May 12, 2002

Box Score

ORONO, Maine - The first three games of the four-game America East baseball series between UMaine and Stony Brook offered outstanding some outstanding pitching performances by both teams.

For Sunday's game four, it was the hitting that took center stage as the Seawolves bested the Black Bears, 9-5, at Mahaney Diamond in Orono, Maine. The two teams combined to pound out 21 hits, nearly matching the 24 hits combined by Stony Brook and UMaine over the previous three games.

After the Black Bears (34-14, 14-6) scored one run in each of the first three innings to take a 3-0 lead, Stony Brook (25-21, 10-10) responded by plating two runs in the fourth and three in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead.

After RJ Etzel singled to open the fifth and Rich Graham reached on a error by Black Bear shortstop Mike Ferriggi, Dwayne Whitaker tripled to right-center field with the go-ahead runs. Whitaker was later singled home by Matt Devins.

Stony Brook's two runs in the fourth inning came off a two-run home run to right field by Rob Sandora.

UMaine trimmed the Stony Brook lead to 5-4 in the sixth inning, when Pat Tobin singled through the right side to score Matt Reynolds from second base.

Stony Brook put the Black Bears even further back by posting four runs in the top of the seventh, including a solo shot by Whitaker and a two-run double down the right field line by Andrew Zielinski.

The Black Bears tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh, with a lead-off single by Alain Picard and a double to right-center by Mike Ross. Jesse Carlton plated Picard with a single through the left side, and Brett Ouellette (Keene, N.H.) loaded up the bases with nobody out when he drew a walk from Stony Brook reliever Kevin Willi.

Willi got out of the jam when he struck out Reynolds and Pete Saunders (Orland, Maine), and got Aaron Young to line out to left field to end the game.

Stony Brook starter Anthony Stutz picked up the win to improve to 6-2; he allowed five runs, four earned, on 12 hits and a walk while striking out four Black Bears.

UMaine starter Scott Robinson yielded five runs, four earned, on four hits and two walks while fanning four Seawolves to take the loss, dropping his record to 3-1.

The Black Bears return to action on Friday, May 17, when they face Binghamton University in Binghamton, N.Y., in a 2 p.m. doubleheader.