Nicholas Sinacola set the all-time strikeout mark for any pitcher in America East history in one season on Friday afternoon, but it was the Albany Great Danes sweeping away an America East baseball doubleheader over the Maine Black Bears at Mahaney Diamond in Orono.
Game 1- 7 inning game (Albany 3-0)- Sinacola dazzled again with 14 strikeouts in eight innings, but Albany got to the junior right hander in the eighth for the extra inning win. Will Feil had an RBI single, and Johnny Marti followed with a two-run homerun down the right field line. Scout Knotts had two hits to lead Maine. Sinacola (8-3) went 8.0 innings in the loss allowing three runs on seven hits with two walks and 14 strikeouts. He now has 126 K’s on the season, breaking the previous all-time conference record of 119. Ray Weber (7-1) also pitching brilliantly going 7.0 innings to pick up the win allowing no runs on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Rob Manetta picked up his first save of the season.
Game 2- 9 inning game (Albany 9-3)- The Black Bears took an early 2-0 lead in the first on a wild pitch and an RBI single from Sean Lawlor, but Albany rallied to tie it and also got a three-run homerun from Marc Wangenstein and a second two-run shot from Marti to pull away and complete the sweep. No Maine players had more than one hit in the loss, with Quinn McDaniel accounting for the other run with a solo homer in the ninth inning. Noah Lewis (4-5) allowed five runs on six hits in 3.0 innings in the pitching defeat. Wangenstein, Marti, and Chris Fisher had two hits each for the Great Danes. Steven Turk got the win on the hill allowing two runs on four hits in 6.0 innings, as Albany improved to 22-21 and 20-16 in America East play.
Maine sees their record drop to 19-20, 14-17 in AE. The Black Bears need to win both games on Saturday to have any chance at a berth in the America East playoffs. The doubleheader will begin at 11 a.m.
