 9 and runs from April 21 through June 2 on Saturday mornings from 9 until 10:30. Features intra-squad games and coach-pitch. All players should bring their own gloves. Cost is $40 for residents and $45 for non-residents.
• Nipper League Softball — The Purple Panthers team. Open to girls ages 7 through 9. Runs early April until mid-June. Cost is $65 for residents and $70 for non-residents. All games are played at Murphy Park in Greenfield as part of the Greenfield Girls’ Softball League.
Deadline to register for all teams is March 30.
Babe Ruth sign-ups
It’s Franklin County Babe Ruth Baseball sign-up time.
The action gets underway Tuesday evening from 5 to 7 at Pioneer and Frontier regional schools and Wednesday evening from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Greenfield Middle School, Sanderson Street entrance.
Other sign-up nights at Pioneer at the same 5 to 7 time will occur on Thursday, March 27 and March 29, while Frontier’s other 5 to 7 nights are Thursday, March 26 and March 30. The additional Greenfield Middle School sign-ups will be held on Friday, March 28 and March 30 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The league is open to ballplayers ranging in age from 13 to 15. The cutoff date is April 30, which means candidates can’t turn 13 or 16 before that date. The league is also open to 12-year-olds, who are playing on the regulation 90-foot diamonds.
For more information, call Joe Mignault at (413) 774-3876 or Tina Crocker at (413) 648-0124.