Game One Score: UAlbany 19, Maine 3
Game Two Score: Maine 16, UAlbany 1
Location: Varsity Field in Albany, N.Y.
Records: UAlbany (18-20, 8-9 AE); Maine (9-25, 7-6 AE)
Short Story: UAlbany baseball splits a lopsided and high-scoring doubleheader with visiting Maine on Saturday in which Dominic Savino earns his first victory of the season.
Coach Mueller: “Today we had two very lopsided games, but we are positioned for a series win once again tomorrow.”
Game One
- Nick Kondo hit 1-5 and scored three runs
- Travis Collins hit 3-4 with a double, three RBIs, and three runs scored
- Kevin Donati hit 1-3 with a home run, two RBIs, and three runs scored
- Matt Codispot hit 1-4 with three RBIs and two runs cored
- Brad Malm hit 3-4 with two doubles, four RBIs and two runs scored
- Dolan Ocasal hit 2-5 with a double, two RBIs and one run scored
- Dominic Savino pitched 6.2 innings, allowing three runs on three hits with seven strikeouts
- UAlbany hit 11-24 with runners on base, and 10-19 with runners in scoring position
- The 19 runs are the most UAlbany has scored in a game since scoring 21 on May 3, 2016 at Manhattan
Game Two
- Brad Malm hit 1-2 with a walk and one RBI
- Patrick Lagravinese hit 2-3 with a triple and a run scored
- Travis Collins hit 2-2 with a walk
- UAlbany stranded eight baserunners
- Maine scored 15 runs in the final three innings
- Maine hit seven doubles in the second game
Recap
Battling the elements on a blustery day at Varstiy field, the University at Albany baseball team split an America East doubleheader with rival Maine on Saturday, partaking in two wildly lopsided affairs, winning 19-3 in game one before falling 16-1 in game two.
In the first game, Maine got on the board first, scoring once in the top of the first inning. UAlbany responded by tying the game in the bottom of the inning. Nick Kondo led off with a single up the middle and advanced to second when Travis Collins drew a walk. Kevin Donati next laid down a sacrifice bunt, advancing both baserunners. The next batter, Marc Wangenstein, drew a walk, on which Kondo was able to score due to a wild pitch on ball four.
A scoreless second inning led to a breakout bottom of the third when the Great Danes put eight runs on the board. Collins, Donati, and Wangenstein each drew consecutive walks to load the bases with no outs, setting up Matt Codispoti to single through the left side and drive in Collins and Donati. Patrick Lagravinese next laid down a sacrifice but to advance both runners, each of whom scored when Brad Malm hit a bases-clearing double to left.
A pitching change for Maine preceded a second-consecutive double, this time from Dolan Ocasal, which drove in Malm. After Kenny Hayden hit an infield single that advanced Ocasal to third, the two players pulled off a double-steal, with Hayden taking second and Ocasal scoring on the play. Kondo came up next and drew a walk on a full count, before Collins, batting for the second time in the inning, doubled down the right field line to score Hayden and Kondo and give UAlbany a 9-1 lead.
Neither team scored over the next two-and-a-half innings, before UAlbany opened the floodgates again to the tune of nine runs in the bottom of the sixth. Collins led off the inning with a single, and advanced to second when Donati was hit by a pitch. Wangenstein singled through the left side to load the bases with no outs. Codispoti made contact and reached safely on an error by Maine's third baseman, scoring Collins and leaving the bases loaded.
Lagravinese next hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Donati. Malm came up and singled through the left side, scoring Wangenstein. Next, Ocasal singled to right, scoring Codispoti. Hayden came up to bat and reached safely on a fielder's choice that saw Ocasal thrown out a second. Kondo reached on an error by Maine's second baseman, scoring Malm. Collins, up for the second time in an inning for the second time, singled to center, driving in Hayden. Finally, Donati hit a three-run home run to put UAlbany up 18-1 before Wangenstein ended the inning by grounding out to short.
Maine scored twice in the top of the seventh to bring the game within 18-3, before UAlbany added one run in the bottom of the inning. Lagravinese hit a one-out single to right, and scored when Malm doubled to left.
UAlbany's defense held off any additional scoring opportunities for Maine, and the Great Danes clinched the first game 19-3. UAlbany starter Dominic Savino earned his first win of the season, improving to 4-1 after pitching 6.2 innings, allowing three runs, and striking out seven. UAlbany hadn't scored 19 runs in a single game since defeating Manhattan on the road 21-9 in 2016. The Great Danes also snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Black Bears, having lost all seven meetings in 2018.
The second game was held scoreless through the first three innings, before both teams broke through with one run in the fourth. Maine scored on a groundout to short with runners on second and third, and UAlbany tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Malm hit a one-out single to right after Lagravinese had tripled to right-center.
Maine responded to UAlbany tying the game at one by scoring six runs in the top of the fifth inning on a three-run home run, a two-run double, and an RBI single, all with one out. The Black Bears continued to pour on the runs, scoring five in the top of the sixth and four in the top of the seventh to clinch a 16-1 victory and doubleheader split.
Despite putting runners on third base in each of the first two innings, UAlbany was unable to capitalize on their opportunities. The Great Danes loaded the bases with one out in the fifth in response to Maine's first big inning but recorded outs in the next two at bats to end the inning.
Starter John Clayton lasted 4.1 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Lagravinese hit his league-leading sixth triple of the season and scored the Danes lone run in the second game. Maine batters combined to hit seven doubles in game two behind a 5.0 inning, one-run, seven-hit outing from their top pitcher Cody Laweryson.
Next: UAlbany hosts the series finale against Maine on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., after which the Great Danes will have played half of the games in the season-long 10-game home stand.
