UMass Lowell Tops Maine 14-9 to Take Series

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Whether anyone knew it or not, the Maine Black Bears (8-22, 4-7) are a banged-up baseball team. In their series with the UMass Lowell River Hawks (14-19, 6-5), they would lose three players in three games due to injury. A team that was already thin, became even thinner by the weekend’s end. The Black Bears have had a difficult time on the hill and Sunday afternoon their pitchers gave up 15 hits, and 11 walks, which led to 14 River Hawks runs.

To be accurate, the River Hawks staff was not pitching lights out themselves. As coach Nick Barese said after the Sunday game. “They were good enough to win.” UMass Lowell came back from an early 3-1 deficit to beat the Black Bears 14-9 to take the series and maintain their third-place standing in the league.

Miles Cota got the start for the River Hawks on Sunday. He did not have his best stuff but managed to go five innings. He got in trouble in the top of the first with the first two hitters in the lineup. A single by Will Burns was followed by a double to center by Jeremiah Jenkins (3-for-5, 2 RS, 2 RBI, HR). Nick White drove in the run with a ground out to 2nd base and it was 1-0 Maine after a half inning. The

River Hawks tied the game in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by 1st baseman Connor Kelly that scored RF Carlos Martinez who ripped a double off the wall in right field off Maine’s starter Luc Lavigeur.1-1 after two innings.

The Black Bears retook the lead in the third on a towering home run down the right-field line by Jenkins. The home run was his 13th of the year. The RBI now gives him 27 on the season. 3-1 Maine after three innings.

UMass Lowell got one of those runs back in the fourth. Catcher Ryan Proto singled to RF and moved to third on the first college hit from Ryan Strand to right field. With one out, he scored on a Brandon Fish RBI single to RF. 3-2 Maine after four innings.

Both teams traded two-run innings in the sixth as Maine got to James Capellupo out of the River Hawks pen. UMass Lowell struck back in the bottom of the inning off the combination of Lavigueur (5.1 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, SO) and Gabe Gifford. It was a 5-4 game heading to the seventh.

Zack Fortuna came on for UMass Lowell in the top of the seventh. He allowed a leadoff double to right by Jenkins and was sacrificed to third by Logan Burrill. He would score on a sac fly to right by Zach Martin. 6-4 Maine.

The bottom of the seventh was a nightmare for the Black Bears pitching staff. 13 River Hawks came to bat, eight of them scored. UMass Lowell only had two hits, one of them was a 2-run home run to right by Martinez, his fourth of the season He now has 26 RBI. It was part of a 3-for-6, 2 RS, 2 RBI day. There were six walks in the innings and five of them scored. They also two hit batters and one of them scored as well. Maine’s head coach Nick Derba used four pitchers in the inning. Gifford was followed by Noah Lewis, Owen Wheeler, and Blaine Cockburn. None of them escaped the onslaught by the River Hawks offense, which was helped greatly by Black Bears pitchers not throwing strikes. By the time Coakburn got the final out, which was a fly ball out to center by Proto, the River Hawks had a 14-6 lead after seven innings.

Maine put up a three-run rally in the ninth against Frankie Venezia. After getting the first two outs of the inning, Venezia would give up three hits and two walks. Black Bears catcher Charlie Taub brought home one run with a bases-loaded walk. Then Colin Plante drove in the other two with a 2-run double to center. Plante was 2-for-5, with 2 RBI. Venezia retired Jake Marquez looking to end the game and give UMass Lowell the series with a 14-9 win. Fortuna gets the win and he is 3-0. Noah Lewis takes the loss and he is now 0-6.

Coach Barese was “Happy with the offense” and he thought the bullpen gave him “Quality innings on the weekend.” There are still things to clean up, but overall he thought his team “Wore down the Black Bears pitching staff.”

On Tuesday afternoon, the River Hawks will head to North Andover, MA. for a rematch with the Merrimack College Warriors before spending next weekend in Smithfield, RI. to face the top team in the league right now the Bryant College Bulldogs.