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Baseball Downs Iona 8-6
March 16, 2006
PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The University of Maine baseball team scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and came from behind to defeat Iona 8-6 on Thursday afternoon in Palm Beach, Fla. The Black Bears extend their winning streak to four games with the victory and improve to 8-6 on the season. Iona falls to 1-13 on the year. Maine opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when Joe Hough (West Roxbury, Mass.) led off and was hit-by-a-pitch. He scored when Ryan Quintal (Manchester, N.H.) hit his second triple in as many games. Iona tied the game in the top of the third inning, but Maine answered back in the bottom of the fourth. Joel Barrett (Brewer, Maine) walked and Curt Smith (Willemstad, Curacao) followed with a two-run home run. For Smith, it was his second home run of the season. The Gaels scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 5-3 lead. Maine got a run back in the bottom of the seventh inning when Hough walked and scored when Matt McGraw (Burlington, Ontario) doubled. Iona took a 6-4 lead in the top of the eighth inning with a single run, before Maine was able to push four across in the bottom of the inning. Quintal led off the inning and reached on an error. Billy Cather (Worcester, Mass.) advanced Quintal to second base. Kevin McAvoy (Brewer, Maine) and Danny Menendez (Miami, Fla.) each walked to load the bases. Sean Parker (Worcester, Mass.) hit a two-run single scoring Quintal and McAvoy. Hough reached on an error and Menendez scored. McGraw pushed across Maine's fourth run of the inning when he singled scoring Parker.
Jose Mendeza (Miami, Fla.) pitched 4.1 innings for Maine and allowed five runs on six hits. Jason Weymouth (Charleston, Maine) pitched 4.2 innings for the Black Bears and allowed one run on five hits. He earns the win and improves to 1-0 on the season. The Black Bears return to action on Friday, March 17 when they face Columbia at 1:00 p.m. in Boca Raton, Fla. -U-M- |
