University of Maine
Illinois St.
Chappell Leads Baseball to Pair of Wins on Friday
3/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Brett Chappell (Rock Falls, Ill.) had four hits to go along with five RBI and a run scored to lead the University of Maine baseball team to a doubleheader sweep on Friday afternoon in Winter Haven, Fla. Maine defeated Illinois State 5-4 in 10 innings in the first game and then downed Bowling Green 6-4 in the second game of the day.
In the first game, Illinois State took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Maine answered with a run in the bottom of the inning. Shane Bussey (Boynton Beach, Fla.) reached on an error and scored when Scott Heath (Westbrook, Maine) singled to right field.
Maine tied the game in the bottom of the third inning when Sam Balzano (Portland, Maine) singled to left field and scored when Brett Chappell singled to right. Maine took its first lead when Bobby Brennan (Cape Coral, Fla.) singled and scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Illinois State tied the game in the top of the fifth inning and took the lead in the top of the eighth inning.
The Black Bears tied the game with a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to force extra innings. Luke Morrill (South Thomaston, Maine) led off the inning and reached on an error. Steven Adam (Tecumseh, Ontario) pinch ran for Morrill and scored when Chappell singled to center field.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, Christian Garabedian (Miami, Fla.) drove home Kevin Stypulkowski (Lake Worth, Fla.) with a single to center field to give the Black Bears the 5-4 win. Stypulkowski had singled to left field and moved to second on a Danny Diaz (Miami, Fla.) single.
Jake Marks (Sarnia, Ontario) got the start for Maine and went five innings. He allowed three runs, two of which were earned, on eight hits. He struck out seven batters. Jacob Gosselin-Deschesnes (Montreal, Quebec) went 2.2 innings and allowed one run on one hit. Charlie Butler (Marlborough, Mass.) went the final 2.1 innings and scattered three hits to earn the win. He improves to 1-1.
Will Headean went 5.2 innings for Illinois State and allowed three runs, one of which was earned, on eight hits. Ryan Koziol went 1.2 innings and suffered the loss for the Red Birds.
In the second game, Bowing Green jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Maine got a run back in the top of the second when Heath singled through the right side and scored when Kevin Stypulkowski singled to right field.
Maine tied the game in the top of the fourth inning when Chappell belted his first home run as a Black Bear down the left field line.
The Black Bears and Falcons continued to trade lead the next few innings. Bowling Green took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Maine countered with two runs in the top of the sixth. Balzano doubled down the right field line and Bussey followed with a single to first base. Morrill walked to load the bases. Balzano scored on a Heath sacrifice fly. Bussey scored when Chappell grounded out. Bowling Green tied the game with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Maine earned the win with two runs in the top of the eighth inning. Balzano began the rally once again with a single to shortstop. He advanced to second on a passed ball. Balzano scored when Bussey singled to center field. Chappell drove home Bussey with a single to right field.
Justin Courtney (Bangor, Maine) went 5.1 innings and allowed four runs, three of which were earned, on six hits. Gosselin-Dschesnes went 2.2 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win. He improves to 1-1 on the season. Butler went the final inning to earn his third save of the season.
Andrew Lacinak went six innings for Bowling Green and allowed four runs, three of which were earned, on five hits. Devin Daugherty went 1.2 innings in relief and allowed two runs on three hits. He suffers the loss and falls to 1-1 on the season.
Maine wraps up its Florida trip with a single game against Cornell on Saturday, March 14. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m.
