The Maine baseball team visited Union, New Jersey on Friday for the first two games of a four game America East series at Jim Hynes Stadium against the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders. The Black Bears would come up with a split with an 8-2 win and then a 10-9 loss in game two.
In game one, Nicholas Sinacola improved to 5-0 on the mound getting two RBI from three different players to pick up a six run victory. With a 2-2 score in the top of the sixth, the Black Bears came through with five runs to blow it open. Sean Lawlor had a bases loaded walk, Joe Bramanti an RBI single, Quinn McDaniel a sacrifice RBI flyout, and Alex McKenney a two run single. Scout Knotts and McKenney both had two hits, while McKenney, McDaniel, and Ryan Turrene had two knocked in each. Turrene got his on a two run homer in the second inning. Sinacola allowed two runs on seven hits with three walks and 10 more strikeouts in 5.0 innings. The junior right hander now has 64 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched this spring.
In game two, Maine blew an 8-3 fifth inning lead to end up with the split on the day with a one run loss. The Bears led 6-0 in the third inning on the strength of a three run first inning homerun from Bramanti, a solo homer from Turrene in the second, and a two base error that scored two unearned runs in the third. After the Highlanders cut it to 6-3, Bramanti continued his big day with a two run double in the fifth inning to pad the lead back to five runs. After a single run in the bottom of the fifth, the hosts tied it with a four spot in the sixth on two RBI singles and a two run double. An error in the seventh put Maine back on top 9-8, but NJIT would end up pushing the tying and winning runs across in the bottom half on a wild pitch and an RBI single. The Black Bears had two on base in the eighth and ninth innings, but couldn’t get anything across. Knotts and Turrene both had three hits in the loss, Lawlor and Bramanti had two each, with Bramanti knocking in five runs. Noah Lewis got the start on the mound and got hit hard allowing six earned runs on 12 hits in 5.1 innings. Colton Carson (0-2) was tagged with the loss not able to record an out in the seventh inning. The teams combined for 30 hits in game two.
Maine is now 9-8 overall and 4-5 in America East. NJIT is 7-13, 6-8. The teams finish up the weekend with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
