Written By: Aaron Goschke '25

LYNN, Massachusetts – The University of Maine at Farmington baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon. In game one, the Beavers fell in heartbreaking fashion to Fisher College, as the Falcons rallied to earn a 9-8 walk-off victory. The second game saw the Beavers lose to NAC opponent VTSU-Lyndon by a final score of 8-3.

Game One | Fisher 9, Farmington 8

The first inning ended scoreless after Farmington starter Gabe Philbrick (Florence, Mont.)  escaped a jam, striking out Gabriel Rivera looking with runners on second and third. 

Farmington struck first in the second inning, when Jonny Pruett (Waterford, Maine) singled up the middle, Greyson Bell (Las Vegas, Nev.) was hit by a pitch, and both advanced into scoring position on a balk. Pruett then scored on an errant throw by the catcher attempting a pickoff at third, and Tyler Rosa (Morgan Hill, Calif.) drove in Bell to give Farmington a 2-0 lead. 

Fisher quickly responded in the bottom half as Gilbert Gomez scored on a wild pitch, cutting the lead to 2-1.

In the bottom of the fourth, Armando Torres delivered a key two-out single, knocking in a pair of runs to put Fisher ahead 3-2. 

Philbrick found himself in trouble again in the seventh, as Torres walked and moved to third on a single from Yariel Salinas. Kyle Sawyer (Saco, Maine) relieved Philbrick, and Michael Wright immediately singled in Torres. T.J. Dorn (Westbrook, Maine) replaced Sawyer, but Fisher continued scoring, with Salinas coming home on a fielder's choice, and Gilbert Gomez knocking in Jatnier Torres to extend the Fisher lead to 6-2.

Farmington rallied in the eighth inning against Fisher reliever Armando Morillo, who loaded the bases via walks. Lucas Earle entered and Rosa scored on a rare 5-6-3 putout hit by Ryan Sargent (Windham, Maine). Ike Wrigley (Farmington, Maine) then scored on a wild pitch, and Nate Coombs (Thomaston, Maine) singled home Jameson Bloch (Attleboro, Mass.) to pull closer. Pinch-hitter Paul Vachon (Brookline, N.H.) delivered a crucial two-run single to center, giving Farmington a 7-6 lead.

Sargent added an insurance run with an RBI single in the ninth, making it 8-6.

However, Fisher fought back in their final at-bat. Wright was hit by a pitch to start the inning, He made his way to second and advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on an error that allowed Gabriel Rivera to reach third base. Gilbert Gomez drove in Rivera with a single to tie the game at eight. Ian Cabrera then successfully executed a bunt to score Gomez, giving Fisher the 9-8 walk-off victory.

Game Two | VTSU-Lyndon 8, Farmington 3

Ike Wrigley led off the game with a double down the right-field line, and Ryan Sargent followed with another double to right to bring in Wrigley, putting Farmington up 1-0 in the first inning.

Lyndon responded in the bottom half as Evan Duncan doubled down the left-field line, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on an RBI single by Eyon Tembruell, tying the game at 1-1.

Both teams went down in order in the second, and Farmington also had a quiet third. The Hornets broke the tie in their half of the third inning after Duncan and Bryan Nazario walked, and an error on a bunt loaded the bases. Matt Gonyeau's fielder's choice drove in Duncan to make it 2-1. Farmington pitcher Chris Albert (Bradley, Maine) limited further damage by working out of the bases-loaded jam.

Lyndon starter Nathan Bigelow dominated, striking out nine Beavers, including three strikeouts in the fourth inning alone. The Hornets then extended their lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning when Nazario singled to right, plating both Austin Bigelow and Dale Ostermann.

The Hornets added another run in the fifth inning as Ostermann doubled home E.J. Camden, pushing the lead to 5-1.

In the sixth, Lyndon scored three more times on RBI singles by Tembruell and Ryan Alt, extending their advantage to 8-1.

Farmington showed late-game resilience, as Joe Kalisz (East Haddam, Conn.) led off the ninth inning with a double and later scored on a groundout by Wrigley. Bloch then hit his first home run of the season with two outs, bringing the score to 8-3. Despite this late rally, the Beavers were retired without further scoring, and Lyndon secured the victory by a final score of 8-3.

UP NEXT

The Beavers will look to get back into the win column on Wednesday when they travel to Lewiston, Maine to take on Bates College. First pitch is set for 3:30 PM.