The University of Maine baseball team gave itself a nice boost of confidence heading into its Florida swing by virtue of Saturday’s 5-3 victory over 11th-ranked North Carolina.
Freshman righthanders Jeff Gibbs and Steve Perakslis combined to limit the Tar Heels to five hits and give the Black Bears their first victory of the season.
“It was a really good win for the program, probably the highest-ranked team Maine has beaten in a long time,” said UMaine coach Steve Trimper, who had challenged his players prior to the game after a lopsided, 11-1 loss on Friday.
Gibbs, a starter, is 1-0 with a 2.45 earned run average and 13 strikeouts in 11 innings. Opponents are batting .214 against him. Perakslis, who has been used in relief, is 0-0 with one saves and boasts a team-best 1.08 ERA in 8 1/3 innings.
“Obviously, we got awesome pitching with the two freshmen in Perakslis and Gibbs,” said UMaine coach Steve Trimper.
The Black Bears (1-5) hope to break out of their early offensive doldrums in Florida. UMaine is batting only .213 as a team going into today’s game against Valparaiso at Winter Haven, Fla.
The catalysts thus far include sophomore third baseman Kyle Stilphen of Pittston (.318), junior first baseman-outfielder Joey Martin of Portland (.280) and sophomore left fielder Ian Leisenheimer (.240, 1 HR, 3 RBI).
Stilphen went 5-for-11 in the three games at North Carolina.
“I’m not too concerned,” Trimper said. “We’re seeing as good pitching as we’re going to see. We’ll hit.”
Three starters, senior Myckie Lugbauer (.120) and freshmen Michael Fransoso (.160) and Tyler Patzalek (.136), have struggled.
UMaine will try to establish some consistency on the mound during the next two weeks after an up-and-down start. Black Bear pitchers have a 5.34 ERA and have issued 35 walks, 10 hit batsmen, 13 wild pitches and three balks in only 57¤ innings of work.
“We want the pitchers to pound the strike zone and get ahead a little bit more,” Trimper said.
One of the early surprises on the mound has been senior Justin Latta. The righthander, who was converted to a “submarine” delivery during the offseason, has allowed only two hits and one run with five strikeouts in five innings over four appearances.
He has a 1.80 ERA.
“He’s been doing a heck of a job,” Trimper said. “I think he’s going to be real valuable for us, a kid that can come in and throw strikes and get outs and who can throw every day for you.”
Conner wins academic honor
Corey Conner of the University of Maine has been named an Academic All-American by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association.
The sophomore from Townsend, Mass., won the America East women’s cross country individual championship last fall, helping the Black Bears claim a runner-up finish. Conner then finished ninth among 243 runners at the NCAA Northeast Regional and qualified for the NCAA Championships, where she came in 83rd.
To be honored by the USTFCCCA, student-athletes must carry a minimum 3.25 grade point average and finish in the top 15 overall, or top 10 percent, in an NCAA Regional.
Conner, a member of the 2009 America East Cross Country All-Academic Team, is a two-time UMaine Scholar-Athlete and has been named to the America East Commissioner’s Honor roll four times.