The Maine baseball team made their return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years on Friday night. However things did not go as planned for the Black Bears. The #9 and host Miami Hurriances broke it open early scoring five times in the second inning, routing Maine 9-1 in the first round of the Coral Gables Regional at Alex Rodriguez Park on Mark Light Field.
Miami (41-19) broke on top immediately in their first at bat after their starting pitcher Gage Ziehl struck out the side in the top of the first inning. CJ Kayfus led off with an infield single and then Edgardo Villegas homered off Maine starter Colin Fitzgerald to right centerfield on a 1-1 pitch for a 2-0 Hurricanes lead. They stretched their advantage to 7-0 in the bottom of the second on a Kayfus RBI double, an RBI single by Villegas, and a three-run homerun by Yohandy Morales on an 0-2 count to knock Fitzgerald out of the game with just one out. The Black Bears scored their only run in the fourth when Quinn McDaniel, who led off with a single, would score from third base on a throwing error by the catcher Carlos Perez on a pickoff attempt. The score stayed at 7-1 until Zach Levenson hit a two-run homer to left center for the hosts in the seventh inning that would finish the scoring on the night.
Fitzgerald (6-2) took the loss allowing seven runs on seven hits with two walks in 1.1 innings. Noah Lewis pitched well in relief giving up just the two-run homerun to Levenson in the seventh. Lewis gave up four hits, walked two, and struckout two in 5.2 innings of work. Justin Baeyens worked a perfect eighth. McDaniel had three of the five hits for Maine. Zeihl (8-4) was superb for Miami on the mound in the victory. The right hander didn’t allow any earned runs on four hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Kayfus, Villegas, Morales, and Blake Cyr had two hits each. Villegas and Morales also drove in three runs a piece, as the Hurricanes advance to the winners bracket to face the Texas Longhorns on Saturday evening. The Black Bears (32-20), who had their seven game win streak snapped, hope to avoid elimination on Saturday at 12 p.m. when they take on the Ragin Cajuns’ from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Recap and photo by Chris Lessner
Photo- Maine sophomore pitcher Colin Fitzgerald fires away during a game earlier this season at Mahaney Diamond in Orono
Box Score
UME (32-20) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0- 1 5 1
MIA (41-19) 2 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 x- 9 11 2
WP- Ziehl (8-4) LP- Fitzgerald (6-2)
2B- Maine: McDaniel, Emmertz/Miami: Cyr 2, Kayfus, Gonzalez
HR- Maine: none/Miami: Villegas, Morales, Levenson
SB- Maine: none/Miami: Pitelli, Villegas, Perez
LOB- Maine: 3/Miami: 5
E- Maine: McDaniel/Miami: Villegas, Perez
Time- 2:15
