Freshman catcher Ryan Turenne and senior third baseman Danny Casals each belted two-run homers, and junior lefty Trevor DeLaite picked up his fourth save as the University of Maine’s baseball team built a pair of six-run leads and hung on for an 8-7 nonconference victory over Dartmouth College at Biondi Park in Hanover, New Hampshire, on Wednesday.
UMaine (11-26) jumped out to a 6-0 lead and led 8-2 before surviving a four-run eighth-inning rally by the Big Green (14-24) that pulled the hosts within one.
Bangor’s DeLaite came on and got the first two outs in the ninth before Matt Feinstein tripled. But DeLaite got Justin Murray on a called third strike to end the game.
UMaine took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an infield error and Casals’ sixth homer of the season, a shot to left field.
UMaine added four more in the third on singles by Cody Pasic and Casals, Joe Bramanti’s sacrifice fly, a wild pitch, Caleb Kerbs’ RBI single and Turenne’s homer to right, his second of the season.
Dartmouth got two back in the bottom of the third on two walks, two passed balls and an RBI single by Nate Ostmo.
But the Black Bears restored the six-run bulge in the fourth on a Jeffrey Omohundro base hit, Hernen Sardinas’ run-scoring double and Bramanti’s two-out RBI single.
Blake Crossing’s run-scoring fielder’s choice made it 8-3 in the sixth before the Big Green scored four unearned runs in the eighth on two walks, a wild pitch, a catcher’s interference call, Crossing’s RBI single and Trevor Johnson’s bases-loaded triple.
Jacob Small came on in relief of Matt Pushard and induced Michael Calamari to ground out to first to end the inning and strand the tying run on third.
Turenne had a pair of singles to go with his homer for UMaine, and Casals had a single to go with his homer. Turenne, Casals and Bramanti each drove in a pair of runs.
Feinstein had a single to accompany his triple, and Crossing had two singles for the Big Green, who are coached by former UMaine player and assistant coach Bobby Whalen. Whalen is in his 30th year as the head coach at Dartmouth.
UMaine, 7-7 in America East, will return to conference play when it hosts league leader Stony Brook (13-5 AE, 24-16 overall entering a Wednesday night game at Manhattan) for a doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday. Both begin at noon.