USM cruises to 24-1 win vs. Chargers

GORHAM – Sophomore righthander Travis Ferrante notched his first win of the season by pitching a three-hitter and the University of Southern Maine scored a season-high 24 runs to knock off the Colby-Sawyer Chargers 24-1 in college baseball action here Friday.

The Huskies batted around in the second, third and fifth innings as Tyler Delorme, Brian Marshall, and Greg Stacy of Denmark each had three hits. Delorme also drove in three runs, as did Colin Loveless of South Paris and Chris Waymon, who belted a three-run homer.

Rian McCarthy’s RBI double in the seventh drove in the lone run against Ferrante.

Colby-Sawyer (3-13) 000 000 1 – 1 3 5

Southern Maine (11-7) 067 290 x – 24 18 1

Weigler, Hay (3), Gould (3), Mulhane (5) and Shoreman, Carignan (4); Ferrante and L’Italien, Melanson (6)

Colby 7, Bowdoin 5

At Waterville, the Colby College Mules used their Cony High School connection as four former Rams figured prominently in the win over rival Bowdoin of Brunswick.

Brandon Royce notched the win with a complete-game effort, striking out two and yielding four earned runs. Other Cony grads who contributed were B.L. Lippert and Kevin Brunelle, who each drove in a run. Brunelle, Royce and Jared Cushman all stole a base.

The game-winning hit came from Auburn’s Matt Simard, who belted a two-run double down the right field line with the bases loaded in the sixth inning. Jon Lord drove in three runs for Colby.

Kevin Bougie and Tom McMahon each hit solo home runs for the Polar Bears.

Bowdoin (7-9) 100 110 200 – 5 8 6

Colby (5-5) 000 043 00x – 7 8 4

CWS to adopt best-of-3 title format

The College World Series is about to become a bit tougher to win.

The NCAA is expected to announce next week a change in the format of the Division I baseball championship, starting next season, from a one-game final to a best-of-3 series.

“Potentially, it’s going to increase attendance, revenue and exposure,” said Dennis Poppe, the NCAA’s senior director for football and baseball. “It’s a good move for baseball.”

The idea of creating a series within the College World Series has been discussed by coaches for a few years, and the proposal received overwhelming support at the American Baseball Coaches Association convention in January. The NCAA Championships-Competition Cabinet approved it in February, and sent it to the Management Council for final approval.

“Something could fall through at the last minute, but I just can’t see that happening,” said Poppe, who was in Omaha, Neb., the site of the CWS since 1950, on Monday for the College World Series Leadoff Luncheon.

“I think that’s an outstanding situation, and every coach would be in favor of it because you feel like if you can’t beat somebody two out of three, then they’re better than you,” Notre Dame coach Paul Mainieri said. “And they deserve the national championship then.”

The CWS featured an eight-team, double-elimination format until the NCAA altered that in 1988 to get the championship game on a set date for national TV coverage.

CBS has broadcast two games, including the championship, since 1988. But the network’s contract with the NCAA expires at the end of this year, and ESPN will televise the entire tournament exclusively beginning next year.