After splitting doubleheaders on Saturday afternoon, the University of Maine baseball and softball teams played the rubber games of their three game America East series on the road Sunday afternoon.
In the baseball game at Varsity Field in Albany, New York the Great Danes of Albany used a four run third inning and a four run fifth to pull away for a 12-3 win over Maine. Colin Ridley got the Bears off to a 2-0 lead with a two run double with two outs in the top of the first. The score remained the same until the first of two four run innings for the hosts in the third. Kevin Donati hit a sacrifice fly, before Brad Malm hit an RBI single to tie it 2-2. Marc Wangenstein followed with a two run single to give Albany a lead they wouldn’t give up 4-2. In the fourth the Great Danes extended to a four run lead when Josh Gurnack doubled in a run, and Travis Collins singled in another for a 6-2 advantage. Wangenstein hit a three run homer in the second of Albanys four run innings in the fifth, and Nick Kondo knocked in another with a triple to right making the score 10-2. Jeffrey Omohundro got the Bears final run reaching on an error that allowed Ridley to score in the seventh. Wagenstein and Collins had the final two RBI of the game for the Great Danes with doubles in the sixth and seventh.
Ridley had two hits and two RBI to lead Maine, while Peter Kemble (2-5) took the pitching loss allowing five runs and six hits over 3.1 innings. Wangenstein had four hits and six RBI to lead the winners from Albany. Collins added three hits, and Kondo, Donati, and Malm all had two a piece to lead a 16 hit attack. Ray Weber (5-2) picked up the win on the hill allowing two runs on two hits in 6.0 innings. Maine is now 9-26 overall, 7-7 in America East. Albany goes to 19-20, 9-9. The Bears next up have two midweek non-conference games at Brown and at Dartmouth Tuesday and Wednesday.
At the Bearcats Sports Complex in Binghamton, New York the host Binghamton Bearcats broke a scoreless tie with a nine run fifth inning and won by mercy rule 9-0 in five innings over Maine. Black Bears starting pitcher Emily Reid carried a no hitter into the decisive fifth inning before running into big trouble, not recording an out before being replaced by Lilly Volk. A walk to lead off that fifth inning, a single to right, and then a three run homer to right center by Lauren Martinez quickly made it 3-0. Another walk, a single, and yet another walk ended the day for Reid. Volk couldn’t stop the bleeding though, as Sara Herskowitz doubled in three runs charged to Reid making it 6-0. Another walk to the next hitter, and then a Makayla Alvarez three run homer to left center ended the game.
Laurine German continued her solid work at the plate with two more hits in the loss for the Black Bears. Reid (3-13) was charged with six earned runs on three hits, with five walks and four strikeouts in the circle. Chelsea Howard (3-3) got the pitching win for the Bearcats allowing no runs and three hits over 5.0 innings. Maine falls to 11-27, 3-11 in America East. BU improves to 17-27, 6-12. The Bears return home to open a three game series with Stony Brook on Friday at 1 pm.
