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Maine Baseball Rolls Past Thomas College
April 18, 2006
ORONO, Maine-- The University of Maine baseball team cruised past Thomas College 13-1 on Tuesday afternoon at Mahaney Diamond in Orono, Maine. The Black Bears improve to 20-10-1 on the season, while Thomas falls to 11-13 on the season. It is the 10th year in a row that the Black Bears have won at least 20 games in a season. Thomas jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Jordan McDonald and Mike Chamard recorded back-to-back singles. Jerry Randall singled to right field scoring McDonald. Maine answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame and never looked back. Curt Smith (Willemstad, Curacao) reached on an error and advanced to second. Kevin McAvoy (Brewer, Maine) followed with a walk. Both runners advanced on a passed ball. Bobby Brown (Chelmsford, Mass.) hit a sacrifice fly scoring Smith to tie the game. Moises Rivera (New Paltz, N.Y.) singled to right field scoring McAvoy. The Black Bears added four runs in the bottom of the third inning. Billy Cather (Worcester, Mass.) and Matt McGraw (Burlington, Ontario) recorded back-to-back singles to start the inning. Ryan Quintal (Manchester, N.H.) followed with a two-run double to right center field. McAvoy then singled scoring Quintal. Brown drove home Smith, who had walked, when he grounded out. The Black Bears added three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to extend their lead to 9-1. Cather tripled to right field and scored when McGraw singled to left field. Joel Barrett (Brewer, Maine) followed with a single to left field. Quintal then singled to right field driving home McGraw for his third RBI of the game. Smith singled up the middle and Barrett crossed the plate.
Maine added a run in the bottom of the seventh inning when Mark Ostrander (Hopkinton, Mass.) hit his first career home run, a solo shot to right field. Maine added three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Cather walked and scored on a wild pitch. Steve Kabatznick (Moodus, Conn.) walked and Smith followed with a two-run home run. For Smith, it was his third homer of the season. Smith finished the game 2-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI, while Matt McGraw was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Quintal was 2-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI, while Cather was 2-for-4 with three runs scored. The Maine pitching staff was strong, at one point retiring 15 straight batters. Jose Mendoza (Miami, Fla.) started and went five innings, allowing one run on six hits while striking out four batters. He earned his first career win in the game. AJ Balsinde (Miami, Fla.), Pat Moran (Winterport, Maine), Mitch Clegg (Woburn, Mass.) and Nolan Boike (Arlington, Mass.) each pitched an inning in relief for the Black Bears without allowing a hit. Taylor Helberg went 3.1 innings for the Terries and allowed nine runs, seven earned, on nine hits. He falls to 0-2 on the season. Ryan Rulman pitched 2.2 innings and allowed two hits. Steven Brown pitched the final 2.0 innings for the Terriers and allowed four runs on three hits. The Black Bears return to action on Friday, April 21 when they host N.Y.I.T. at 5:00 p.m. at Mahaney Diamond in Orono. -U-M- |
