Maine scores five in ninth to down Bryant, 11-8, on Saturday

ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine scored five times in the bottom of the ninth to earn an 11-8 victory over the Bryant University baseball team on Saturday afternoon at Mahaney Diamond.

With the loss, the Bulldogs finish the regular season at 26-23 overall and 12-12 in America East play. Bryant finished tied for third with Binghamton but will be the No. 4 seed in the 2023 America East Baseball Championships due to tiebreakers. The tournament is scheduled for May 24-27 at Bearcats Baseball Complex in Vestal, N.Y.

Derek Smith and Matt Smith each picked up a pair of hits and a pair of RBI for the Black and Gold.

Game Information
Maine 11, Bryant 8
Records: Bryant 26-23, 12-12 | Maine 29-19, 19-5
Location: Mahaney Diamond (Orono, Maine)
W|L|S: Baeyens | Stansky

Key Moments

• The Black Bears scored five times in the ninth, getting a walk-off grand slam from Ryan Turenne.

How it Happened

• Maine grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second on a home run from Nick White.
• Bryant kept the deficit at one with a great relay in the third. Jake Rainess doubled into the left field corner with a runner on first but Matt Smith hit his relay man Justin Hackett and Hackett fired a strike to Jackson Phinney to get the runner at home. M.T. Morrissey then retired the 2-3 hitters in Maine's lineup with a strikeout and a foul out.
• Bryant grabbed its first lead of the afternoon with a three-run fourth. Zac Zyons and Jake Gustin were both hit by a pitch to start the inning and both scored on a double to right center from Derek Smith. Matt Smith then clubbed a double to right to make it 3-1.
• The Black Bears got a run back in the fourth with a two-out RBI double. Maine then took the lead in the fifth on a two-run home run from Quinn McDaniel.
• Trailing 4-3, Bryant scored two in the sixth and three in the seventh to take an 8-4 lead. In the sixth, Matt Smith ripped one past the first baseman and into the right field corner for an RBI triple, scoring Carmine Petosa all the way from first. Phinney made it 5-4 with a sharp RBI single to left on an 0-2 pitch.
• Bryant extended its lead in the seventh thanks to a pair of run-scoring doubles. Gavin Noriega plated two with a deep drive to center that sent the center fielder crashing into the wall. John Hosmer then scored Noriega with a double to left, making it 8-4.
• The Black Bears would score once in the seventh, once in the eighth and five times in the ninth to erase the deficit. An error to start the seventh led to an unearned run. In the eighth, a double to left made it 8-6 but Toby Scheidt struck out back-to-back batters to end the inning.
• In the ninth, McDaniel hit his second home run of the game to start the inning, making it 8-7. The next batter nearly tied the game but the drive to right hit the wall. Zyons alertly threw it in to second to get the runner. With one out, a slow roller to third was thrown low at first and a collision jarred the ball free. A double just past the first baseman put runners on 2^nd and 3^rd and an intentional walk loaded the bases. Turenne then hit a 3-2 pitch over the right field wall for a grand slam.

Inside the Box Score

• Ken Turner started and allowed one run on two hits over 2.0 innings. He didn't walk a batter and struck out two.
• M.T. Morrissey allowed one run on three hits over 1.2 innings. He walked two and struck out two.
• Kaden Hilburger allowed two runs on three hits over 2.1 innings of relief. He didn't issue a walk and struck out two.
• Ryan Bradley tossed 1.1 innings of relief, allowing two runs (one earned) on no hits. He walked one and struck out three.
• Scheidt allowed two runs on three hits and struck out two in an inning of relief.
• Derek Smith posted two hits, including a two-run double.
• Petosa picked up a hit and scored twice.
• Matt Smith doubled, tripled, drove in two, scored twice and stole two bases.
• Noriega drove in two with a double.
• Hosmer and Phinney each finished with an RBI.

Game Notes

• Maine now leads the all-time series, 4-3. The Black Bears swept the Bulldogs this weekend.
• Bryant ended the regular season in a tie with Binghamton for third. Due to a tiebreaker, the Bulldogs will be the No. 4 seed in the America East Championships.
• Derek Smith picked up his 15^th double of the year and now has 44 RBI on the year.
• Matt Smith collected his first double and triple of the season.
• Jake Gustin picked up hit No. 242 and now has scored 183 runs in his career, five shy of tying the DI program record.
• Hosmer drove in a run in all three games of the series. He collected a pair of doubles in the three games.
• Hilburger recorded the longest outing of his career, tossing 2.1 innings.  

Up Next
Bryant will face No. 5 seed UMass Lowell in the first of two single-elimination play-in games on Wednesday, May 24 in Vestal, N.Y. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.