ORONO – Baseball excitement appears to have returned in earnest to Mahaney Diamond.

The University of Maine is in the home stretch of its most successful season in eight years on its way to challenging for the America East championship. Coach Paul Kostacopoulos’ 33-12 Black Bears are 17-7 in conference play and will earn no lower than the No. 3 seed for next week’s America East tournament at Wilmington, Del.

This year’s UMaine team is doing what recent teams have been unable to do – get clutch hits, make timely pitches, and execute defensive plays to win close games.

In posting their best record since 1993, the Bears have often found ways to win. The vocal weekend crowds averaging 473 fans seemed appreciative of the team’s play.

“That’s the difference in our season right now. When we have to make plays to win the games, we’re making the plays – most of the time,” Kostacopoulos said after UMaine took three of four from Vermont while clinching a postseason berth for the third time in the last five seasons.

The Bears haven’t overwhelmed league opponents, but their superb starting pitching (3.81 earned run average) and timely hitting have helped them pick up the slack for steady but unspectacular fielding.

UMaine’s 24 league games have been decided by an average of 3.2 runs. The Bears’ winning margin is 3.6 runs, while they’ve lost by an average of only 2.3 runs.

“We’re just making one more play than the other team right now,” Kostacopoulos said. “That’s how you win.”

The Bears have won despite failing to hit the ball consistently in recent weeks. Still, UMaine has won 13 of its last 16 contests.

“We didn’t have a great [offensive] weekend against Towson, but from that point on, we’ve been winning and we haven’t been doing it the ‘Maine way,’ which is usually trying to get 10 runs,” Kostacopoulos quipped. “We’ve been playing 4-3, 3-2, 2-0, 2-1 ballgames, and that’s a good sign.”

While the bats may have cooled off somewhat (UMaine is hitting .319), seniors Jon Hambelton and Quin Peel continue to produce.

Hambelton, a first baseman who is playing with torn cartilage in his knee, leads the Bears and America East with a .412 batting average. He is tied for the league lead with 11 home runs and has knocked in 40 runs. He also has 17 doubles.

Despite missing 11 games with finger injuries, second baseman Peel has maintained a .402 mark to rank second in the conference.

Joe Drapeau of Biddeford and Mike Livulpi rank Nos. 11 and 12 in the league at .343 and .338, respectively. Drapeau boasts 11 homers and 49 RBIs while Livulpi has hit 16 doubles.

Livulpi on Sunday snapped an 0-for-16 slump with an RBI triple.

UMaine’s starting pitchers continue to shine. Junior Rusty Tucker (7-1), who was third in the nation in earned run average last week, lowered it to 1.09 in shutting out Vermont on Saturday. It was his third shutout of the season and his sixth consecutive complete game. Tucker has not allowed an earned run in his last 22 2/3 innings.

Freshman Mike Collar of Scarborough remained unbeaten at 7-0, trimming his ERA to 2.83 Sunday with his second career shutout.

“Our pitchers, we kind of rise to the occasion,” said Collar, who is only the second UMaine freshman to win seven games. “We like to be challenged. We just love to compete.”

Scott Morse won 10 games for the Bears as a rookie in 1984.

Senior Simon Stoner (6-2, 3.96) and frosh Mike MacDonald of Camden (4-2, 4.17) have been outstanding in a rotation that has allowed only 65 extra-base hits (20 homers) among 335 total hits. In contrast, UMaine has 164 extra-base hits among its 330 base hits.

Injuries continue to limit Kostacopoulos’ lineup options. Freshman outfielder Simon Williams of Portland returned to the lineup for two weekend games, shaking off the effects of a thigh bruise and a strained hamstring.

Junior Mike Ross also played one game coming off a wrist injury, then lined pinch-hit double in the seventh inning of Sunday’s second game. Drapeau is dealing with a nagging back injury, but played all four games.

Alain Picard is limited to the DH role because of a bad elbow, while Jesse Carlton is still out with a hamstring pull.

“We’ve just got to work through [the injuries],” Kostacopoulos said. “I’d be a little more concerned if we were playing [in the tournament this] Thursday.”