ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine baseball team picked up its fourth consecutive victory and improved its home record to 5-1 and conference record to 6-5 with a 5-1 victory to sweep the three-game series over UMass Lowell.
Cody Laweryson (2-3) earned his second victory of the season, scattering four hits over seven innings, not allowing a run while striking out eight and walking just one.
Nicholas Sinacola pitched the final two innings, giving up just one unearned run while striking out two.
Laweryson has struck out at least seven batters in each of his last three outings. In that timespan, Laweryson has posted a 1.66 ERA in 21.2 innings, allowing just 17 hits and striking out 27. He's also just. allowed just one extra-base hit in his last three games, walking just five and holding opponents to a .195 batting average.
Danny Casals plated two runs on a double, while scoring the Black Bears' first run of the day. He reached base four times on the day, reaching three times on bases on balls. The Miami native posted a team-high .714 on-base percentage in the series, with four hits, five walks, and a hit-by-pitch on the weekend.
Sardinas drove home the lone other run on a fielder's choice, preventing a possible double-play opportunity in the fourth inning.
Joe Bramanti and
Jeffrey Omohundro both tallied two hits on the day. Eighth of the nine Black Bears in the starting lineup tallied one hit in a balanced offensive performance.
The Black Bears scored a run in the first inning for the sixth consecutive game, as a two-out walk by Casals turned into a run on a failed pickoff attempt from the pitcher. As Laweryson continued to deal, a single from Omohundro and a ground-rule double by Sardinas put two runners in scoring position with no outs in the bottom of the third. After a lineout to right, Casals would double-home both runners on base, as the Black Bears would take a 3-0 lead.
The following inning,
Jake Roper would walk and steal second for the first of two times on the day. An infield single to third base by Omohundro would put runners on the corners with no outs. UML's starting pitcher would exit the contest, as David Hoar III would take over the mound duties. Sardinas would hit a grounder to the second baseman, as he would beat out a 4-6-3 double play attempt, to drive in Roper on the fielder's choice.
UML would start the fifth with two-straight singles, but Laweryson would get the lead runner out on a fielder's choice, followed by a strikeout looking and fly-out to center field to get out of the inning. Maine would tack on its fifth and final run of the day in the bottom of the fifth, as consecutive singles from
Colin Ridley and Bramanti put runners on first and second. Pasic followed with another single, as the UML centerfielder would misplay the ball, as Ridley would score and Bramanti would head to third and Pasic to second on the play.
Laweryson would force a 4-3 GDP in the sixth and a 4-6-3 GDP in the seventh, as UML was held without a run. Sinacola entered the game in the top of the eight, and allowed one unearned run that reached base on a fielder's choice error on a double play opportunity. Sinacola struck out the first two batters he faced in the top of the ninth, and would force a groundout that bounced off his body and into a 1-4-3 ground out to end the ball game.
UMass Lowell's starter, Joshua Becker (1-3) was charged with the loss, lasting three innings, while giving up three earned runs (four total), while walking four and striking out three. Robert Gallagher had the lone RBI in a two-hit performance from the plate.
Maine completes its 10-game April homestand with a four-game non-conference series against UMass next week at Mahaney Diamond. The series begins Friday with a 4:00 p.m. start against the Minutemen, while Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's single game will begin at noon. In between games on Saturday, the Maine baseball team and UMaine athletic department will honor the 1991 Black Bear baseball team for Legends Weekend. For more information on Legends Weekend, click here.
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