AUBURNDALE, Florida – The University of Maine at Farmington baseball team picked up their first two wins of the season on Tuesday evening, topping Martin Luther College in both ends of a doubleheader at the RussMatt Invitational. The Beavers took Game 1 of a pitcher's duel, 2-1, before earning the nightcap victory, 6-3.
Game One | 2-1 Farmington in 7 Innings
The first game of the doubleheader was a smoothly played and quick contest, as both teams committed only one error apiece, and the pitchers pounded the strike zone, forcing opposing hitters to put the ball in play.
Despite the 2-1 outcome, the Beavers looked like they were going to put a lot of runs on the scoreboard early in the first inning. Sophomore outfielder Ike Wrigley (Farmington, Maine) led off the game with a triple to left-center field and was brought home on an RBI single from Jameson Bloch (Attleboro, Mass.). However, Knights starting pitcher Connor Heckendorf settled in quickly, inducing two flyouts and a popup to get out of the inning.
Farmington starting pitcher Chris Albert (Bradley, Maine) did a great job of pitching to contact. Albert worked through the game efficiently, giving up just one walk in seven innings of work. He did not strike out any batters, forcing Knight hitters to put the ball in play.
Farmington got all the insurance they would need in the bottom of the fourth inning. Colby Lewis (Blue Hill, Maine) reached base on an error and moved over to third on a single from Jonny Pruett (Waterford, Maine), giving the Beavers runners at the corners with one out. The next batter was Tyler Rosa (Morgan Hill, Calif.), who reached on a fielder's choice, but Lewis came in to score on the play, making it 2-0 Farmington.
Albert kept the Knights scoreless until the seventh. Jordan Ramirez and Samuel Rodriguez hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, putting runners at the corners with nobody out. The traffic didn't phase Albert. The next batter was Mark Vogel, who Albert got to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to record the first two outs of the inning. Ramirez did come in to score on the play, getting the Knights on the scoreboard for the first time. However, Albert got John Westendorf to fly out to center field to end the game.
Wrigley and Ryan Sargent (Windham, Maine) recorded a pair of hits each to lead the offense for Farmington. Ramirez and Rodriguez had two hits apiece for Martin Luther.
Game Two | 6-3 Farmington in 7 Innings
Farmington got on the scoreboard in the first inning once again, thanks in part to the duo of Wrigley and Bloch. Wrigley was hit by a pitch to lead off the game. Bloch then followed with a double to quickly put two runners in scoring position. Sargent drove in Wrigley with a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 just three batters in. Bloch was chased home on a two-out RBI single from Matt Marquis (Monmouth, Maine), as Farmington took a 2-0 lead.
Farmington put up another two-spot in the top of the second. Pruett laced a double down the line in left and later came in to score on another double off the bat of Bloch. Following Bloch's double, Sargent followed with his second sacrifice fly of the game, opening up a 4-0 Farmington lead through an inning and a half.
Farmington starting pitcher Gabe Philbrick (Florence, Mont.) had a relatively quiet first inning of work but got himself into trouble in the bottom of the second. After a single from Ramirez and Rodriguez being hit by a pitch, Vogel drove both in with an RBI double to cut Farmington's lead in half. Philbrick's control then started to slip, surrendering back-to-back walks to load the bases with just one out.
The second walk spelled the end of the day for Philbrick, who was replaced on the mound by lefty Kyle Sawyer (Saco, Maine). Sawyer did an admirable job working out of danger. He gave up a sacrifice fly to make it 4-3, but he got Parker Winghart to fly out to end the inning with the lead intact.
The Beavers maintained a 4-3 lead until the fifth. Sargent led off the inning with a single and then came into score on an error, making it a 5-3 ballgame.
Bloch stayed hot at the dish in the sixth, recording his third double of the game and driving in Wrigley, who had walked and stole second base. The RBI double from Bloch extended the Beavers' lead to 6-3.
Bloch then came on to pitch the final two innings, striking out one to record his first save of the season.
Overall, the bullpen was flawless for the Beavers. Sawyer, Logan Holcomb (Hebron, Conn.), Lucas Tuttle (Framingham, Mass.), and Bloch combined to pitch the final 5.2 innings, giving up just two hits and one walk to help the Beavers secure the doubleheader sweep.
Aidan Berg took the hard-fought loss, pitching five innings, giving up four earned runs on seven hits while striking out seven.
UP NEXT
The Beavers wrap up their week in Florida tomorrow morning with a doubleheader against MCLA. Game one is slated for 9:30 AM.
