VESTAL, N.Y. – The University of Maine baseball team opened America East play on Sunday by splitting a doubleheader with Binghamton. The Black Bears (2-18, 1-1 AE) won the opening game by a score of 8-0, while the Bearcats (8-9, 1-1 AE) earned a 4-1 victory in the latter half of the twin bill at the Binghamton Baseball Complex.
 
Nick Silva (1-3) earned the win in game one, going a season-long eight innings. He spread out six hits and three walks, while striking out a pair in his first win of his senior season. Dillon Stimpson came in and pitched the ninth, allowing a pair of base runners on a hit and an error, but ultimately escaped the final frame unscathed for the combined shutout.
 
Maine's bats exploded for a season-high 12 hits and eight runs in the game one victory, as Joe Bramanti and Hernen Sardinas led the team on the day with four total hits apiece. Sardinas recorded three RBIs alone in game one, hitting a single, a double and his first home run of the season.
 
Danny Casals also blasted a four-bagger in game one, a two-run shot to right field, finishing the day with three hits. Brogan Searle-Belanger drove in two runs in game one, sending home the first run of America East play on a sacrifice-fly, along with earning an RBI single in between the first and second baseman.  
 
Kevin Doody hit a sac-fly to right field in the third inning to score the lone Maine run in game two. All eight Black Bears that went to the plate on the day either recorded at least one hit or an RBI.
 
Cody Laweryson (0-2) was charged for the loss in game two for the Black Bears, despite allowing only two earned runs. He struck out six in four innings of work, allowing six hits and walking two. The Black Bears' two errors proved to be costly, allowing two unearned runs to cross the plate. Peter Kemble pitched the final two innings of the scheduled shortened seven-inning ballgame, not allowing a hit, while striking out one and walking one.
 
After the Black Bears went down in order in to start game one, Silva bounced back after allowing a leadoff single to earn a fly-out and a strikeout. Cody Pasic threw out a would-be base stealer at second as Silva faced the minimum after one.
 
A ground-out started the top of the second inning for Maine, but three consecutive walks loaded the bases with one out. Searle-Belanger got enough on a line-out to right field to score Pasic for the first run of the series.
 
Silva turned aside the Bearcats in the second and the third, facing the minimum through three. In Maine's half of the third, Sardinas singled, but a double play would clear the base paths. Despite two outs in the inning, a Casals single and a Colin Ridley walk setup a Bramanti RBI single to left field, which scored Ridley.
 
In Binghamton's fourth, the Bearcats put runners on the corners with two outs, but Silva forced a fielder's choice to keep the Bearcats off the scoreboard.
 
Doody singled up the middle to begin the fifth, as Casals lifted a two-run home run over the right field fence to double the Black Bears' lead to 4-0. Once again, Silva faced the minimum in the fifth, as Casals, Caleb Kerbs and Bramanti went around the horn on a 5-4-3 double play after a leadoff single.
 
Sardinas clobbered his first home run of the season in the sixth, a solo shot to right as Maine extended its lead to 5-0.
 
Bramanti led off the seventh with a double, as Pasic followed him on the base paths with a walk. Kerbs moved both runners up a bag on a ground-out. Jeffrey Omohunro would be hit by a pitch to load the bases. Sardinas earned his second RBI of the contest after being hit by a pitch to score Bramanti.
 
Following the seventh inning stretch, a 6-4-3 double play started by Omohundro and went to Kerbs and then Bramanti would clear the bases after Binghamton led the frame off with a single. A line-out would end the inning.
 
Maine went down in order in the top of the eighth. With Silva eclipsing 100 pitches in the bottom of the eighth, the Bearcats were able to load the bases with two outs. Silva forced a softly hit line-out to himself to escape the jam without a run allowed.
 
The Black Bears tacked on two insurance runs in their final at bat, as Searle-Belanger found an opening between the first and second baseman to score Pasic with no outs. With a runner on third, Sardinas would send a double to right field to score Kerbs, as Maine advantage increased to 8-0.
 
Stimpson allowed two base runners after an error and a single, but a ground-out prevented the Bearcats to score a run and complete the combined shutout. The game marked Maine's first shutout since May 26, 2017, when the Black Bears defeated Stony Brook 3-0 in the Black Bears' third game of the America East Championships. Silva also started that game, pitching 8 2/3 innings before Jeff Gelinas earned the final out of the contest.
 
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Sardinas, Casals, Ridley and Bramanti all tallied hits in game two, as Ridley earned the lone extra-base hit on a double.
 
The Black Bears went down in order in the first, as an error, double and a HBP would load the bases with no outs. Laweryson settled down to strikeout the next batter for the first out, but the Bearcats' would beat out a double-play attempt at first to score the game's first run, which was unearned. Laweryson would strikeout the last batter of the inning to limit the damage.
 
The Black Bears put two runners on in the top of the second with two outs after Pasic was hit by a pitch and Kerbs walked, but Maine could not deliver any runs home.
 
Laweryson struck out the first two batters he faced in the second, forcing the final out to fly-out to center. Maine was able to strike in the third, as Omohundro led the inning off with a walk. Sardinas followed with a single to move Omohundro to third on the play. Doody would hit a ball far enough to right field to earn the sac-fly RBI to score Omohundro and tie the game.
 
The game would not be tied long as a one-out single and double would give Binghamton back the lead. Laweryson earned a strikeout to give the Bearcats two in the frame, but a walk and an RBI single extended the Bearcat lead to 3-1.
 
Maine put a runner on base in the fourth on a Bramanti single, but the Black Bears could not take advantage. The Bearcats would move a runner to third after a single, ground-out and a passed ball, to setup an RBI infield single. Laweryson would get the next batter to lineout to himself, as he threw the ball over to first for the double play.
 
Kemble entered the game on the mound in the fifth, as he retired the side in order. Maine looked to cut into the deficit in the top of the sixth, as Casals led the inning off with a single and would advance to third on the double by Ridley. Binghamton's Ben Anderson (3-1) would strikeout the next three Black Bears, however to end the scoring opportunity.
 
Kemble walked the opening batter in the sixth, but Binghamton could get nothing going against the Bangor native. Maine could not get a runner on base in the top of the seventh, as Binghamton would earn the win to split the series, taking a 4-1 win in their first America East win of the season.
 
Maine returns to the Empire State next weekend, when the Black Bears face Stony Brook for a three-game weekend series. First pitch for Friday's doubleheader is set for noon at Joe Nathan Field.
 
-UMaine-