WATERVILLE, Maine – The University of Maine at Farmington couldn't get its offense going on a cold afternoon in Waterville, as Thomas College opened its home schedule. The Beavers dropped game one, 4-0, before falling in game two, 7-3.
The Records:
With the two losses, the Beavers fall to 5-14 on the season and 1-7 in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play. Thomas improves to 6-12 overall and 3-1 in NAC play.
Game One | Thomas 4, UMF 0
The Beavers were unable to get the bats going as Thomas starting pitcher Andrew Pruell threw a complete-game four-hitter, striking out six to earn the win.
UMF looked poised to start strong after Friday's offensive outburst, as Ike Wrigley (Farmington, Maine) led off with a single to right field. But Pruell quickly settled in, retiring the next three batters to end the inning.
Beavers starter Jameson Bloch (Attleboro, Mass.) worked out of early trouble to keep the game scoreless in the first. After singles from Hayden Dippner and Elijah Morton, and a sacrifice bunt by Tony Meza, Bloch induced a grounder to third. Dippner broke for home on contact, but third baseman Sam Parsell (Newington, Conn.) made a heads-up play to cut him down at the plate.
The game stayed scoreless until the bottom of the third, when the Terriers pushed across three unearned runs. Dippner reached on an error, stole second, and moved to third on a bunt single from Morton. Meza then lifted a sac fly to bring in Dippner for a 1-0 lead.
Bloch got Keblinsky for the second out, but DJ Cagnina and Cam Haynes followed with back-to-back RBI singles, stretching the lead to 3-0.
UMF threatened in the top of the fourth. Ryan Sargent (Windham, Maine) walked, and Nate Coombs (Thomaston, Maine) followed with a one-out single, but the Beavers couldn't come up with a timely hit.
Thomas added one more in the fourth on another sac fly from Meza, extending the lead to 4-0.
In the seventh, Farmington loaded the bases with one out and the top of the lineup coming up. But a pop-up and a strikeout ended the game, giving Thomas its second win of the four-game series.
Thomas outhit UMF 6-4. Dippner and Morton each went 2-for-3 with a run scored. All four of Farmington's hits were singles.
Game Two | Thomas 7, UMF 3
The Beavers' offense got rolling early in game two, as the first five batters reached base, leading to a 3-0 lead. Wrigley led off with a double, Bloch walked, and Sargent delivered an RBI single to right. Parsell followed with an infield single to load the bases. A wild pitch scored the second run, and Coombs walked to reload the bases. Colby Lewis (Blue Hill, Maine) then hit a sac fly to make it 3-0.
Thomas answered with three runs in the bottom half. Two scored on an error, and Cagnina added an RBI single to tie it at 3-3.
In the third, UMF loaded the bases with one out but couldn't reclaim the lead as Ankit Shah worked out of the jam.
Thomas took control in the bottom half. After two quick outs, Cagnina doubled, Haynes singled, and Jandre Rivera-Caballaro drove in two more runs to make it 5-3.
The Terriers added two insurance runs in the fourth. Dippner walked and scored on an RBI groundout by Keblinsky. Later, Meza scored on another RBI single from Cagnina.
UMF threatened in the sixth with runners on the corners but failed to score.
Aaron Goschke (Windham, Maine) took the loss, going 3.2 innings, allowing seven runs (four earned) on seven hits. Lucas Tuttle (Framingham, Mass.) and TJ Dorn (Westbrook, Maine) combined for 2.1 shutout innings in relief.
UMF tallied six hits, led by Sargent, who went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Wrigley and Jonny Pruett (Waterford, Maine) each doubled.
For Thomas, Garrison Paillet earned the win, going 2.1 innings and allowing three earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts. Shah was stellar in relief, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed. Cagnina led the way at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Meza went 0-for-4 but scored twice and drove in two.
Up Next
The Beavers return to action on Friday afternoon on the road against Saint Joseph's College. First pitch in Standish is scheduled for 4:00 PM.
