GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Maine had an opportunity to take a step into school baseball history Tuesday night.

Instead, the Black Bears took a step backward.

UMaine committed five errors, including a dropped fly ball with two outs in the ninth inning, allowing the Florida Gators to escape with an 8-7 victory at McKethan Stadium.

Coach Paul Kostacopoulos’ Bears, seeking an unprecedented ninth straight win to open the season, instead slipped to 8-1.

The Bears had their chances, battling back from an early 4-1 deficit to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning. UMaine then erased one-run deficits in the eighth and ninth but couldn’t hold on.

Jon Hambelton paced UMaine with a solo home run and a triple, while Aaron Young of Augusta and Mike Ross each provided a home run, a single and two RBIs. Mike Livulpi and Joe Drapeau of Biddeford contributed two hits each in the Bears’ 13-hit attack.

Reliever Matt Truman of Otisfield was saddled with the loss, despite allowing only one earned run in 2? innings of relief. The Bears made four errors behind him.

Brian Rose paced Florida with a double, two singles and a sacrifice fly good for five RBIs. The Gators also collected 13 hits.

UMaine starter Rusty Tucker spread out nine hits and allowed four earned runs in his six-inning stint. He struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.

The Bears were one out away from sending the game into extra innings, despite having allowed leadoff pinch hitter Aaron Sobieraj to reach base on a fielding error by second baseman Quin Peel.

Sobieraj then reached third on a sacrifice bunt when the Bears failed to cover third base on the play. Truman induced a foul popup for the second out, then walked Pat Osborn intentionally to pitch to Kevin Estrada.

Estrada also popped a ball foul of the third-base line, but catcher Alain Picard and third baseman Drapeau failed to communicate and let the ball drop. Estrada then followed with a pop fly to shallow center field that glanced off the glove of center fielder Livulpi, allowing the winning run to score.

UMaine had led 5-4 in the sixth when sophomore Young lined an opposite-field two-run home run to left field after two were out. However, Florida tied it in the sixth.

Osborn singled with one out, then reached second despite being picked off by Rusty Tucker when first baseman Jesse Carlton’s throw to second base was in the dirt. Osborn scored on a two-out single to right by Rose.

The Gators went ahead in the seventh. Mark Kiger doubled to center with one out, took third on a groundout and scored when Ross dropped Matt Goss’ routine fly ball to left field.

The Bears battled back in the eighth on Hambelton’s line-drive solo homer to center field, but Florida regained the lead in the eighth. Estrada beat out an infield hit, stole second and score on Rose’s run-and-hit single to left.

UMaine countered once more in the ninth. Matt Reynolds delivered a pinch-hit single to left, then pinch runner Keith Genest moved up on a third-strike wild pitch. He scored when Drapeau’s hot shot was mishandled by third baseman for an error.

Gators 8, Black Bears 7

Maine (8-1) Florida (12-13)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Livulpi, cf 5 0 2 1 Davidson, dh 5 0 0

Ross, lf 4 1 2 2 Riegel, lf 5 0 0

Drapeau, 3b 5 0 1 0 Kiger, 2b 5 1 0

Hambelton, dh 5 1 2 1 Shealy, 1b 4 0

Carlton, 1b 2 0 1 0 Sobieraj, 1b 1 1 0

a-Williams 0 0 0 0 Goss, cf 4 0 0

Tobin, 1b 0 0 0 0 Harrison, rf 4 0 0

Picard, c 3 0 0 0 b-Klebonis 1 0 0

Peel, 2b 3 2 1 0 Osborn, 3b 4 3 0

Young, rf 3 2 2 2 Estrada, ss 5 3 1

c-Reynolds 1 0 1 0 Rose, c 3 0 3 5

d-Genest, rf 0 1 0 0

Reichley, ss 3 0 0 0

Totals 34 7 12 6 Totals 31 8 13 6

Maine 001 022 011 7

Florida 020 201 111 8

E?Livulpi, Ross, Drapeau, Picard, Peel; Osborn

LOB?Maine 6, Florida 10

D?Ross; Kiger

T?Hambelton

HR?Ross (3), Hambelton (3), Young (1)

DP?Florida 2

S?Picard, Reichley; Goss

SF?Rose

SB?Siegell, Goss, Osborn 2, Estrada 2

Maine IP R ER H BB SO

Tucker 6.0 5 4 7 0 5

Truman (L,0-2) 2.2 3 1 4 1 2

Florida IP R ER H BB SO

Simon 7.0 5 3 9 2 4

Birch 0.1 1 1 2 0 0

Belflower 0.2 0 0 0 0 0

Ramsey (W,2-2) 1.0 1 0 1 1 2

HBP?Peel by Simon

WP?Tucker 2; Ramsey

T?3:05

Attendance: 709

Softball

Florida sweeps Maine

At Gainesville, Fla., Renise Landry one-hit the Black Bears in the nightcap for a 7-0 Florida victory and sweep of the twinbill.

Florida won the first game 4-1.

Landry struck out nine Bears and allowed only a single to Amanda Stevens.

In the first game, Florida scored three runs in the third inning as it tied a school record with three doubles in an inning for the victory.

Sara Asadoorian paced the Bears with two singles and an RBI.

Maine 000 001 0 – 1 3 0

Florida 003 010 x – 4 8 1

Green, Yuhas (6) and Stevens; Michael and Berger

Maine (4-16) 000 000 0 – 0 1 2

Florida (22-8) 022 003 x – 7 9 1

Jaegge and Bein; Landry and Marino

Men’s basketball

Purdue 79, Auburn 61

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Maynard Lewis scored 16 points and Purdue made eight 3-pointers in a 79-61 victory over Auburn in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday night.