The Maine baseball team did what they needed to Saturday against Albany, after being swept in two games by the Great Danes on Friday. The Black Bears rallied to win the first game 6-5, and then held off the visitors 4-2 in game two to sweep the doubleheader at Mahaney Diamond. Maine, with help from Hartford, gets a berth in the America East Playoffs.
Game 1 (7 innings)- Sean Lawlor gave Maine the early lead with a solo homerun to right center in the bottom of the second inning. They made it 3-0 on an RBI triple by Jake Rainess and a sacrifice fly by Quinn McDaniel in the home half of the fifth. Albany rallied back to take the lead in the top of the sixth. Brad Malm hit an RBI double down the left field, and then Johnny Marti hit a three-run homerun to right field to give the Great Danes a 4-3 advantage. It was the third long ball of the weekend for Marti. They added their fifth run of the inning when Chase Caroll had an RBI single. The Black Bears came back however in their last at bat to take the victory. With two men on base and two outs, McDaniel singled to score Jake Marquez. With runners on second and third on a wild pitch, Connor Goodman then won it for the hosts with a two-run single to center scoring McDaniel and Rainess to walk it off. Rainess had three hits to lead the way for Maine, while McDaniel and Goodman had two RBI each. Peter Kemble (2-0) picked up the pitching win in relief of Alex McKenney. Malm, Marti, and Marc Wangenstein had two hits each for UAlbany. Anthony Fusco (1-1) was charged with the blown save and loss on the hill.
Game 2 (9 innings)- In a scoreless game into the bottom of the third, Scout Knotts led off for the Black Bears with a triple. He would score on an RBI groundout by Lawlor. The same combination would add two more in the fifth, when Knotts hit a RBI sacrifice fly and Lawlor an RBI single that made it 3-0. Another run was added on a Great Danes error in the seventh. Albany made some noise in the ninth off Maine reliever Matt Pushard, when Marti and Wangenstein both singled to start things. With one out, Carroll nailed a two-run double down the line in left to slice the margin to a pair. Pushard though retired the next two batters on a pair of groundballs to end it. Freshman Tyler Neilsen (2-2) picked up his second collegiate win allowing no runs on three hits with no walks and five strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Pushard went the final 3.0 and picked up his second save of the season. Knotts, Lawlor, and Ryan Turrene had two hits a piece. Marti and Jason Bottari had two hits each for Albany, and Connor Eisenmann (2-5) took the loss on the mound allowing three runs and seven hits over 5.0 innings. The Great Danes have already clinched a spot in the America East playoffs, finishing 22-23 overall and 20-18 in the conference.
Maine finishes up 21-20, 16-17 in AE. They are officially in the upcoming America East Playoffs, after Hartford swept UMass-Lowell with a 7-5 victory in game two on Saturday based off win percentage. The Black Bears finished with a .484 win percentage, while the Riverhawks and Hawks were at .473. Maine plays at Stony Brook in the first round of the conference tournament on Thursday morning at 11 a.m.
