The Maine baseball team finished up their regular season schedule on Friday and Saturday with an America East series against Binghamton.
In Friday’s first game of two on Senior Day, Hernen Sardinas connected for his 11th homerun to give the Bears an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Binghamton did tie it in the third on an RBI double by Shane Marshall, but Maine got a sacrifice fly from Cody Pasic and an RBI double by Joe Bramanti in the bottom half to take a 3-1 lead. Mike Sabatine added an RBI single in the eighth to back a strong start on the hill from Cody Laweryson to pick up a 4-1 win.
Laweryson (5-4) went 7.0 innings allowing one run, seven hits, with two walks, and six strikeouts. Trevor Delaite picked up his seventh save. Sardinas and Sabatine both had three hits. Marshall had three hits for the Bearcats, while Ben Anderson (8-4) took the loss allowing three runs, seven hits, with no walks, and six strikeouts in 5.0 innings.
In the second game, a pitchers duel saw the two teams trading runs in the third inning when TJ Wegmann hit a solo homer for Binghamton, and Pasic knocking in a run on a single for Maine. The Bearcats ended up getting the winning run when Jake Evans hit a fielders choice RBI in the seventh to take a 2-1 win. Bramanti got on with a walk in the Bears last at bat, but Colin Ridley and Caleb Kerbs struck out and Ryan Turenne grounded out to end it.
Five different Black Bears had single hits, while Nick Silva (4-6) was the tough luck loser allowing two runs, four hits, with two walks, and seven strikeouts in the complete game 7.0 inning effort. Jack Collins (2-2) picked up the win in relief of Nick Gallagher for Binghamton allowing no runs, one hit, with one walk, and three strikeouts in 5.0 innings.
In Saturdays rubber game, Binghamton scored four first inning runs and pulled away to win the series with a 7-2 win. Sam Freedman and Kevin Gsell both had two run doubles in the first inning for the Bearcats off Maine starter Peter Kemble. Kerbs sacrifice line out and Sabatines RBI single accounted for the only Black Bear runs. Gsell added another two run double in the third inning.
Five different Maine batters had a hit each again in the loss, and Kemble (3-7) allowed six runs (four earned) and seven hits over 2.1 innings and was tagged with the loss. Gsell had three hits and four RBI, and Marshall and Sam Freedman had two hits each to pace the Bearcats attack. Thomas Babalis (4-1) allowed one earned run on three hits in 7.0 innings to get the win on the mound.
Maine finishes the regular season 15-32, 11-12 in America East. Binghamton ends up 23-22, 12-9. The Black Bears finish in fifth place and will begin play in the double elimination America East Tournament on Wednesday in Vestal, New York against fourth place UMass-Lowell.
