WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Maine baseball team put six runs on the board in the second game of an America East doubleheader to win 6-1 on Saturday afternoon and avenge a 1-0 loss in the first game to Hartford at Fiondella Field.
In the first game of the day, the teams battled through seven scoreless innings of play. In a battle of pitchers,
Nick Silva was strong for Maine in going up against Nicholas Dombkowski.
Faced with a runner on second in the fourth, he induced a fly ball and did the same with a runner on third in the bottom of the fifth. The junior forced a ground ball in the sixth to do the same. Walker, though, was finally able to solve Silva in the eighth when he sent a solo shot over the right field fence.
Silva ended up going 7.2 innings for Maine, allowing one earned run on five hits while striking out three and walking two. Domkowski pitched 8.0 innings for Hartford, allowing five hits while striking out six and walking one.
Christopher Bec doubled in the top of the second for the game's first hit but he was stranded on second. It was Bec that singled to left in the seventh, stole second and made it to third on a sacrifice fly from
Cody Pasic. Unfortunately, Bec was once again stranded.
Bec finished with two hits for Maine in the game while
Jeremy Pena,
Brandon Vicens and
Kevin Doody had the others.
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Hartford (4-15) scored first for the second straight game – with Walker scoring an unearned run on a throwing error in the bottom of the first – but this time Maine answered right back.
After
Connor Johnson came in in relief and got out of a bases loaded jam with a strikeout and ground ball to end the first inning, the Black Bears tied it up in the second.
Vicens led off with a triple to center and then Doody pushed him across the plate with a single.
An inning later, Maine plated two runs to take a 3-1 lead. Bec's double to center gave Maine two on with just one out and
Hernen Sardinas pushed
Danny Casals across the plate with a single towards the right side of the field. Vicens second extra base hit of the game – a double to left – pushed Bec across the plate to close out the scoring in the inning.
John Arel in relief was able to force Hartford into a pop fly and double play to end a bases loaded threat in the third, allowed just one hit in the fourth and retired the side in order in the fifth.
Maine loaded the bases in the sixth and Pena's single through the left scored Bennett to make it 4-1. Bec's solo shot and Vicens scoring on a Bennett ground ball in the top of the seventh made it 6-1 in Maine's favor.
Four Black Bears finished with multiple hits, including Bec with three. Maine had 11 hits to Hartford's four.
Arel pitched 6.0 innings in relief in the seven-inning second game, giving up four hits while walking two and striking out four.
Chris Murphy started going a third while Johnson pitched the last two outs of the first inning, striking out one.
Maine (5-19) will host UAlbany next weekend in the home opener at Mahaney Diamond.
-UMaine-
