FARMINGTON, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington Baseball team picked up a pair of wins in a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) doubleheader against University of Maine at Presque Isle. The Beavers offense came out strong in game one en route to an 11-1 victory. In game two the Beavers used late inning heroics to walk-off with a 2-1 win in 8 innings.

Game One

After a 45 minute rain delay to start the game, the Beavers offense broke out in a big way, tacking on 11 runs on 13 hits to pick up their 1st conference win of the season. 

The Beavers quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning on a sacrifice fly from Nate Coombs (Thomaston, Maine)

Mason Long recorded an RBI single in the top of the 2nd that scored Preston Bass to knot the game up at one. But that is the last run that junior Ky Morris (East Wenatchee, Wash.) would surrender. 

The Beaver quickly loaded the bases in the bottom of the 3rd inning on three consecutive singles from Jameson Bloch (Attleboro, Mass.), Ryan Sargent (Windham, Maine), and Coombs. Derek Gendreau (Hamdpen, Maine) lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to help the Beavers regain the lead. Will Cauchon (Kingston, Mass.) came to the plate with runners at the corners and ripped his 1st home run of the season to dead center field to give the Beavers a 5-1 lead. 

Sargent added to the Beavers lead in the bottom half of the 4th inning with his 3rd home run of the season, a no-doubter to right center to make it 7-1 Farmington. 

The Beavers offense continued to roll in the bottom of the 5th, scoring four more runs to crack the game wide open. Gendreau and Cauchon opened the inning by each reaching base via error. Cal Tibbits (Bath, Maine) followed with a single to shortstop to load the bases. Jonny Pruett (Waterford, Maine) also delivered an infield single that scored Gendreau and keep the bases loaded with nobody out. Danny Terhune (South Burlington, Vermont) reached on a fielder's choice allowing Cauchon to score. Bloch ripped a two-RBI single to right but got thrown out trying to turn the single into a double to end the inning. 

Morris had a strong outing on the mound for the Beavers. Pitching a complete game, scattering nine hits while giving up just one unearned run, striking out a pair, and walk one. All nine hitters in the Beavers lineup recorded a hit in the game. Bloch, Sargent, Gendreau, and Tibbitts each recorded two. Cauchon drove in three while Bloch and Sargent finished with two RBIs to lead the Beavers. 

Dakota Morrow picked up the loss for the Owls, giving up seven runs on nine hits over four innings of work. Bass and Ricky Goupille each recorded two hits.

Game Two

In a direct contrast from game one, game two was an extra innings pitcher's duel that ended in a Beavers 2-1 victory. 

Junior starting pitcher Aaron Goschke was phenomenal on the mound for the Beavers. Goschke went all eight innings, giving up just one unearned run on six hits, and striking out seven while walking none. 

The Owls got on the board first in the top of the 3rd inning putting together a two-out rally to take a 1-0 lead. Garrett Chadwick singled to center to start the rally. Timmy Burns reached on an error to keep the inning alive and give the Owls a pair of runners in scoring position. Joey Blake hit a soft ball toward the hole between 3rd and short for an infield single that scored Chadwick. Tibbitts made a great play to lay out and knock the ball down and prevent a 2nd run from scoring. 

The Beavers were unable to solve Peyton Jones for the first five innings of the game. Singles from Terhune and Bloch were the only hits Farmington recorded up until the 6th inning.

Hunter LaBossiere (Oxford, Maine) reached on an error and stole 2nd base with two outs. Following LaBossiere's steal, the Owls elected to intentionally walk Sargent to set up a force at any base. But Coombs made the Owls pay for that decision, ripping a two-out double down the right field line to bring in LaBossiere and tie the game at one. 

Joey Lippo recorded a one-out single for Presque Isle in the top of the 7th but could not score. The Beavers went in order in the bottom of the inning to send the game into extra innings. 

Goschke continued to deal in extra innings, working around a one-out error to retire the side.

After Terhune worked a walk to lead off the inning, James Young took over on the mound for Jones. The 1st batter he saw was LaBossiere who executed a perfect hit and run on the ground to the hole vacated by the 2nd baseman, allowing Terhune to move over to 3rd and give the Beavers runners on the corners with nobody out. LaBossiere stole 2nd without a throw prompting the Owls to intentionally walk Bloch to load the bases for Sargent. Sargent crushed a ball to deep left center that the outfielders could only watch as it split them and brought home Terhune, giving the Beavers the walk-off victory.

UP NEXT

The Beavers host Fisher College in a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon. Game one is set to begin at 1 PM.