Bangor, ME - Vermont State University and the University of Maine at Farmington had to wait out a three-hour rain delay at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor. When the teams finally took the field, it was the Beavers who escaped with a pair of one-run North Atlantic Conference baseball victories. With the sweep the Beavers improved to 7-18 on the season and 3-5 in conference. The Hornets fell to 2-20 overall and 1-6 in the NAC.
Game 1 - UMaine-Farmington 3, VTSU Lyndon 2
UMF jumped in front with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. Matt Marquis singled leading off, then Nate Coomb lifted a two-run home run over the right field fence.
The Beavers would add another run in the home second inning when Jonny Pruett singled leading off and later come home when Lyndon misplayed Jayden Meader's base hit. that gave UMF a 3-0 lead.
Lyndon couldn't break through against UMF starter Will Harriman until the top of the fifth inning. Isaiah Wittrig (Phoenix, AZ) got things going with a two-out base hit. After Dalton Berry (Tavares, FL) drew a walk, TJ Santaw (Newport, VT) singled back up the middle, driving in Wittrig.
The Hornets would get within one an inning later when Evan Duncan (Little Elm, TX) singled leading off and later scored on Matt Gonyeau's (St. Albans, VT) two-out double. That would be as close as Lyndon would get, as Gonyeau was stranded at second, and the Hornets couldn't push across a run in the top of the seventh.
Harriman picked up the win after going six innings and allowing five hits and striking out six against two walks. Jameson Bloch came in and pitched a scoreless seventh to earn the save. Lyndon starter Dale Ostermann (Harrington, DE) went the distance and took the loss after allowing two earned runs and nine hits while striking out four and walking one.
Game 2 - UMaine-Farmington 4, VTSU Lyndon 3 (8 innings)
Lyndon looked primed for a rebound when they took advantage of a pair of Beaver errors to push across three runs in the top of the first inning. Santaw singled leading off, then came all the way around to score when UMF misplayed Duncan's sacrifice bunt attempt. Duncan then came home on a wild pitch. Gonyeau then drew a walk and later came around to score when Alberto Bustamante (Northridge, CA) reached on another UMF error. The Hornets then loaded the bases with one out, but UMF starter Aaron Goschke struck out the next two batters.
With one out in the bottom of the second inning, Bloch and Callister Montembeau delivered back to back singles. After Pruett reached on a fielder's choice, Sam Wrigley singled to load the bases. Montembeau scored on a wild pitch, then two more runs came home when the Hornets misplayed Meader's infield hit.
Pitching would take over from there, as neither team was able to break through again until the game reached extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Bloch singled leading off. After Pruett sacrifice bunted him to second, he was replaced by pinch runner Greyson Bell. Bell moved to third on a wild pitch, then scored on a Lyndon error, giving UMF the walk-off win.
Lucas Tuttle relieved Goschke in the sixth inning and pitched three scoreless, hitless innings of relief to gain the win. Mike Redmond (Plantation, FL) started for Lyndon and allowed three runs on five hits over four innings. After Sean Cavanaugh (Londonderry, NH) and Brandon Fernandez (Sebring, FL) each tossed a scoreless inning, Jack Jack Holley (San Gabriel, CA) came in and took the hard luck loss.
The Hornets and Beavers will conclude their four-game series with another doubleheader on Sunday. Those games will be played at Husson University and begin at 11:00 am.
