< < back to News Releases

 

Date: April 29, 2004
Contact: Bill Sodoma

 

Maine baseball tops Colby, 18-8

ORONO, Maine -

(Courtesy of Maine sports information)

The University of Maine baseball team scored runs in all but the seventh inning as it defeated Colby 18-8 on Thursday night at Mahaney Diamond in Orono, Maine. The Black Bears, who have won seven of their last eight games and three straight, improve to 22-16 on the season, while Colby falls to 4-25.

Colby jumped out to an early lead in the top of the third inning when it scored three runs on four hits. Maine answered back with three runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. Simon Williams (Portland, Maine) led off the inning with a single to center field and Aaron Izaryk (Markham, Ontario) followed with a two-run home run to right field, his fourth homer of the season. Greg Creek (Chelsea, Maine) doubled to center and scored when Joel Barrett (Brewer, Maine) singled to center.

The Black Bears added a single run in the bottom of the second to grab a 4-3 lead, but Colby took the lead back with a pair of runs in the top of the third keyed by a solo home run from Andy Carr.

Once again, Maine tied the game in the bottom of the inning. The Black Bears broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth inning and never looked back scoring six runs in the frame. Williams reached when he was hit by a pitch. Izaryk, who finished the game 2-for-2 with four runs scored and four RBI, drove home Williams with a single to right center. Creek followed with a double, his second of the game, scoring Izaryk. Barrett, who was 4-for-6 with two runs scored and five RBI, singled to right scoring Creek. Joe Hough (West Roxbury, Mass.) singled to shortstop and Ryan Quintal (Manchester, N.H.) followed with a three-run home run to right field to give the Black Bears an 11-5 lead. For Quintal, it was his fourth home run of the season.

Maine continued to add to its lead with five runs over the next two innings. Harvey led off the fifth with a single to left field. Williams followed with a singled and Izaryk walked to load the bases. Creek hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Harvey and Izaryk scored when Barrett singled to left field.

Matt McGraw (Burlington, Ontario) and Mike Ferriggi (Bellmore, N.Y.) each walked to being the sixth inning. Harvey followed with a double scoring McGraw. Ferriggi and Harvey each scored when Williams, who finished the night 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI, singled. Williams also stole his team-leading 19th base of the season.

Colby scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning. Colby Souders led off the inning with a bunt single. Kristopher King singled to right field scoring Souders. King scored when Brian Liberty grounded out. The White Mules closed out the scoring when Tom Salemy, who finished the game 3-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI, singled to center field scoring Vincent Domestico who had singled to left field.

Maine added a pair of runs in the eighth inning. Once again, Harvey led off the inning with a single. Izaryk walked for the third time in the game and Mark Reichley (Lansdale, Pa.) reached on catcher's interference to load the bases. Barrett singled to center field scoring Harvey and Izaryk to give Maine the 18-8 victory.

Harvey finished the game 4-for-5 with three runs scored and one RBI. He recorded three hits in Maine's 7-2 win over Brown on Wednesday to total seven hits in the past two games. Teammate Barrett has six hits the past two games.

The 18 runs for Maine ties the season high for runs in a game. The Black Bears also put up 18 against Niagara on March 20. It was a balanced offensive attack for Maine as every starter had at least one hit and scored a run. Williams, Izaryk, Creek and Barrett all had at least two or more hits, two or more runs scored and two or more RBI.

Sam Warner (Eliot, Maine) allowed five runs on seven hits in getting the start. Ryan Brown (Old Town, Maine) had a strong showing as he pitched five innings and allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out two batters. He earned his first collegiate victory with the performance. Justin Bishop (Mt. Airy, Md.) pitched the final inning for Maine, fanning two batters.

Bob Brady (Huntington Beach, Calif.) picked up the loss for Colby and falls to 0-3 on the season.