The University of Maine baseball team is set to close out the regular season with a three-game America East series against the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
The games will mark the final home games for eight outgoing seniors who have been instrumental in the Black Bears’ success during the last four years.
UMaine opens the series Friday with a 4 p.m. doubleheader at Mahaney Diamond in Orono, followed by Saturday’s 1 p.m. single game against the Retrievers. Friday’s action will conclude with a fireworks display, while Saturday’s contest will include “Seniors Day” pregame recognition.
The Bears’ senior contingent includes a trio of three-year starters and captains in shortstop Troy Black, second baseman Alex Calbick and center fielder Colin Gay. Co-captain and pitcher Tommy Lawrence, right-hander Shaun Coughlin, utility man Nick Bernardo, outfielder Kyle Silva and lefty Steve Trask of Saco also will suit up for the final time at home.
This year’s seniors go into the UMBC series having helped UMaine post a 120-108 overall record during the last four years. That includes an America East championship and a trip to the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional 2011 and the 2013 regular-season crown.
Black has been a fixture in the middle of the UMaine infield since his arrival. The two-time All-America East second-team pick boasts a .344 career average and has stolen 50 bases in his career.
Calbick has been a consistent producer in the Bears’ lineup for four seasons encompassing 213 games. The all-league second-team selection and all-rookie choice has posted 50 or more hits each year en route to 216 total. Calbick owns a .279 career batting mark.
Gay has patrolled center field while giving UMaine a steady performer at the plate. His 204 hits have helped him generate a .284 career batting average in 206 games.
Lawrence has made an impact since transferring to UMaine from Winthrop. He has compiled an 18-7 record, including a school-record 11 wins in 2013, when he was the America East Pitcher of the Year.
He goes into the weekend ranked seventh on the school’s single-season strikeouts list with 88.
Coughlin has been a solid contributor on the mound for the Black Bears. In 68 career appearances, he has a 13-12 record and six saves with a 3.45 earned run average in 234 2/3 innings.
Bernardo, who has played outfield and at first base, has come on strong during the second half of his senior campaign. He’s batting .300 with a homer and two RBIs, and he has a career .209 average.
Silva has played in 58 games, hitting .244 with four homers and 32 RBIs. Trask contributed as a relief pitcher during parts of the last three seasons, posting an 0-1 career record.
50th reunion set for UMaine’s 1964 CWS team
The final home series will also mark the 50th reunion of the 1964 University of Maine baseball team.
The 1964 team finished third in the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., where it defeated Seton Hall, Arizona State and Southern California before losing in the championship round to Missouri.
No team from the northeast has won three games at the CWS since that UMaine did so in 1964. UMaine players Dave Thompson of Belfast and Joe Ferris of Brewer were named to the All-CWS team and Ferris was voted the series most outstanding player.
The reunion will begin with a cocktail party at Ferris’ home in Brewer on Friday at 6 p.m., with a golf outing scheduled Saturday at Penobscot Valley Country Club as well as the UMaine baseball game against UMBC at Mahaney Diamond in Orono at 1 p.m.
The 1964 team will hold also hold a dinner at the Buchanan Alumni House at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and a breakfast is planned Sunday morning at the Holiday Inn in Bangor.