The University of Maine’s baseball team won just one of its first four America East games. But the Black Bears have bounced back to win four of their last five and were just one out away from winning all five.
Ninth-year UMaine head coach Nick Derba said he feels good about his team’s progress.
“We’re getting better every weekend, game by game,” Derba said. “The pitching has been very good outside of a few outings.
“We’ve gotten some quality starts and have had some success out of the bullpen,” Derba added.
He said his pitching staff has been taking “small steps forward” and said that’s what matters.
“We haven’t given up big innings the last few weekends, which is huge,” he said.
Over the last five conference games, UMaine has allowed more than two runs in an inning just twice: four in one inning in a 10-6 win over UMass Lowell and three in an inning in an 11-5 victory over Bryant.
And the Black Bears have allowed two runs in an inning only three times during those five contests.
UMaine is now 5-4 in the conference and 7-22 overall. The Black Bears are tied with Bryant for third place in the America East Conference behind league leader University of Maryland Baltimore County (5-1) and Binghamton (6-3).
“We haven’t had a full weekend yet when we’ve hit real well and pitched real well, but we’re competing and staying in games,” Derba said. “We need our pitching staff to continue doing what it’s been doing. They’ve kept us hanging around and relevant.”
And the Black Bears’ bats are getting better, according to their coach.
“So we’ll be able to run a little more, bunt a little more, hit more doubles and homers and score a lot more runs,” Derba said.
Three-time All-America East righthander Gianna Gambardella has picked up wins over UMass Lowell and Bryant, going seven innings against UMass Lowell and six vs. Bryant. Gambardella allowed 12 hits and eight earned runs with 10 strikeouts and eight walks over the two outings.
Former America East All-Rookie team choice Jason Krieger, a redshirt junior who missed last season due to offseason surgery, tossed eight innings of four-hit, two run ball in the 4-3 loss to Bryant. The Bulldogs tied that game on a two-out bunt single in the ninth inning off reliever Pierce Friedman and scored what proved to be the winning run on Friedman’s wild pitch.
Friedman had tossed four scoreless, hitless innings in his previous outing, a 10-6 win over Bryant highlighted by UMaine’s five-run ninth-inning rally after the leadoff hitter in the inning was retired.
The other member of the three-man starting rotation, senior Vaun Larisa, threw five innings of three-hit, one-run ball in a series-clinching 5-2 victory over Bryant last weekend that featured a decisive grand slam by junior second baseman Nic Pepe.
Sophomore Tommy Martin threw three innings of four-hit, one-run relief after sophomore Brennan Rumpf delivered a scoreless inning of relief in that finale.
America East 2025 co-saves leader Sebastian Holt, who had seven a year ago, tossed four innings of two-hit scoreless relief with a save over the last two weekends.
There have been several offensive catalysts led by graduate student transfer right fielder Juju Stevens, who went 10-for-20 with two triples, four runs batted in and six runs scored over the five games. Senior shortstop Chris Bear went 6-for-12 including a 5-for-5 game against Bryant with two doubles and three RBIs; freshman first baseman Hunter St. Denis went 8-for-22 with four RBIs and three runs scored and senior center fielder Brody Rasmussen, a first team All-America East choice a year ago, went 6-for-19 with six RBIs.
Pepe had three other hits besides his grand slam and knocked in seven runs; freshman third baseman Troy Carpenter, who leads America East in homers (9) and RBIs (33), had five hits in 19 at-bats and drove home three runs and junior catcher Shane Andrus scored seven runs while going 4-for-15.
Derba said he has been “pretty happy” with his team’s defense and said his team’s ability to turn a double play has improved with Pepe’s recent return to second base after missing several weeks with a hamstring injury.
“That makes a big difference,” Derba said.
The Black Bears will travel to Northeastern University’s Parsons Field/Friedman Diamond in Brookline, Mass. on Saturday and Sunday for three non-conference games, two against Northeastern and one against Merrimack College.
UMaine will play Northeastern at 2 p.m. on Saturday; Merrimack at 11:30 on Sunday followed by another game against Northeastern at 2 p.m.
Derba called it a “huge weekend” because he plans to use a lot of pitchers who haven’t seen much mound duty to try to develop more bullpen depth.
“We’re going to need guys to step up for us later in the year,” Derba said.
