The University of Maine baseball team will host the America East baseball tournament starting Wednesday at Mahaney Diamond in Orono. The decision was made last spring by the conference, after Lechleur Field and the UMass-Lowell Riverhawks had hosted the event the previous four years.
Head Coach Nick Derba and #4 seed Maine, who finished 18-32 overall and 12-12 in regular season conference play will open up against #5 Stony Brook at 11 a.m. Wednesday. The Seawolves had a 29-23 regular season, also 12-12 in AE. Stony Brook took two of three games in Orono in the only regular season meetings back in April. Maine will be expected to start their pitching ace, John Arel.
Danny Casals leads the Maine offense, batting .303 with the team lead in homers and RBI, at 13 and 42 respectively. Jeremy Pena hit .309, 5 HR, 26 RBI. Christopher Bec is hitting .308, 8 HR, and 24 RBI, while Hernen Sardinas is at .303, 6 HR, 35 RBI. Arel is leading the pitching staff with wins at 5-3, and a 4.62 ERA. Cody Laweryson is 3-3 with a 3.91 ERA, and has 47 strikeouts in 46 innings pitched. Pena is worth the price of admission, ranked in college baseballs top three in draftable shortstops in the entire nation. Maine last won the conference title and went to the NCAA Tournament in 2011 under the direction of head coach Steve Trimper. Maine won a game in the regionals that season, beating Florida International, but losing to host North Carolina and were knocked out by James Madison.
Below is the full schedule of games and times in the double elimination format:
2018 America East Baseball Championship
at the University of Maine’s Mahaney Diamond – Orono, Maine
Wednesday, May 23
Game 1: No. 4 Stony Brook vs. No. 5 Maine – 11 a.m.
Game 2: No. 3 UMBC vs. No. 6 Albany – 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser – 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 24
Game 4: No. 1 Hartford vs. Game 1 winner – 11 a.m.
Game 5: No. 2 UMass Lowell vs. Game 2 winner – 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4/5 loser (lower seed) – 6:00 p.m.
Friday, May 25
Game 7: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner – 11 a.m.
Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 4/5 winner (higher seed) – 2:30 p.m.
Game 9: Game 8 winner vs. Game 7 loser – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 26
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner – 11 a.m.
Game 11: (If necessary) – 2:30 p.m.
*All games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
