LOWELL, Massachusetts — All season long, the University of Maine lacked the consistent offensive punch and pitching depth that might have made it a contender.
Those dynamics were in evidence as the Black Bears’ season came to an end on Friday afternoon.
Jake Cryts pitched 7⅓ strong innings and kept UMaine in check most of the way, leading Binghamton University to a 6-3 victory in the elimination bracket of the America East Baseball Championship at LeLacheur Park.
Coach Steve Trimper’s fourth-seeded Black Bears close out the season at 24-29. The third-seeded Bearcats (22-25) advance to Saturday’s 2 p.m. elimination game.
“It’s not fun having our season wrap up. There’s a lot of hard work that goes into it,” Trimper said.
“Unfortunately for us, we’re ending it and leaving behind some good seniors,” he added.
Cryts (5-5), a sophomore right-hander, scattered nine hits but did not have to negotiate much in the way of threats by UMaine. He mixed his fastball and slider, striking out two and walking one before giving way to Nick Liegi, who allowed one hit in 1⅔ innings.
Eddie Posavec paced Binghamton’s 14-hit attack with three singles and two RBIs and Shaun McGraw rapped an RBI single and a solo home run. Bill Bereszniewicz, Reed Gamache and David Schanz collected two singles apiece for the Bearcats, who scratched out seven infield singles.
It was a notable bounce back by Binghamton, which was two-hit by Hartford’s Sean Newcomb in Thursday’s opener.
“I’m proud of the way our kids came out and battled, competed,” said coach Tim Sinicki. “They knew their season was on the line and we’re happy with the result.”
UMaine junior left-hander Scott Heath of Westbrook (3-3) fought his way through 4⅔ innings, surrendering seven hits and three runs with four strikeouts and three walks. He gave up a couple of two-out hits.
“I didn’t have my best day,” Heath said. “Obviously, I left a few pitches up that cost me and didn’t make good pitches when I needed to and it cost us today.”
He departed with the Bears trailing 3-2, then Shaun Coughlin gave up seven hits and three runs (two earned) while finishing the contest.
Heath spearheaded the UMaine offense with an RBI triple, a double and a single. Troy Black contributed two singles with a pair of RBIs, while Brian Doran and Colin Gay added two singles each.
The Bears jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Gay flared a one-out single to left and scored on Heath’s high triple to the warning track in right field.
One out later, Black served an RBI single to center field.
“We started off and we thought we were going to have a good day at the plate, but then (Cryts) started to spot up his fastball and threw his offspeed for a strike,” Black said. “No matter how hard you throw, if you’re overpowering or not, that’ll make you tough to hit.”
Binghamton responded with a run in the bottom of the inning via a walk, a wild pitch, Bereszniewicz’s single through the middle and a two-out RBI single to left by McGraw.
The Bearcats grabbed the lead for good in the fourth. Gamache hit an infield single with one out, then Schanz lined a single to right-center. Heath walked John Howell to bring up No. 9 batter Posavec, who laced a two-run single to left.
“It was tough after the first couple runs they pushed across there in the first,” McGraw said. “We started playing some Binghamton baseball, scrapping together a few hits here and there, getting a call here or there, and we were able to score more runs than them.”
Binghamton scored single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth against Coughlin. An error helped open the door for Zach Blanden’s sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Four singles, two of the infield variety, produced the tally in the eighth, then McGraw drilled his home run.
Sinicki said Binghamton’s philosophy is, “if the ball’s put in play, hustle down the line and good things will usually happen. “We were fortunate today that a couple of those balls were well-placed.”
UMaine had limited quality scoring chances after the first inning. In fact, the Bears didn’t get another runner into scoring position until the seventh, after two were out.
Jonathan Salcedo walked and Luke Morrill of South Thomaston hit a hard single, but Sam Balzano of Portland grounded out to end the inning.
The only other uprising came in the eighth. Heath sliced a one-out double down the left-field line and scored when Black reached on an infield single to first base.