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Maine Baseball Sweeps Albany
April 9, 2005 ALBANY, N.Y.-- The University of Maine baseball team swept a pair of America East Conference games against Albany on Saturday, extending its winning streak to six games. The Black Bears won the first game 5-2 and the second game 3-2. Maine improves to 15-8 on the season and 2-0 in conference play. Albany got on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a run, but Maine answered back in the top of the fourth inning. Ryan Quintal (Manchester, N.H.) reached on an error and then stole second base. Matt McGraw (Burlington, Ontario) singled and Quintal advanced to third. McGraw then stole second base. Mike Ferriggi (Bellmore, N.Y.) hit a two-run singled that scored both Quintal and McGraw to give Maine a 2-1 lead. Albany tied the game with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Black Bears took the lead for good in the top of the eighth inning. McGraw singled to center field. Ferriggi advanced McGraw with a sacrifice bunt. Steve Gambale (Medford, Mass.) grounded out and McGraw went to third. Curt Smith (Curacao, Netherlands) singled and McGraw scored. The Black Bears added a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning. Greg Creek (Manchester, Maine) reached on an error. Joel Barrett (Brewer, Maine) singled and Creek advanced to second. Quintal reached on an error to load the bases. Aaron Izaryk (Markham, Ontario) hit a sacrifice fly that scored Creek. Quintal scored Maine's fifth run of the game when he scored on a wild pitch. Steve Richard (Billerica, Mass.) had another outstanding outing for the Black Bears. He pitched six innings and allowed just two runs on eight hits while striking out a career-high 10 batters. Troy Martin (Dover, N.H.) pitched the seventh inning for the Black Bears and earns the win. He improves to 2-2 on the campaign. Scott Robinson (Ajax, Ontario) threw the final two innings to earn his first save of the season.
In the second game, Maine jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Ferriggi homered in the top of the third inning. It was the third home run of the season for Ferriggi. Albany tied the contest in the bottom of the fourth inning. Maine took the lead back in the top of the fifth. Gambale singled. Smith followed with a walk. McGraw hit a sacrifice bunt. Creek doubled scoring both Gambale and Smith. Albany was able to scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning, but that is as close as the Great Danes would get. Greg Norton (South Portland, Maine) pitched 6.2 innings and allowed two runs on three hits. He struck out seven batters in the game and improves to 5-1 on the season. Robinson pitched the final .1 to earn his second save of the day. The two teams conclude their three game set on Sunday, April 10 with a single game starting at noon in Albany, N.Y. |
