FARMINGTON, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington (7-16, 5-5) baseball team dropped both ends of a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) doubleheader at home at the hands of hot-swinging Thomas College (10-15, 8-6). The Terriers pounded out 18 hits in game one and coasted to a 15-2 win before piling up 17 hits in game two en route to a come-from-behind 10-7 victory.
Game One; Thomas 15 - Farmington 2
The Beavers opened the scoring, using small ball to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Junior outfielder Matt Marquis (Monmouth, Maine) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, stole second, and then moved to third on a groundout, sitting just 90 feet away with one out. Jameson Bloch (Attleboro, Mass.) got the job done, driving a ball deep enough to left field to bring home Marquis and give the Beavers the early lead.
Farmington maintained its lead until the top of the third when the Terriers took advantage of a pair of errors to grab a 2-1 lead. Ajay Rychcik walked and later scored on a failed pickoff attempt that went out of play. Jeremy Spencer added an RBI single in the inning for Thomas.
Thomas extended its lead on a Hayden Dippner RBI double in the top of the fourth. Grady Hotham singled to lead off the inning and later scored on Dippner's double.
The Beavers were quick to respond in the bottom half of the fourth. Bloch was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Brady Vincent (Auburn, Maine) followed with a walk to put runners on first and second with nobody out. After a flyout, Lucas Harmon (Monmouth, Maine) singled to load the bases. The next batter, Hayden Durrell (Madrid, Maine), was hit by a pitch, allowing Bloch to score and make it a 3-2 ballgame. Thomas reliever Tyler Cantey struck out the next batter he faced, and Durrell was later picked off first to end Farmington's threat.
Thomas broke the game open with five runs in the fifth and six more in the sixth. Gus Hollen, Spencer, and Hotham each recorded RBI doubles in the five-run fifth, while DJ Cagnina added an RBI single. Cagnina delivered the big blow in the sixth with a grand slam over the short porch in right field, extending the lead to 14-2.
Thomas added one more run in the seventh to complete the scoring in game one. While the Terriers totaled 18 hits, Farmington managed just four, with only one going for extra bases.
Stat Leaders - Farmington
Matt Marquis; 2-for-3, 2B, 1 run
Jameson Bloch; 0-for-1, 1 RBI, 1 run, SAC fly, BB
Tyler Rosa; 1-for-3
Lucas Harmon; 1-for-3
Stat Leaders - Thomas
DJ Cagnina; 3-for-5, HR, 5 RBIs, 1 run
Jeremy Spencer; 3-for-4, 2B, 3 RBIs, 1 run
Grady Hotham; 3-for-4, 2 2Bs, 3 runs, 1 RBI
Gavin Clark; 3-for-5, 2 runs
Hayden Dippner; 2-for-4, 2B, 1 RBI, 1 run, BB
On the Mound - Farmington
Kaleb Hussey (L, 0-4); 4.0 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Matt Olynciw; 2.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Ryan Clark; 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
On the Mound - Thomas
Brody Walsh; 3.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Tyler Cantey (W, 1-2); 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Gage Eggleston; 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Game Two; Thomas 10 - Farmington 7
Game two started as a pitchers' duel, with the game remaining scoreless through three and a half innings as starting pitchers Jameson Bloch (Attleboro, Mass.) and Ian Libby controlled the action.
Bloch scattered five singles through his first four innings of work. Thomas' best opportunity to score during that stretch came in the top of the fourth when Jeremy Spencer singled to left with Gavin Clark on second. Clark attempted to score on the play but was thrown out at the plate by Marquis, keeping the game scoreless.
Libby was perfect through the first three innings, but the Beavers broke through in the bottom of the fourth. Marquis led off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Ike Wrigley. Bloch followed with a single to put runners at the corners. Vincent then singled to bring home Marquis and make it 1-0. After a groundout, Harmon laced a double off the fence in left-center field, scoring Bloch and Vincent to extend the lead to 3-0.
Thomas responded in the top of the fifth. Aidan McMahon singled, and Hotham walked to put runners on first and second with no outs. After a strikeout, Nick Griffel singled to load the bases for Cagnina. Bloch struck him out looking for the second out, but Rychcik followed and launched a grand slam on the first pitch he saw to give Thomas a 4-3 lead.
Thomas added three more runs in the sixth to create separation. McMahon drove in Spencer with a sacrifice fly, Hotham recorded an RBI double, and Griffel added an RBI single to push the lead to 7-3.
The Beavers got one back in the bottom of the sixth when Vincent hit a ground-rule double down the right field line and later scored on a double by Camden Cook (Littleton, N.H.).
Thomas added three more runs in the seventh. Cagnina led off with a home run to right, making it 8-4. Three straight singles from Clark, Spencer, and Hollen produced another run, and a wild pitch allowed Hollen to score, extending the lead to 10-4.
Farmington made a late push in the bottom of the seventh. Colby Lewis (Blue Hill, Maine) led off with a single, and Sam Parsell (Newington, Conn.) was hit by a pitch. Marquis followed with a single to load the bases with no outs. Wrigley then drove a ball to the wall in right-center, but Rychcik made the catch as Lewis scored to make it 10-5. Bloch was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, and Vincent hit a ground ball to first that could have been a game-ending double play, but an errant throw allowed two runs to score, cutting the deficit to 10-7. Libby induced a groundout to end the game and secure the win for Thomas.
Stat Leaders - Farmington
Brady Vincent; 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs, 2 runs
Matt Marquis; 2-for-4, 2 runs
Colby Lewis; 2-for-3
Lucas Harmon; 1-for-2, 2B, 2 RBIs
Stat Leaders - Thomas
Ajay Rychcik; 2-for-4, HR, 4 RBIs, 1 run
Gus Hollen; 3-for-4, 2B, 1 RBI, 2 runs
Nick Griffel; 3-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 run
Gavin Clark; 3-for-4, 1 run
Jeremy Spencer; 3-for-4, 1 run
On the Mound - Farmington
Jameson Bloch (L, 3-4); 5.0 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Brady Vincent; 1.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Matt Marquis; 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
On the Mound - Thomas
Ian Libby (W, 3-2); 7.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
UP NEXT
The Beavers will play host to SUNY Cobleskill this weekend for a four-game series. Saturday's first pitch is set for 12:00 PM.
