The University of Maine baseball team will be back practicing inside the Mahaney Dome on Tuesday as it prepares to open its America East Conference season next weekend at Hartford.
Coach Steve Trimper’s Black Bears (9-12) capped off their annual Florida trip by winning three in a row and wound up 7-7 in the Sunshine State, winning four of their last five games.
“Being .500 on this trip is always a really important goal for us,” Trimper said. “We were able to do that, and we had the (No. 2-ranked) University of Florida games in there.”
One of the bright spots for UMaine was its bullpen on a pitching staff that continues to be a work-in-progress.The Black Bears have allowed 225 hits in 180⅓ innings and have a team earned run average of 5.44 this season.
Senior left-hander Scott Heath of Westbrook has been the most effective starter with a 3-1 record and a 4.50 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 30 innings. He averaged six innings per start.
Sophomore Jeff Gelinas of Saco (2-1, 4.57) has been solid, while freshman righty Justin Courtney of Bangor (0-4, 4.70) continues to make the jump to Division I and junior Jake Marks (0-3, 9.15) has struggled to establish himself.
UMaine has received excellent relief work from three upperclassmen, each of whom has made eight appearances.
Junior Charlie Butler (1-1, 2.81, 3 saves), senior Jacob Gosselin-Deschesnes (1-1, 3.44, .172 opponents batting average) and junior Logan Fullmer (0-0, 2.29) have made important contributions.
“What was outstanding, the best thing that happened to our team, was our bullpen,” Trimper said.
“Goose [Gosselin-Deschesnes], Charlie and Logan absolutely shined,” he added of a group that combined to post a 2.83 ERA with 41 strikeouts and 18 walks in 54 innings.
Trimper said the bullpen is key to this team’s potential, especially given UMaine’s lack of proven workhorse starting pitchers who can eat up a lot of innings.
Through 21 games Black Bears starting pitchers have averaged only 4.4 innings per start. Taking Heath out of the calculation, the number drops to 3.96 innings per game started.
“We were kind of untested on the mound, but I think our starting pitching is pretty good,” said Trimper, who expects continued improvement.
The Black Bears have posted a .287 team batting average and have scored 5.1 runs per game.
Leading the way among the regulars is senior third baseman Luke Morrill of South Thomaston, who is hitting .432 with a home run and 14 runs batted in. He leads the team with 32 hits.
Other top hitters include junior transfer second baseman Brett Chappell (.347, 1 HR, 19 RBI), junior shortstop Shane Bussey (.333, 12 RBI, 17 runs scored) and senior center fielder Sam Balzano of Portland (.330, 6 RBI, 16 runs).
Junior first baseman Brenden Geary (.452, 1 HR, 5 RBI) also has thrust himself into the mix, making eight starts.
“It’s nice when you see guys that are getting chances and taking advantage of their opportunities,” Trimper said of Geary.
“He’s really comfortable. He’s worked extremely hard. His attitude has been unbelievable,” he added.