Game Notes for North Carolina Regional
5/31/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Cover
Game Notes
NCAA Post Season Guide
The University of Maine baseball team heads to the NCAA Regionals for the 16th time in school history after winning the 2011 America East Tournament last weekend in Stony Brook, N.Y. It will be a return trip to Chapel Hill, N.C. for the Black Bears, as Maine last played in a regional in 2006 at Chapel Hill, N.C. Maine swept through the America East Tournament, winning all three games last weekend to earn the automatic bid.
SCOUTING THE MAINE BLACK BEARS: The Black Bears are led by Justin Leisenheimer (Middle Village, N.Y.) who is hitting .327 with 33 runs scored and 25 RBI. He has nine doubles, a team-high eight home runs and a pair of triples. He leads the Black Bears with a .573 slugging percentage. Joey Martin (Portland, Maine) is hitting .325 with 33 runs scored and 44 RBI. He has eight doubles and four home runs to go along with three triples. He has 17 stolen bases and has a .990 fielding percentage. Michael Fransoso (Portsmouth, N.H.) is hitting .317 with 41 runs scored and 32 RBI. He has a team-high 15 doubles, five home runs and a pair of triples. He also has 17 stolen bases on the season. Taylor Lewis (Montville, Conn.) has a .288 batting average with a team-high 44 runs scored and 27 RBI. He has eight doubles, five triples and three home runs. He leads the team in stolen bases with 20. Alex Calbick (Burnaby, British Columbia) is hitting .286 with 29 runs scored and 30 RBI. He has eight doubles and five home runs. Tyler Patzalek (Burlington, Ontario) has a .278 average with 21 runs scored and 28 RBI. He has nine doubles to go along with a home run. Fran Whitten (Westborough, Mass.) has a .248 batting average with 18 runs scored and 20 RBI. He has nine doubles to go along with five home runs.
Troy Black (Mississauga, Ontario) has a .386 batting average in 83 at-bats. He has scored 15 runs and driven in 18. Black has eight doubles and six stolen bases. Ian Leisenheimer (Middle Village, N.Y.) has a .315 batting average in 89 at-bats. He has scored 20 runs and has 12 RBI. He has three doubles, two triples and two homers on the campaign.
The pitching staff is led by Keith Bilodeau (Bourne, Mass.) who is in the midst of an outstanding season. He is 10-2 on the year with a 2.87 ERA. He has struck out a team-high 77 batters in a team-high 84.2 innings. He leads the team in complete games with five and in shutouts with two. Jeffrey Gibbs (Toronto, Ontario) is 6-4 on the campaign with a 3.69 ERA. He has struck out 61 batters in 68.1 innings pitched. Opponent batters are hitting just .215 against Gibbs on the season. Stephen Perakslis (Abington, Mass.) is 6-4 on the season with a 3.63 ERA. He has struck out 54 batters in 67 innings pitched. Shaun Coughlin (Northford, Conn.) is 3-1 with a 2.44 ERA. He has struck out 32 batters on the season while walking just 11 in 51.2 innings. Opponent batters are hitting just .212 against Coughlin. He has a pair of saves on the season. Jonathan Balentina (Willemstad, Curacao) is also 3-1 on the season. He has a 5.53 ERA in 40.2 innings pitched. Balentina has fanned 41 batters on the season. A.J. Bazdanes (Nashua, N.H.) is 1-4 with a 4.66 ERA. He is second on the team, having struck out 62 batters in 67.2 innings pitched. D.J. Voisine (Plainville, Conn.) is 1-1 with a 3.16 ERA. He leads the team in saves with three on the season. Kevin Scanlan (Sudbury, Mass.) also has a win on the season.
MAINE COACHING STAFF IN 2011: Maine head coach Steve Trimper (Eastern Connecticut State University '92) is in his sixth season at the helm of the Black Bears. He has an overall record of 347-322-4 in his 13th season as a head coach. He has a record of 175-148-2 with the Black Bears. He is assisted by Jason Spaulding (Vermont '00), Billy Cather (Maine '09). Former student-athlete Myckie Lugbauer (Maine '11) is assisting with the Black Bears this season as well.
SCOUTING THE NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS: North Carolina is 45-14 on the season and the #3 national seed. It went 20-10 in ACC play. The Tar Heels are led by Colin Moran who is hitting .343 with 43 runs scored and 68 RBI. He has 19 doubles, nine home runs and two triples. Tommy Coyle has a .317 batting average with 52 runs scored and 33 RBI. He has 16 doubles, three triples and a pair of home runs. He leads the team in stolen bases with 17. Levi Michael has a .313 average with 51 runs scored and 48 RBI. He has 13 doubles, five home runs and three triples. He has 14 stolen bases. Jesse Wierzbicki is hitting .297 with 44 runs scored and 38 RBI. He has 10 doubles, seven home runs and three triples. Jacob Stallings is batting .276 with 44 runs scored and 34 RBI. He has 14 doubles on the campaign. Ben Bunting is hitting .270 with 47 runs scored and 32 RBI. He has stolen 16 bases on the season. Chaz Frank has a .268 average with 39 runs scored and 29 RBI. Seth Baldwin is hitting .256 with 23 runs scored and 23 RBI.
North Carolina pitchers have a 3.36 ERA on the season. The Tar Heels have struck out 537 batters while walking just 207.
The pitching staff is led by Patrick Johnson who is 11-1 on the season with a 2.56 ERA. He has struck out 102 batters in 91.1 innings, while allowing just 71 hits and 26 earned runs. Greg Holt is 7-1 out of the bullpen. He has a 3.09 ERA in 55.1 innings. Kent Emanuel is 6-1 with a 2.88 ERA. He has fanned 74 batters in 81.1 innings. Chris Munnelly is 6-5 with a 3.99 ERA. He has stuck out 53 batters in 65.1 innings. Cody Stiles is 4-0 with a 2.43 ERA. Michael Morin is 4-2 with a 4.97 ERA. He leads the team with eight saves on the season. Cody Penny is 0-1 with a 5.62 ERA. He has five saves.
The Tar Heels are coached by Mike Fox who is in his 13th season. He is assisted by associate head coach Scott Forbes and assistant coaches Scott Jackson and Robert Woodard.
MAINE AND NORTH CAROLINA: Maine and North Carolina have played seven times in history with the Tar Heels leading the all-time series 5-2. The two teams played a three-game set in Chapel Hill, N.C. last year. The Tar Heels won two of the three games, with the Black Bears winning the middle game. Prior to that, the teams last played in the 2006 NCAA Regionals. UNC won that game 15-7
1968 L North Carolina 6, Maine 3
1969 L North Carolina 3, Maine 2
1987 W Maine 4, North Carolina 3
2006 L North Carolina 15, Maine 7 (NCAA Regional)
2010 L North Carolina 11, Maine 1
2010 W Maine 5, North Carolina 3
2010 L North Carolina 8, Maine 4
BLACK BEARS VS. NORTH CAROLINA: Eleven current Black Bears have played against the Tar Heels. Joey Martin hit .364 in three games last season at UNC with two runs scored. He stole three bases in the series. Michael Fransoso played in all three games as well. He hit .273 with two runs scored and an RBI. Taylor Lewis belted a triple in one of the games against the Tar Heels. Ian Leisenheimer had a home run. He had two RBI in the games. Tyler Patzalek also saw action in all three games, but did not get a hit.
Jeffrey Gibbs went 1-0 in the series with a 3.38 ERA. He struck out seven batters in 5.1 innings pitched. He allowed two runs on three hits. Stephen Perakslis pitched the final 3.2 innings in the game to earn the save. He allowed one run on a pair of hits. A.J. Bazdanes and Keith Bilodeau also saw action on the mound in the series.
SCOUTING THE FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY PANTHERS: Florida International enters the Regionals with a 40-18-1 record as they are coming off a 7-6 loss to Arkansas-Little Rock in the Sun Belt Conference Championship game. The Panthers are led by junior outfielder Pablo Bermudez who is hitting .373 on the season with 35 RBI, 62 runs scored and a team-high 17 stolen bases. He has 16 doubles, two triples and four home runs. Bermudez also leads the Panthers in bases on balls as he has drawn 50 walks on the season. Jeremy Patton is batting .371 on the year with 53 RBI and 54 runs scored. The junior infielder has 85 total hits on the year with 15 doubles and seven home runs. Garrett Wittels adds a .348 average with 39 RBI and 48 runs scored. Coming into the tournament, Wittels leads the Panthers in hits with 86. He has 16 doubles and three home runs. Catcher Jose Behar is hitting .337 with 30 runs scored and 31 RBI. Behar has thrown out 18 out of the 33 people that have tried to steal on him. Senior outfielder Yoandy Barroso is batting .331 with 40 runs scored and 30 RBI. He has 17 doubles and four triples on the season. Rudy Flores is hitting .295 with 35 runs scored and 51 RBI. He leads teh team with 21 doubles. Mike Martinez is hitting .295 with 45 runs scored and a team-high 59 RBI. Martinez leads the Panthers in power numbers as he has a team-high 14 home runs to go along with 15 doubles, while leading the team with a .531 slugging percentage. T.J. Shantz is hitting .290 with 37 runs scored and 33 RBI, while Jabari Henry is hitting .241 with 41 runs scored and 33 RBI. He has nine home runs on the season.
The Panthers pitching staff is led by a junior trio starting with lefty Phil Haig who is 9-3 on the season with a 3.27 ERA to go along with 69 strikeouts in 93.2 innings. Kyle Fitzpatrick is 7-2 with a 2.83 ERA. Fitzpatrick has fanned 53 hitters in 60.1 innings pitched. R.J. Fondon is 6-5 on the season with a 2.76 ERA. Fondon has struck out 53 batters in 91.1 innings pitched. Daniel DeSimone is 5-2 with a 4.24 ERA.
The Panthers are coached by Turtle Thomas who is in his ffith season with FIU. He is assisted by Sean Allen, Frank Damas and Scott Pittenger.
MAINE AND FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL: Maine and Florida International have met 29 times with the Panthers holding a 19-10 overall record over the Black Bears. The first meeting between the two teams came in 1975, a 14-8 win for the Black Bears.
The last time the two teams met was on March 5, 2008 when the Panthers defeated Maine 13-6 at University Park in Miami, Fla. The only current Black Bear to play in that game was Joey Martin. Martin went 3-for-5 in the game with a pair of doubles, two RBI and one run scored. Current Maine assistant coaches Billy Cather and Myckie Lugbauer participated in the game and each had one hit. Cather scored a run while Lugbauer drove in one.
SCOUTING THE JAMES MADISON DUKES: The Dukes are 40-17 on the year and went 21-9 in Colonial Athletic Association play. They currently own the nation's longest win-streak at nine games going into the Regional and are ranked 28th in the country according to the Collegiate Baseball rankings.
James Madison is led by junior catcher and 2011 CAA Player of the Year Jake Lowery. He is batting .357 and leads the league in home runs (22), triples (8), RBI (83) runs (76), total bases (187) and is tied for second in doubles (21). David Herbek is batting .374 and is second on the team with 15 home runs, 18 doubles and 74 RBI. Johnny Bladel is batting .354 with four home runs, five triples and 11 doubles while leading the team with 24 stolen bases. He has 64 runs scored and 40 RBI. Alex Foltz is batting .352 with seven home runs 11 doubles and 43 RBI. Matt Tenaglia is batting .350 with nine home runs, 11 doubles and is third on the team with 51 RBI. Ty McFarland is batting .286 with two home runs, 14 doubles and 36 RBI, while Cole McInturff is batting .287 with eight doubles and 20 RBI.
The pitching staff is led by All-CAA Third Team selection Sean Tierney who is 10-1 with a 2.79 ERA. He has 47 strikeouts while walking 24 in 61.1 innings pitched. D.J. Brown is 8-1 with a 4.12 ERA and four saves. He has 86 strikeouts with 28 walks in 87.1 innings. Evan Scott is 3-3 with a 6.35 ERA. He has 46 strikeouts and 52 walks in 62.1 innings. Alex Valadja is 7-3 with a 6.81 ERA. He has 73 strikeouts and 37 walks in 79.1 innings pitched. Nick Slogik is 4-2 with a 5.75 ERA in a team-high 23 appearances. He has 23 strikeouts and 23 walks in 40.2 innings.
Spanky McFarland is in his 14th season at the helm of the Dukes. He is assisted by Jay Sullenger, Ted White and Jason Middleton.
MAINE AND JAMES MADISON: The Black Bears and Dukes have met twice, both in 1986. Maine won the games by scores of 8-6 and 21-3.
MAINE AND THE NCAA REGIONALS: Maine is making its 16th appearance in the NCAA Regionals. The Black Bears also earned berths in: 1964, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2005, 2006.
LAST REGIONAL WIN: The Black Bears last won an NCAA Regional game in 2005 when it defeated Southern Miss 12-2.
WINNING 10: Maine junior pitcher Keith Bilodeau is 10-2 on the season. The 10 wins by Bilodeau ties the school record for wins in a season. He becomes the first Black Bear pitcher to win 10 games since Ben Burlingame won 10 in 1991. Only Bilodeau, Burlingame, Mike D'Andrea (1990), Bill Swift (1982) and Scott Morse (1984) have won 10 games in a season. A win in the regionals would give Bilodeau the school record.
LOOKING FOR 1,800: Maine has 1,799 wins in program history. Win number 1,800 this season would mean a win in the NCAA Regionals for the Black Bears.
STREAKING BLACK BEARS: Maine saw its 11-game winning streak snapped May 20 against Binghamton. However, the Black Bears are in the midst of a pretty impressive streak. Maine has won 17 of 18 games and 20 of 22 dating back to April 19.
JUST ONE HIT: Maine allowed just one hit in its America East Tournament victory over top-seed Stony Brook. The Black Bears defeated the Seawolves 8-1. Maine allowed one run on one hit. It is the fewest hits that Maine has allowed in a game this season. What makes this feat even more impressive, is that Stony Brook racked up 17 hits in its tournament opener against Albany.
11-GAME WINNING STREAK: The Black Bears won a season-high 11 straight games earlier this season. The last time Maine won more than 11 games in a row was when it put together a 23-game winning streak during the 1991 season. The 23 straight wins in 1991 was a school record.
BILODEAU NAMED TO NEIBA FIRST TEAM: Keith Bilodeau was named to the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association First Team announced on Monday. Bilodeau is 10-2 on the season with a 2.87 ERA. He has struck out 77 batters in 84.2 innings on the season.
WINNING A PAIR: Rookie pitcher Shaun Coughlin picked up a pair of wins on Saturday, May 30 against Binghamton. He pitched in relief in each game and was the pitcher of record, recording victories in each game. Coughlin is 3-1 on the season with a 2.44 ERA.
STINGY WITH THE HITS: Maine allowed just one hit against Stony Brook in the America East Tournament, three in the championship game against Albany and seven in the opener against Binghamton. The Black Bears allowed just 11 hits in three America East Tournament Teams. Seven times this season Maine has allowed three hits or less in a game.
IT WAS GRAND: Rookie Alex Calbick hit Maine's first grand slam of the season on May 26 against Stony Brook in the America East Tournament. The home run was hit in the eighth inning with two out. It extended Maine's lead to 8-1 in the game.
HOME SWEET HOME: Maine finished 13-2 at home this season. The lone losses for the Black Bears at Mahaney Diamond this season were a 7-6 loss to Albany in 12 innings on April 25 and an 8-0 loss to Binghamton on May 20.
EIGHT STRAIGHT WINS: Keith Bilodeau has eight straight wins. After starting the season 2-2, Bilodeau has won eight straight. The school record for consecutive games won is 10 by Scott Morse in 1984.
NOT GIVING UP LEADS: Once Maine gets a lead in a game this season, it rarely gives it up. Maine is 23-2 when leading after five innings, 26-1 after six innings, 18-0 after eight innings and 19-0 after nine innings. On the flip side, Maine rarely overcomes a deficit when trailing late.
115 CONSECUTIVE GAMES FOR LEWIS: Taylor Lewis has played in 115 consecutive games for the Black Bears. He is approaching the all-time consecutive games played leaders. T.J. Sheedy (1995-98) holds the school record with 213 consecutive games played. Danny Menendez (2006-2009) ranks seventh on the list with 121 consecutive games played.
WALK-OFF BY WHITTEN: Rookie Fran Whitten gave the Black Bears a walk-off win with a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday, May 10 against Northeastern. The game was tied 2-2, before Whitten hit his home run, high over the right field fence.
19 RUNS: Maine scored 48 runs in a three-game sweep of Albany the weekend of May 7 and 8. The Black Bears put up a season-high 19 runs on Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader. It is the most runs that Maine has scored since tallying 20 in a 20-0 blanking of Thomas on April 7, 2010. It is the first time that the Black Bears have scored 20 against a Division I opponent since defeating NJIT 19-0 during the 2008 season.
LEWIS SETS TRIPLES RECORD: Junior centerfielder and tri-captain Taylor Lewis set the career triples record with one against Binghamton in the America East Tournament. Lewis had two triples as a freshman, a school-record 13 last year and has five this year for 20 career triples. He broke the record of Curt Smith (2005-2008) who finished his impressive career with 19. Lewis broke the record in just three years as Smith played for the Black Bears for four seasons.
NOT GOING DOWN SWINGING: Rookie Tyler Patzalek is tough to strike out. He has fanned just 13 times in 198 at-bats this season.
THROWING THEM OUT: Maine catchers gunned down seven Binghamton base runners the weekend of May 20 and 21. The Bearcats were 3-for-10 in stolen bases on the weekend. Tyler Patzalek threw our five base runners, while Fran Whitten threw out a pair. Patzalek has thrown out 22 base runners this season. Maine has caught 35 potential base stealers this season.
NINE INNING COMPLETE GAME: Keith Bilodeau pitched a nine inning complete game in the first round of the America East Tournament against Binghamton. He allowed three runs, just two of which were earned, on seven hits. One of the runs came in the ninth inning. Bilodeau has five complete games on the season, but just one was a nine inning complete game.
NOT WANTING TO BE OUTDONE: Junior twins Ian and Justin Leisenheimer both hit home runs in the seventh inning in Maine's America East Championship game against Albany on May 27. Justin hit a three-run home run, while Ian hit a solo shot just two batters later. Both brothers homered over the left field fence.
FIELDING THE BASEBALL: Maine has several players with impressive fielding percentages. Joey Martin and Justin Leisenheimer each have a .990 fielding percentage on the season. Fran Whitten has a .987 fielding percentage in 149 chances, with the majority of them coming from behind the plate.
30-WIN PLATEAU: Maine has won 32 games on the season, reaching the 30-win plateau for the 19th time in school history.
BLACK OR WHITE?: Maine rookies Troy Black and Eric White have combined to start 49 of 54 games at second base this season. Black is hitting .386 for the Black Bears, while White has a .221 average.
18-GAME HITTING STREAK SNAPPED: Taylor Lewis began the season with an 18-game hitting streak. It is the longest streak on the team this season. Michael Fransoso currently leads all Black Bears with a five game hitting streak.
HOME SWEET HOME: After playing 32 straight games on the road, Maine was finally able to play its home-opener on Tuesday, April 19 when it hosted Colby College. The Black Bears were one of just three teams in the nation at the time, joining North Dakota and North Dakota State, who had not played a home game as of April 16/17.
A PERFECT 54: Lewis, Martin, Calbick and Patzalek are the lone Black Bears to see action in all 54 games this year. Lewis, Martin and Patzalek have started all 54 games.
APPROACHING 200: Senior Joey Martin has 192 career hits, leaving him eight shy of the 200 hit plateau. His 192 hits leads all current Black Bears.
25 INNINGS WITHOUT A WALK: Rookie pitcher Shaun Coughlin had gone 25 straight innings without walking a batter, prior to walking one on Tuesday, April 19 against Colby. Prior to the Colby game, the last time Coughlin walked a batter was on March 9 at Florida State. He has struck out 32 batters on the season while walking just 11.
HITTING THE LONG BALL: After hitting just nine home runs in their first 29 games this season, the Black Bears hit five home runs in three games the weekend of April 16 and 17 at Hartford. Maine hit a season-high three home runs in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday. Michael Fransoso led the way with a pair of home runs over the weekend. Five of Maine's nine runs that were scored via five solo home runs. For the season, Justin Leisenheimer leads the Black Bears in home runs with eight. Fran Whitten, Michael Fransoso and Alex Calbick have each hit five.
THEFT ON THE BASES: Maine has stolen 81 bases this season. Taylor Lewis leads the way, having stolen 20 bases. Michael Fransoso and Joey Martin each have 17 steals.
ROLLINS COLLEGE BASEBALL WEEK ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Maine was well represented on the 63rd Rollins College Baseball Week All-Tournament Team. Maine center fielder Taylor Lewis was named the most valuable player for the second year in a row. Lewis, Michael Fransoso, Jeffrey Gibbs and Fran Whitten were all named to the All-Tournament Team.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Maine has three captains for the 2011 season. Seniors Joey Martin and Joe Miller, along with junior Taylor Lewis will serve as captains.
BLACK BEARS HONORED FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: Maine had 11 student-athletes honored as Maine Scholar-Athlete Award winners and *Rising Stars* earlier this year. Joey Martin received a double gold medal as a four-time honoree. Jonathan Balentina earned a gold medal as a three-time honoree. Nick deVries and Taylor Lewis earned silver medals a two-time honorees. Ian Leisenheimer and Justin Leisenheimer both earned bronze medals as first time honorees. Alex Calbick, Nolan Turner, DJ Voisine and Eric Where were named *Rising Stars* for earning a 3.0 or better in their first semester at Maine.
AMERICA EAST ACADEMIC HONORS: Maine had 11 student-athletes honored last spring by being named to the America East Academic Honor Roll: Jonathan Balentina*, Nick deVries, Ian Leisenheimer*, Justin Leisenheimer, Taylor Lewis, Joey Martin, Tony Patane, Carson Pillar*, Kyle Benoit, Kyle Stilphen and George Tager*. * denotes Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll with 3.5 or higher.
NEW WAYS TO FOLLOW THE BLACK BEARS: In addition to following the Maine baseball team on www.GoBlackBears.com, you can also follow the Black Bear baseball team via facebook and twitter. Become a fan of UMaine Baseball on facebook and follow the Black Bears on twitter at www.twitter.com/MaineBaseball
