ORONO, Maine – With the University of Maine baseball team just two outs away from a loss in which its pitcher threw a no-hitter, freshman
Ryan Turenne blasted a pinch-hit walk-off grand slam to lift the Black Bears to a 4-1 win in the bottom of the seventh in game one of a doubleheader that featured two seven-inning contests. UMass would earn a doubleheader split by winning the nightcap by a score of 7-5.
Turenne's home run was the first of his career, as he entered the game with just one RBI on the season.
Nick Silva pitched all seven innings, not allowing a hit while striking out two, while walking two. The Miami, native got 12 Minutemen to flyout and earned seven groundouts on the day. He allowed just five base runners, as an error, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and a fielder's choice were the only Minutemen to earn a spot-on base.
The pitcher's duel between Silva and UMass's Justin Lasko saw both team hitless until the third inning when
Brogan Searle-Belanger cracked a single to center field. In the top of the fifth, UMass' Ryan Lever would earn a walk, steal second and advance to third on a passed ball with one out in the inning. After Silva's second and final bases on balls on the day, a squeeze play by the Minutemen was successful, as Maine attempted to get Lever out to persevere the scoreless game, but he would beat the throw. Silva would get the next two batters to popout and groundout to avoid further damage.
Silva would allow just one batter on base the rest of the game on a hit-by-pitch in the top of the seventh with two outs. He forced a flyout to complete the no-no. The no-hitter was Maine's first since
John Arel did not allow a hit in six innings against UMass Lowell last season on April 21, 2018, in an eerily similar 1-0 loss.
Turenne would avoid a similar fate for the Black Bears, as
Danny Casals and
Joe Bramanti would single to begin the frame in Maine's last chance. Ridley would earn a spot on the base paths on a fielder's choice to load the bases with no outs.
Caleb Kerbs followed, as the shortstop would get Casals out at home on a groundout, but the bases remained loaded on the fielder's choice.
Head Coach elected
Ryan Turenne to pinch hit with one out. The Black Bear skipper would not regret his decision, as the frosh belted the four-bagger over the right field fence of Mahaney Diamond, as Maine went on to win game one by a score of 4-1.
--
In game two's seven inning affair, UMass would score its first hit of the contest in its first at bats, as an RBI single would give the Minutemen an early 1-0 lead. The visitors struck for two more runs in the top of the third and another in the top of fifth to take a 4-0 lead.
Maine got the bats going in the bottom of the fifth, as
Hernen Sardinas blasted a three-run home run over the fence as Maine cut into the lead at 4-3. After
Cody Pasic followed with a doubled to right,
Joe Bramanti would enter the batter's box two batters later and smash a two-run homer, as Maine took a 5-4 lead by the way of the long ball.
Unfortunately for the Black Bears, the lead would not last long, as the Minutemen would put up a three-spot the following inning, taking a 7-5 lead after five and a half innings.
Jeffrey Omohundro would lead off the bottom of the seventh with a single, but a 3-6-3 double play would clear the bases. After a walk from
Cody Pasic, put the tying run on the plate, magic would not strike twice as a flyout would end game two by a score of 7-5 in favor of UMass.
Maine used six pitcher's in game two, as
Matthew Pushard (0-2 )would be charged with the loss. Jack Steele (3-2) earned the win for UMass, and Casey Aubin recorded the save after retiring the final out of the contest.
The Black Bears and Minutemen will meet tomorrow for game three of the series, with first pitch scheduled for noon at Mahaney Diamond. Stay tuned to goblackbears.com and @MaineBaseball on twitter for updates on weather
-UMaine-
