The Husson University Eagles and Thomas College Terriers, both at the top of the North Atlantic Conference East Division baseball standings, will battle for that #1 spot in a big four game series this weekend. The series will be a home and home doubleheader both Saturday and Sunday, with the Saturday contests in Bangor before moving to Waterville for a pair on Sunday.
Husson (8-8, 5-1 NAC East) has played three games so far this week, with a conference sweep over Vermont State University-Lyndon on Tuesday before losing a non-conference battle with Colby College on Wednesday. The Eagles have been led by sophomore utility man Cam Rendell who sports a .408 batting average, with one homerun, 13 runs batted in, and 12 runs scored. Senior infielder Jackson Curtis (Ellsworth High School) has supplied some of the power as he is hitting .333, tied for the team lead in RBI with 13, and has hit three homeruns. The ever steady senior catcher Akira Warren (Hall-Dale) is at .278 with 11 RBI, and freshman outfielder Matt Holmes (Bangor High) comes in at .256, is tied with Curtis for the team lead in homers with three, and has knocked in six. Junior Matt Wallingford (Leavitt) leads in starts on the mound with five, and is 1-2 with a 3.37 earned run average striking out 16 and walking nine in 18.2 innings. Senior Alex Smith has appeared in six games (one start) and has a 3.75 ERA, a 1-1 record, striking out 21 and also walking nine in 24.0 innings thrown. Junior Connor Abood has the most wins on the hill for Husson, as he is 2-1 but has struggled with ERA (9.37) in his four starts. Rendell has also seen some time pitching starting two games, with no decisions, but hasn’t given up an earned run over 6.2 innings.
Thomas College is 10-11 (6-1 NAC East), and is on a four game win streak having swept four conference games from the University of Maine-Presque Isle in their most recent contests. Junior infielder Jason Bartlett (Belfast High) has had a fantastic season so far on offense, as he is hitting .450, one homerun, 13 RBI, and has scored 19 times. His OPS is 1.114 and has also stolen six bases in seven attempts. Senior infielder Elijah Morton leads the team in runs scored with 25, and stolen bases (10-11). He is also hitting .367. Utility man junior Samuel Keblinsky (MDI High) is at .346, one homer, 11 RBI, with 16 runs scored. Tony Meza leads the Terriers with RBI (22), is hitting .317, and has also scored 16 runs. The top seven hitters average wise are at .276 or better. On the mound, junior Jarrod Willette leads in starts with five and has a 2-1 record and a 2.70 ERA. Senior Andrew Pruell (Medomak) is 4-0 in winning all four of his starts so far on the season with a 2.67 ERA, striking out 33 and walking 11 in 27.0 innings.
Husson and Thomas are scheduled for a seven inning doubleheader at the Winkin Complex in Bangor beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday. The teams then play a seven inning and nine inning contest in Waterville at Ryan H. Allen Field beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Written by Chris Lessner
