Orono, ME - The University of Maine baseball team is set to begin their 2023 America East Tournament on Thursday, May 25 at 11 A.M. against UMass Lowell.
| Location |
Binghamton, NY - Binghamton Baseball Complex |
| First Pitch |
11:00 A.M. |
| Opponent |
#5 UMass Lowell |
| TV |
ESPN+ |
| Radio |
92.9 The Ticket |
| Live Stats |
bubearcats.com |
| Probable Maine Starter |
Colin Fitzgerald - 6-1 Record, 4.27 ERA, 1.48 WHIP |
| Probable UMass Lowell Starter |
Matt Draper - 3-8 Record, 5.14 ERA, 1.53 WHIP |
Black Bear Season Recap
The University of Maine is beginning their 2023 America East Tournament run following a conference-best 19-5 regular season, 29-19 overall. Maine slashed .311/.410/.507 across their 24 conference games, leading the America East in slugging percentage (.407), home runs (37) and RBI (181).
The Black Bear pitching staff led the conference in almost every category as they ranked first in ERA (4.49), opponent batting average (.229), fewest hit batters (21), fewest runs allowed (115), fewest hits allowed (177) and shutouts (2). The Black Bears also struck out the second-most batters (188) while striking the most batters out looking (58). Maine committed the second-fewest errors (22) across the 24 conference games, good for a .974 field percentage.
Maine Claims 14 Regular Season Awards
Jeremiah Jenkins headlined the yearly awards as he was named the America East Player of the Year and to the All-Conference First Team after slashing .419/.560/.802 in conference games and he fell just short in batting average as he was chasing the triple crown for the entire season in the America East. Jenkins launched 18 home runs and had 70 RBI across his 48 games for the Black Bears.
Quinn McDaniel earned his second-straight All-Conference First Team selection as he broke the single-season walk record of 54 walks in a single season for the conference in route to his .519 OBP. He slashed .358/.519/.682 with 14 home runs, 41 RBI, 32 stolen bases and a 55:39 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Jake Rainess earned his All-Conference First Team selection as he was one of the most dynamic lead-off hitters in the country. He slugged 15 home runs with a .325 batting average, he swiped 37 of 44 bases on the season, one short of the program record of 38 and he played stellar defense at shortstop for the Black Bears across his 48 games.
Connor Goodman earned his All-Conference First Team selection, along with a spot on the All-Academic Team as he slashed .330/.412/.404 with two home runs and 45 RBI. He had a nearly 2:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio as he had 25 walks to only 14 strikeouts across his 94 at-bats. He also hit eight doubles on the season.
Colin Fitzgerald earned his All-Conference First Team selection, along with a spot on the All-Academic Team as he was a finalist for the America East Pitcher of the Year. Across his seven conference starts, Fitzgerald had a 3.54 ERA across 40.2 innings pitcher. He had a 1.14 WHIP, 34 strikeouts to only 18 walks and opponents only hit .190 against him.
Gianni Gambardella earned his All-Conference First Team selection as he emegered as a lockdown option for the Black Bears, both in starts and relief. Gambardella had a 2.73 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, 28 strikeouts to only 10 walks across his 29.2 innings pitched. He started two games and appeared out of the bullpen in five games.
Noah Lewis and
Dylan McNary were named to the All-Conference Second Team.
Lewis turned in a 3.86 ERA across his seven conference starts. He had a team-best 1.07 WHIP, he tied the team-high with 34 strikeouts and had a perfect 4-0 record.
McNary was in the midst of a breakout season for the Black Bears before suffering a season-ending hand injury. He had a 1.235 OPS, five home runs, 12 RBI and a .350 batting average across his 12 games played.
Luc Lavigueur and
Gianni Gambardella earned a spot on the All-Rookie team for the conference out of the Maine bullpen as Lavigueur had an 8.18 ERA with nine strikeouts in conference only games and Gambardella had a 2.73 ERA in conference only games, striking out 28 batters with a 1.30 WHIP.
Nick Derba earned Coach of the Year for the second-straight season as he led the Black Bears to a 29-19 record and an America East best 19-5. The Black Bears ranked first in offense, second in pitching and second in defense on the season.
Preview of the River Hawks
UMass Lowell defeated Bryant University (6-0) in the opening game of the play-in round of the America East Tournament on Wednesday, May 24 to earn their spot in the final four teams.
Lowell concluded the regular season in the America East with the third ranked offense, the fourth ranked pitching staff and the fifth ranked defense.
Matt Draper will most likely be taking the mound for the River Hawks on Thursday morning. Draper got roughed up by the Black Bears in his two regular season starts against Maine, allowing 14 runs (13 earned) across 9.1 innings pitched.
Fitzgerald Takes the Mound in Game One
Colin Fitzgerald will be taking the mound to begin the America East Tournament for the Black Bears. On the season, Fitzgerald had a 4.27 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP across his 71.2 innings pitched (13 games started). He turned in a 6-1 record on the mound, including two wins against UMass Lowell.
Fitzgerald allowed seven runs (5 earned) against UMass Lowell during the regular season. He picked up 10 strikeouts and allowed 7 hits and 6 walks across his 11.1 innings of work against the River Hawks.
-UMaine-
