MAINE, Maine — It was a great day for Maine college baseball Thursday.
The day began with an 11 a.m. first pitch between the Univesity of Maine (UMaine) Black Bears and the Stony Brook University Seawolves in the first game of the America East playoffs.
The Seawolves earned the right to host the America East tournament this year based on its top-ranked regular-season record. The Black Bears were the last team to clinch a spot in the four-team field, winning two games last Saturday over Albany to make it in.
UMaine got up early and never trailed, beating No. 1 Stony Brook 4-2.
"Winning the first game in this style tournament, in any style tournament is huge in it of itself," UMaine Head Coach Nick Derba said in a virtual post-game press conference. "We played the cleanest game I think we played all year long which is probably my biggest takeaway [of the game],"
Eliot native Quinn McDaniel scored the game's first run after Ryan Turenne singled up the middle in the top of the first inning. The one-run lead gave ace pitcher and recently named conference Pitcher of the Year Nick Sinacola an early cushion.
It was a new test Thursday for Sinacola as the right-hander faced Stony Brook for the first time. He said the first time pitching through the lineup was a feeling out process and he thanked his teammates for their support around the diamond.
"Good defense helps, good catching helps it kind of keeps the pitch count down so definitely good help all around and I definitely needed that today for sure," he said.
Sinacola tossed for 11 strikeouts, gave up no runs, and allowed five hits over seven innings. Derba said Sinacola wasn't feeling well in the fourth inning and thought he was having issues due to the heat.
"[Sinacola] was throwing the ball well but you could tell he was not himself," Derba said.
Sinacola went out to pitch a few more innings despite feeling sick and said he could have returned in the eighth inning if Derba let him.
"I'm feeling better now, I got a shower and I ate a little bit," Sinacola added. "But really I knew we needed to go out pitch and get that first one under our belt I just wanted to give everything I had."
McDaniel got the Black Bears their second run with a solo home run in the fifth. Joe Bramanti tagged another solo homer in the sixth. Derba added the freshman McDaniel has been playing like the player they expected him to as of late.
"We have him in the lineup for a reason and he showed out today, he really did," Derba said.
The fourth-year Black Bear head coach said the offense hit the ball well despite two key players, Scout Knotts and Jeff Mejia, being kept out of the lineup due to injury. Mejia is out for the weekend and Knotts was available as a pinch-hitter Thursday and could be in the lineup as the designated hitter Friday afternoon according to Derba.
UMaine will now play the winner of Thursday afternoon's Albany and New Jersey Institute of Technology Friday at 2:30.
The University of Southern Maine (USM) Huskies and Husson University Eagles also took the diamond Thursday. Both teams are in the same NCAA Division III Regional bracket in Hartford, Conn. USM won 17-2 over Johnson & Wales and Husson is slated to play Oswego State.
Saco native Cam Seymour was one of five Huskies to tally three hits in the game. USM scored 11 runs in the second and third innings combined.
The Huskies will play the winner of the Husson and Oswego State game Friday afternoon.
