ORONO, Maine – For just the second time this season, the University of Maine baseball team will play in pair midweek games, taking on Ivy League foes Brown and Dartmouth. Tuesday's matchup with Brown will have a 3:30 p.m. first pitch in Providence, while Wednesday's meeting with the Big Green will begin at 3:00 p.m. in Hanover, N.H.
How to Follow
Both games can be heard on 96.1 WGUY FM with Jim Churchill on the call, while Wednesday's game against Dartmouth will be broadcasted on ESPN+. Tuesday's game at Brown will not be live streamed.
Series Information
Maine Black Bears vs. Brown/Dartmouth
Date: April 30 – May 1
Sites: Attanasio Family Field at Murray Stadium (Brown) and Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park (Dartmouth)
Records: Maine 9-26 (7-7 AE), Brown 11-24 (8-11 IVY), Dartmouth, 14-23, (7-11 IVY)
Maine – UAlbany Recap
• In a roller coaster weekend, Maine and UAlbany split a doubleheader on Saturday, with the Great Danes winning game one 19-3. Maine avenged the loss with a convincing 16-1 win in game two. However, UAlbany would win the series on Sunday with a 12-3 victory at Varsity Field.
• From the plate,
Caleb Kerbs went 5-for-12 from the plate (.417), driving in three.
•
Hernen Sardinas posted a .333 average, with four hits, all coming on extra-base hits in three doubles and a home run. He also drove in three Black Bears and scored a team-high four runs.
•
Joe Bramanti sent home a career-high and season-high five runs for a Black Bear player.
•
Cody Laweryson earned the win in game two, holding UAlbany to just one run on seven hits in five innings.
About Brown
• The Bears halted a four-game losing streak with a 11-5 victory over Princeton in the series finale on Sunday.
• Browns sits at 8-11 in Ivy league play, ranking sixth of eight teams in the Ancient Eight.
• Nationally, the Bears rank 58
th of 297 in double plays per game (.83).
• Brown has a team batting average of .249 (6
th in Ivy) and have a team ERA of 7.20 (7th in Ivy).
• The Bears a 215 in the latest RPI rankings.
• Joe Lomuscio ranks 32
nd nationally in hits per game (1.54), while Willy Homza is 11
th in the country in walks per game (1.03).
About Dartmouth
• The Big Green sit one spot behind Brown in the Ivy League standings, with a 7-11 Ivy League record.
• After winning its senior day game by a score of 7-4 to Yale in the series opener, but dropped the final two games of the series by scores of 7-4 and 4-7 against Dartmouth.
• The Big Green have posted a team batting average of .261 (5
th in the Ivy League) and a team ERA of 7.35 (8
th in the Ivy League).
• In the RPI, Dartmouth ranks at 227.
• Nationally, Dartmouth ranks 37
th in fielding percentage (.977) and 75
th in doubles per game (1.89).
The All-Time Series
• Maine 3-17 all-time against Brown and 4-11 against Dartmouth.
Notable Streaks
•
Cody Pasic has reached base in his last 18 games, the highest for a Black Bear this season.
• Bramanti is on an 11 game on-base streak
Joey Bats
• Since conference play began on March 24,
Joe Bramanti has found rhythm at the plate, leading Maine with a .377 batting average.
• He has 16 RBIs in 17 games with 10 walks and just nine strikeouts in 53 at bats.
• He also leads the Black Bears with a .507 on-base percentage since March 24.
Baby Shark
• With Maine's improvement from the plate since the end of March,
Hernen Sardinas has led the way in several categories.
• Since March 24, Sardinas leads Maine in hits (22), doubles (8), home runs (7), RBIs (18), total bases (51), while striking out just seven times in 67 at bats.
DeLightful DeLaite
•
Trevor DeLaite has dazzled opposing batters this season, with lefties batting just .136 (3/22) against him and righties hitting at a .193 (11/57) clip. He has allowed just six hits with runners on base in 37 opportunities.
• He has struck out 31 batters in 22 innings pitched, allowing just 14 hits and seven earned runs.
Pro Bears
• 2018 MLB Draft Picks Jeremy Peña (3
rd round, Houston Astros) and
Christopher Bec (5
th round, Toronto Blue Jays) have begun their second seasons in professional baseball.
• Peña is playing for the Quad City River Bandits in the Class A Midwest League, while Bec is playing for the Dunedin Blue Jays in the Class A Advanced Florida State League.
• On April 24, Peña smacked a solo home run home run and ended the game by starting a 6-4-3 triple play, earning player of the game honors by the River Bandits.
• On the season, Peña is batting .238 with 12 RBIs in 21 games
• Bec is batting .190 in four games this season for Dunedin.
Back in Business
• On May 16, 2018, now redshirt-senior
Caleb Kerbs was diagnosed with non-seminoma testicular cancer.
• Kerbs missed the rest of the season, undergoing surgery on May 25.
• Check out 'Strikeout the Stigma' on goblackbears.com for more info.
The Bear Facts
• Maine boasts six seniors, six juniors, seven sophomores and 12 freshmen among its roster of 32 players.
• Maine was tabbed to finished fourth in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Six Black Bears return in 2019 that have started at least 30 games, including
Hernen Sardinas,
Cody Pasic,
Danny Casals,
Kevin Doody,
Caleb Kerbs and
Colin Ridley.
• The Black Bears return three America East all-conference selections in
Danny Casals (first team),
Hernen Sardinas (second team) and
Matt Geoffrion (all-rookie). Maine had two players drafted in the 2018 MLB draft, with
Jeremy Pena (3rd round. 102nd overall) and
Christopher Bec (5th round, 146th overall) going within the top 150 picks.
• Maine went 20-34 last season and finished in sixth place in the America East regular season standings with an 12-12 record, before fighting its way to day three of the America East Championship after falling in its opening game.
• Head Coach
Nick Derba enters his third season at the helm of the Black Bears, holding a 45-63 overall record. Maine advanced to the America East Championship game in his first season.
Hall of Famers
• On Dec. 2, 2018, Assistant Coach
John Schiffner and UMaine alumnus Mark Sweeney were both inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame.
• Schiffner is the winningest manager in Cape Cod League History, coaching the Chatham, A's/Anglers to 541 regular season wins and 16 playoff appearances. He has coached 39 first round picks and over 125 of his former players have reached the big leagues, including Evan Longoria, Andrew Miller, Kris Bryant, and Todd Frazier. Head Coach
Nick Derba played for Schiffner from 2004 to 2006 for the Anglers.
• Mark Sweeney, a 14-year MLB vet, played for seven different teams, ranking second all-time in MLB history with 175 career pinch hits and first all-time with 102 pinch hit RBIs. He still holds 21 school records at UMaine, including, career hits (328), career doubles (66), career home runs (52), career RBIs (211), total bases (568), slugging percentage (.663). He earned All-America honors in. 1988, 1990. And 1991. He was inducted to the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. Sweeney led the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox to back-to-back Cape Cod league titles in 1989 and 1990, earning Cape Cod Playoff MVP honors in 1989.
Legends Weekend
• Maine honored the 1991 team on to campus on the weekend of April 20 when Maine takes on UMass in a four-game non-conference series.
• The 1991 Black Bears baseball team set a school record with 48 wins, winning the America East and ECAC championship. The 1991 Black Bears hosted the most recent NCAA Regional at Mahaney Diamond, falling in the title game to Clemson. Sweeney earned the America East Player of the Year after hitting .387 with a .644 slugging percentage. Larry Thomas was selected as the America East Pitcher of the Year, striking out a school record 108 batters in just 99.1 innings pitched. Both Sweeney and Thomas were elected as All-Americans following the season.
• Maine Softball will honor the ECAC champion 1984 and 1987 teams that same weekend.
The 136th Season
• UMaine is embarking on its 136th season of play with the 2019 season, with the Black Bears first having played during the 1881 season.
• After 135 seasons, UMaine held an overall record of 1978-1579-17 and had made 16 NCAA Tournament appearances and seven College World Series appearances.
• There have been two canceled seasons, with UMaine not fielding teams in 1892 and 1944.
•
Nick Derba is the 25th head coach in program history.
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