After a rainout on Saturday, the Maine baseball team finished off their three game America East series with a doubleheader sweep over Albany on Sunday afternoon at Varsity Field in Albany, New York. The Black Bears took game one 11-3 and the second contest 12-1 by mercy in seven innings to also sweep the series.
In game one (7 innings)- Maine used a seven run sixth inning to break it open and pick up the victory. Dean O’Neill had four hits and three RBI to lead the way. Evan Menzel and Myles Sargent had two hits each. Menzel and Brody Rasmussen also drove in two runs a piece. Junior left hander Caleb Leys (3-1) continued his solid season on the mound in getting the win allowing two runs (none earned) on three hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in 5.0 innings.
In game two (scheduled 9 innings)- Maine scored six times in the first inning, and got an outstanding performance on the hill from junior Gianni Gambardella to complete the three game weekend sweep by mercy in seven innings. O’Neill had three more hits and two RBI. Rasmussen, Chris Bear, Aidan Bardi, and Myles Sargent each had two hits and two RBI. Sargent hit a solo homerun, while Rasmussen also scored four runs. Gambardella (3-2) went 6.0 innings giving up no runs on one hit with no walks and four strikeouts. The two Black Bears starting pitchers (Leys and Gambardella) combined to pitch 11.0 innings on the afternoon only allowing four total hits, no earned runs, with one wak and 11 strikeouts.
Maine has now won eight of their last 10 games improving to 13-20 and 8-4 in America East. The Black Bears begin a seven game homestand next week at Mahaney Diamond beginning with a non-conference matchup with UMaine-Farmington on Wednesday, and then will get back into league play when UMBC visits Orono for a three game set Friday-Sunday.
