ORONO, Maine - The Black Bears travel to Rock Hill, South Carolina to open up the 2017 baseball season facing off with the Winthrop Eagles. It'll be the first ever match up between the two teams. The two teams will play Friday at 4:00pm, Saturday at 3:00pm, and Sunday at 12:00pm.
Â
Scouting the Black Bears
The Black Bears have been selected fourth in the America-East pre-season poll after their sixth-place regular season finish and 1-2 playoff record. They will be returning 13 players, including three Seniors,
Lou Della Fera, Tyler Schawnz, and
Jeff Gelinas, as well as 2016 All-Rookie team members
Danny Casals,
Colin Ridley, and
Jeremy Pena. Casals led the Black Bears last season in batting average and hits last season, hitting .310 on the year tallying 62 hits. Ridley led the team in RBIs with 42, and home runs with six.
On the mound, the Black Bears will look to three returning members of the 2016 roster this weekend;
Justin Courtney,
Jonah Normandeau, and
Nick Silva. Courtney appeared in eight games for Maine last season with a 2-3 record and a 4.30 ERA. Normandeau saw action in 13 games for Maine in the 2016 season, with a 1-2 record and 4.50 ERA.
Nick Silva, who led the team in saves last season with 5, will get the start in game three; he played in 21 games last season, with a 3-3 record and a 5.89 ERA.
Scouting the Eagles
Winthrop is coming off a 28-27 season, going 12-12 in the Big South conference. They return their leading hitter from last season, Senior Anthony Paulsen, who led the team with 80 hits last season. They'll look to two returning pitchers, Reece Green and Thad Harris, as well as a newcomer, Colton Rendon in game three. Green saw action in 24 games last season with a 2-1 record, with a 4.56 ERA. Thad Harris comes into the season off a 6-6 record in 19 appearances in the 2016 season. He pitched 84.1 innings and finished with a 5.02 ERA.
Â
2017 America East Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll
| Team (First-Place Votes) |
Total Points |
| 1. Binghamton (6) |
36 |
| 2. Stony Brook (1) |
30 |
| 3. Hartford |
26 |
| 4. Maine |
22 |
| 5. UMBC |
13 |
| 6. Albany |
11 |
| 7. UMass Lowell |
9 |
Â
|
2016 Stat Comparison |
|
| MAINE |
CATEGORY |
WINTHROP |
| 20-35 |
RECORD |
 28-27 |
| .254 |
BATTING AVG. |
.281 |
| .330 |
ON BASE PERCENTAGE |
.362 |
| 193 |
RBI |
284 |
| 30 |
HOME RUNS |
21 |
| 98 |
EXTRA BASE HITS |
90 |
| .257 |
OPPONENT BATTING AVG. |
.290 |
| 4.69 |
ERA |
4.87 |
| 429 |
STRIKEOUTS |
341 |
| 201 |
WALKS |
152 |
| 8 |
SAVES |
11 |
Â
|
2016 Category Leaders |
|
| Casals (62) |
HITS |
(80) Paulsen |
| Ridley (42) |
RBI |
(34) Gonzalez |
| Ridley (6) |
HRÂ |
(7) Gonzalez |
| Casals (.310) |
AVG. |
(.364) Davis |
| Fullmer, Johnson (4) |
WINS |
(6) 3 tied |
| Fullmer (2.55) |
ERA |
(0.00) Hepler |
| Silva (5) |
SAVES |
(9) Cook |
-UMaine-
