EMERSON, Ga. – The University of Maine baseball team used a four-run first inning and a strong outing from Justin Courtney en route to a 5-1 win over the Ohio University Bobcats in a neutral site ballgame at LakePoint Facility on Friday afternoon.
 
Jeremy Pena staked the Black Bears to 1-0 lead in the first at-bat of the game, smacking his second homerun of the season to left field on the first pitch of the game from Ohio's starter Gerry Salisbury. Danny Casals then followed that up with a three-run home run, knocking in Cody Pasic, who had been hit by a pitch, and Christopher Bec, who had singled towards short.
 
The Bobcats' Devon Garcia led off with a single but the right-hander Courtney buckled down and ended the threat, forcing the Bobcats to ground into a double-play and striking out one while looking.
 
After neither team was able to push a runner across – with Courtney retiring the side in order on two strike outs and a ground out – Hernen Sardinas led off the top of the third inning with a solo shot for a 5-0 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, Ohio got a leadoff double from Tanner Piechnick and two batters later he crossed the plate on a single to center field to make it 5-1.
 
After Courtney retired the side in the top of fifth, the Black Bears loaded the bases in the bottom but were unable to push another run across. However, with Courtney putting together two 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh. Cody Laweryson entered the game in the bottom of the eighth with an Ohio runner on first and struck out Garcia to end the inning and then Matt Geoffrion forced two ground outs and struck out another to end the game.
 
Courtney went 7-2/3 innings, giving up one run on four hits for his first win of the season. The senior struck out nine batters on the day while Laweryson and Geoffrion had one strikeout each. Salisbury took the loss for the Bobcats.

Sardinas finished 2-for-5 with one RBI while six other Black Bears had hits. Maine finished with eight hits to Ohio's four while neither team committed an error.

The Black Bears (1-4) and Bobcats (2-3) will meet tomorrow for a doubleheader, with the first game set to start at 1 p.m.

 -UMaine-