FARMINGTON, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington and the University of Maine at Presque Isle battled to a doubleheader split on Saturday afternoon at Hippach Field in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) baseball action. The Beavers won a shootout in game one, 17-13, while the Owls won a pitcher's duel, 4-1, in game two.
Game One; Farmington 17 - Presque Isle 13
The Owls opened the scoring in the top of the first, loading the bases with one out on a Hector Perez single, a walk, and a hit by pitch. Garrett Chadwick grounded out to third, allowing Perez to come across to make it 1-0.
Farmington knotted the game at one in the bottom half of the second on a Jackson Murray (Bath, Maine) groundout that brought home Camden Cook (Littleton, N.H.), who had singled earlier in the inning and then moved to third on a double from Sam Parsell (Newington, Conn.).
Mitchell Kley reached base via an error with one out in the top of the third, stole second, moved to third on a balk, and then scored on a passed ball to give the Owls a 2-1 lead.
Farmington once again had an answer, scoring two in the bottom half of the third to take its first lead of the game. Jameson Bloch (Attleboro, Mass.) drew a one-out walk, while Brady Vincent (Auburn, Maine) ripped a double to put two in scoring position. A wild pitch allowed Bloch to score, and then Tyler Rosa (Morgan Hill, Calif.) singled home Vincent to make it 3-2 Farmington after three.
UMPI quickly regained the lead just two batters into the fourth inning. Carter Murphy led off with an infield single, and then Brock Black followed with a two-run shot to put UMPI back ahead, 4-3.
Farmington broke the game open, putting up a six-spot in the bottom of the fourth. The Beavers loaded the bases with two outs for Vincent, who ripped a two-run single to pull Farmington back in front. With two runners still on base, Rosa followed by blasting his first home run of the season, extending the lead to 8-4. Parsell delivered an RBI knock of his own, singling home Cook to cap the big inning.
Three runs in the top of the sixth pulled the Owls back within a pair. Ronnie Golmon ripped an RBI double, while Kley brought home two with a double of his own as the game stood at 9-7 Farmington heading into the bottom of the sixth.
Murray made it 10-7 with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, bringing home Hayden Durrell (Madrid, Maine), who had walked earlier in the inning.
After the Owls got a run back in the top of the seventh on a passed ball, the Beavers had their second massive inning of the game, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the seventh. Farmington took advantage of some wild UMPI pitching, scoring seven runs on just two hits. The Beavers drew five walks and were hit by a pitch twice in the inning. Bloch delivered a two-run single, serving as the big blow in the frame.
The Owls did not go quietly, answering with five runs of their own in the top of the eighth. Chadwick plated a pair with a two-run double, and then Carter Murphy and Black hit back-to-back home runs that made it a 17-13 game. Murphy's home run was a two-run shot, while Black's was a solo blast.
Bloch came on in relief in the ninth, slamming the door and closing out the game one victory for the Beavers.
Stat Leaders - Farmington
Tyler Rosa; 2-for-6, HR, 4 RBIs, 2 runs
Jackson Murray; 2-for-3, 2B, 3 RBIs, 2 runs, 2 BB
Jameson Bloch; 2-for-4, 3 RBIs, 2 runs, 2 BB
Brady Vincent; 2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBIs, 2 runs, BB
Sam Parsell; 2-for-3, 2B, 1 RBI, 1 run, 2 BB
Camden Cook; 2-for-5, 2 runs, BB
On the Mound - Farmington
Brady Vincent (W, 2-1); 5.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Kaleb Hussey; 1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Maddox Santone; 1.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Jameson Bloch; 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Stat Leaders - Presque Isle
Brock Black; 3-for-4, 2 HR, 2B, 3 RBIs, 3 runs, BB
Garrett Chadwick; 3-for-5, 2B, 3 RBIs, 1 run
Carter Murphy; 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBIs, 3 runs
Hector Perez; 2-for-5, 2 runs, BB
Diego Maldonado; 2-for-4, 1 run
On the Mound - Presque Isle
Matthew Pelletier (L, 0-4); 3.2 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
Seth Espling; 3.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 1 K
Porter Raymond; 0.0 IP, 0 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
Mason Long; 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Game Two; Presque Isle 4 - Farmington 1
Game two was a completely different game, as the two teams combined for just seven hits in a quickly played pitcher's duel.
Farmington threatened to score in the bottom of the first, getting runners on second and third with just one out. Presque Isle starting pitcher Mike Langley induced a shallow flyout to center field and a groundout to escape the jam.
After closing out game one, Bloch drew the start in game two and had things working on the mound for the Beavers. He retired the first six batters he faced. A single by Black to lead off the third was the first runner Bloch allowed, but he got Mason Long to ground into a double play to quickly erase the baserunner and keep the game scoreless through two and a half.
Presque Isle pushed a run across in the top of the fourth. Ronnie Golmon singled, stole second, and moved to third on a groundout. Kley delivered a SAC fly to bring in Golmon and make it 1-0.
Vincent and Rosa drew back-to-back walks with one out in the bottom of the fourth, but Langley struck out the next two batters to leave the runners stranded.
Bloch began to tire in the sixth. Aiden Toy walked, and then Long and Golmon followed with consecutive singles to load the bases with nobody out. Perez drew a walk to score Toy. Kley followed with his second SAC fly of the game to bring home another run. A two-out error allowed Perez to score, and suddenly it was 4-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth.
Bloch bounced back in the top of the seventh, setting the Owls down in order to send the game to the final frame with Farmington still down four.
Parsell and Lucas Harmon (Monmouth, Maine) hit consecutive doubles to plate the first run for the Beavers. Ike Wrigley (Farmington, Maine) was hit by a pitch to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs, but Langley induced a ground ball to secure the complete-game victory.
Stat Leaders - Farmington
Sam Parsell; 1-for-1, 2B, 1 run
Lucas Harmon; 1-for-1, 2B, 1 RBI
Brady Vincent; 1-for-2, BB
On the Mound - Farmington
Jameson Bloch (L, 3-3); 7.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Stat Leaders - Presque Isle
Ronnie Golmon; 2-for-3, 1 run, SB
Mason Long; 1-for-3, 1 run
Brock Black; 1-for-3
Mitchell Kley; 0-for-1, 2 RBI
On the Mound - Presque Isle
Mike Langley (W, 2-2); 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
UP NEXT
The two teams will square off again on Sunday in games three and four of their weekend series. The first game is scheduled for 12:00 PM.
