DAVENPORT, Florida – The University of Maine at Farmington baseball team stayed hot on Wednesday, wrapping up their week in Florida with four straight wins after sweeping the Trailblazers.
Game One | Farmington 4, MCLA 3 (7 Innings)
The Trailblazers capitalized on early control issues from Farmington starting pitcher Will Harriman (Biddeford, Maine) in the top of the first. Benjamin Jacob led off with a walk, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Two batters later, he scored on a sacrifice fly from Joshua Bissaillon.
Harriman settled in after the first inning, retiring the Trailblazers in order over the next three frames.
Offensively, the Beavers' bats were quiet until the bottom of the fourth. After Sam Parsell (Newington, Conn.) worked a walk, Colby Lewis (Blue Hill, Maine) laced a double down the right-field line, putting runners on second and third with two outs. Lead-off hitter Ike Wrigley (Farmington, Maine) came through with a clutch two-run double, giving Farmington its first lead of the game.
MCLA responded in the top of the fifth, tying the game on an RBI single from Henry Blake. The Trailblazers continued to threaten with runners on first and second and two outs, but Harriman picked off Matt Damon at first to escape the jam and keep the game tied at two.
Bissaillon delivered another sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth, plating Jacob—who had walked again to lead off the inning—to give MCLA a 3-2 lead.
The Beavers were relieved to see Aidan Brett exit the game in the bottom of the seventh. Brett had kept Farmington off balance through six strong innings, striking out five while allowing five hits. Bissaillon took over on the mound to start the seventh and was immediately met with a lead-off single from Jameson Bloch (Attleboro, Mass.). Ryan Sargent (Windham, Maine) followed with a single of his own. After a balk moved both runners into scoring position, Nate Coombs ripped a double to right, scoring Bloch and Sargent to give the Beavers a dramatic walk-off victory.
Harriman earned his first win of the season, tossing a complete game while allowing three earned runs on four hits and striking out four.
Wrigley led all Beaver hitters with two hits and two RBIs.
Game Two | Farmington 9, MCLA 6 (7 Innings)
The Beavers' offense picked up where it left off in game one, putting up four runs in the top of the first. Coombs smacked his second double in as many at-bats, driving in Wrigley, who had led off with a walk. Two batters later, Paul Vachon (Brookline, N.H.) plated Sargent with an RBI single. After a walk to Jonny Pruett (Waterford, Maine) kept the inning alive, first-year catcher Andrew Skory (Peabody, Mass.) roped a two-run single to extend the lead to 4-0.
MCLA got one run back in the bottom of the first on an RBI groundout from Bissaillon, scoring Roshan Warriar, who had tripled.
The Trailblazers broke through against Farmington starting pitcher Aaron Goschke (Gorham, Maine) in the bottom of the second. Matthew Belfrance led off with a triple, igniting a four-run rally. Josh Bologh followed with an RBI single and later scored on a wild pitch. Later in the inning, Bissaillon delivered a two-run single to left-center, giving MCLA the lead and chasing Goschke from the game.
Senior Sam Wrigley (Farmington, Maine) entered in relief and recorded the final out of the inning.
Bologh struck again in the third, driving in his second run of the game with another RBI single, scoring Belfrance and making it 6-4 Trailblazers.
Farmington responded in the top of the fourth. Three consecutive hits from Wrigley, Bloch, and Sargent helped knot the game at six. Sargent delivered the big blow, a two-run double into the left-center gap.
The Beavers kept swinging in the fifth, plating two more runs to retake the lead at 8-6. Pruett led off with a walk and was chased home on an error that allowed Tyler Rosa (Morgan Hill, Calif.) to reach third. Bloch followed with an RBI single to center, providing some insurance.
Sargent added a sacrifice fly in the seventh, making it a three-run game.
After a rocky start, the Beavers' bullpen shut the door over the final five innings. Wrigley worked two innings, allowing just two hits and one run. TJ Dorn (Westbrook, Maine) entered in the fourth and pitched 2.2 innings, surrendering only one hit and no runs to earn his first collegiate win. Bloch took over with one out in the seventh and struck out both batters he faced to secure his second save in as many days.
The Beavers racked up 12 hits, led by Bloch's three-hit performance, which included a pair of doubles. Wrigley also turned in another multi-hit effort, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
For MCLA, Bologh finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Bissaillon added three RBIs.
UP NEXT
The Beavers' win marks their fourth of the season and their fourth in a row, completing their spring break road trip on a high note. They return to action on March 29th at Fisher.
