ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine baseball team took a 1-0 lead over Binghamton in the bottom of the first inning on Sunday and never looked back. The Black Bears topped the Bearcats, 6-1, at Mahaney Diamond to take the weekend America East series following Saturday's doubleheader split.
 
Jeremy Pena and Jonathan Bennett each finished with two hits, with Bennett collecting two RBIs and Pena scoring two runs. Christopher Bec hit a solo shot for his fourth home run of the week.
 
On the mound, Cody Laweryson started and pitched 5.1 innings for his first win of the season. He limited the Bearcats to five hits and one unearned run while striking out five and walking none. Jonah Normandeau pitched 2.0 innings of hitless relief to get his first save of the season while adding two strikeouts in the appearance.
 
Pena smacked a leadoff triple in the bottom of the first and then scored on a wild pitch. It would be Pena's leadoff single two innings later to jumpstart the Black Bears offense once again. Pena was able to score on a throwing error before Danny Casals doubled home Hernen Sardinas. Bennett's two-run shot with one out made it a 5-0 game.
 
Though the Bearcats scored an unearned run in the sixth – with Anthony Meduri reaching on an error and scoring two batters later on a double – Maine didn't give any more ground.
 
Bec's leadoff home run over the left field fence to start the bottom half of the eighth took the air out of a BU comeback.  Normandeau had entered in the top half of the frame – and provided Pena with a ground ball for a double play – and then retired the final three batters of the ninth inning. The final two batters that Normandeau faced went down looking.
 
Maine (14-29, 8-10 AE), who moves ahead of BU (14-27, 8-13 AE) in the conference standings, will travel to UAlbany next weekend for a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday.
 
-UMaine-