ORONO – America East newcomer Stony Brook, which only joined the Division I ranks three years ago, didn’t have any trouble dealing with postseason pressure Thursday night.

The fourth-seeded Seawolves roughed up University of Maine starter Mike Collar and piled up 17 hits in posting a dominating 16-4 victory in the first round of the America East Baseball Championship at Mahaney Diamond.

Coach Paul Kostacopoulos’ top-seeded Black Bears (36-15) move into today’s noon elimination game against No. 2 Vermont (27-21), a 5-1 loser Thursday to No. 3 Northeastern. America East Pitcher of the Year Mike MacDonald of Camden (6-2) gets the nod for UMaine.

The winner of that game plays at 7 p.m. against the victor of the 3:30 p.m. winners’ bracket contest between 28-20 Northeastern and 27-22 Stony Brook.

The Bears, who have lost their last three tourney openers, won’t dwell on the loss, no matter how disappointing.

“Obviously it’s demoralizing a little bit when you play with a lot of energy [and lose] in the first game of the playoffs at home,” said UMaine junior Alain Picard. “We’ve got to refocus and the most important thing is you’ve got to come positive to the field tomorrow, be ready to play.”

UMaine, playing on its home field in front of a partisan crowd of 790, fell behind early. Collar (8-3) struggled, allowing nine hits and nine runs in four-plus innings. He had allowed only two earned runs in his previous 28 innings.

Stony Brook hit Collar hard, snapping his school-record streak of complete games at eight and sending him to his earliest exit in 22 career starts.

“Our pitching struggled a little bit and they took advantage of it,” Picard said. “They pulled the ball, they went opposite field with it. They just played better baseball than we did.”

The Seawolves, who have beaten the Bears three straight times this season, scored six runs in the first four innings, then broke loose for six in the fifth to make it 12-0.

Stony Brook freshman Jon Lewis (9-3), the America East Rookie of the Year, limited the Bears to eight hits and four runs through eight innings.

Kostacopoulos credited the Seawolves with building on their early offensive success.

“They just went right for our jugular and they got a hold of it,” Kostacopoulos said. “They did a great job of making good contact, putting pressure on us. They got themselves to a point where they could really play their game, which was hit-and-run, that type of stuff.”

Rich Graham paced Stony Brook with a home run and three singles good for four RBIs. Ed Kull added a double, two singles and two RBIs, while three other players posted two hits apiece.

Brett Ouellette and Picard singled twice each to lead UMaine.

The Seawolves scored a run in each of the first two innings. Rob Sandora hit a two-out RBI single in the first and Andrew Larsen provided a sacrifice fly in the second.

Stony Brook kept the momentum going in the third, scoring two more runs. The first came home on an error and Sandora’s double plated the other.

The Bears threatened in the third, but ran into some tough luck. After Aaron Young reached on a one-out single and Aaron Izaryk walked, Picard’s hard bouncer to the right side appeared headed for right field, but hit Izaryk as he broke toward second.

Lewis induced a Mike Ross grounder for the third out.

Stony Brook pushed the lead to 6-0 with two more in the fourth off Collar. Graham’s two-run single was the big blow.

The Seawolves chased Collar in the fifth. It marked only the second time in his career Collar had allowed as many as seven runs.

R.J. Etzel’s two-run double and RBI singles by Graham and Kull were the key hits.

The Bears finally got on the scoreboard with two runs in the fifth. Aaron Young provided a sacrifice fly and Picard had a run-scoring fielder’s choice.

UMaine scored two more in the seventh, with Mike Ross and Joe Drapeau posting RBI hits.

In the early game, Northeastern’s Devin Monds made an impressive collegiate postseason debut. The freshman righthander fashioned a four-hitter, striking out nine.

Northeastern reached Vermont ace Brian Robinson of Cape Elizabeth (6-4) for three first-inning runs and Monds (5-2) made them stand up. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder featured a hard fastball, a slider and an occasional changeup, keeping the Catamounts off-balance all the way.

Monds encountered trouble only once, in the fourth inning, when Vermont put together a one-out single by Barry Chamberland, Jeff Tarigo’s double and a Raymond Montanez sacrifice fly. However, Monds caught Derek Root on a called third strike to avert further damage.

Omar Pena tripled and singled for the Huskies, who managed eight hits. Jeff Targio doubled and singled to lead Vermont.

Northeastern scored three times in the first off Robinson, who had beaten the Huskies 5-2 a week earlier.

Brad Czarnowski led off with a single and Luke Carlin drew a one-out walk. Ben Beck of South Portland doubled home the first run and, after a walk to Nick Graves, Miguel Paquette lined a two-run single to center.

Carlin rapped an RBI double in the fifth and Colin Gaynor stroked a pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh to account for NU’s other runs.

HUSKIES 5, CATAMOUNTS 1

Northeastern (28-20) Vermont (27-21)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Czarnowski, cf 4 1 1 0 Tewksbury, ss 3 0

Pena, ss 5 2 2 0 Carey, lf 2 0 0

Carlin, c 2 1 1 1 Barry, cf 4 0 0

Beck, 1b 3 1 1 1 Chamberland, 1b 4 1 0

Gaynor, 1b 2 0 1 1 Tarigo, c 4 0 0

Graves, 3b 3 0 0 0 Montanez, 2b 3 0 1

Paquette, dh 3 0 1 2 Root, rf 4 0 0

Ryan, lf 3 0 0 0 Ekelund, dh 2 0 0

Heriot, rf 1 0 0 0 Roberts, dh 1 0 0

Hagstrom, 2b 4 0 0 0 Clough, 3b 3 0 0

Steinberg, rf-lf 4 0 1 0

Totals 34 5 8 5 Totals 30 1 4 1

Northeastern 300 010 100 ? 5

Vermont 000 100 000 ? 1

E?Graves; Chamberland; DP?Pena-Hagstrom-Beck; Tewksbary-Montanez-Chamberland; 2B?Carlin, Beck, Steinberg, Tarigo; 3B?Pena; SF?Montanez

Northeastern IP H R ER BB SO

Monds (W,5-2) 9 4 1 1 4 9

Vermont IP H R ER BB SO

Robinson (L,6-4) 8 8 5 5 5 7

HBP?Czarnowski by Robinson; WP?Monds, Robinson; T? 2:52

SEAWOLVES 16, BLACK BEARS 4

Stony Brook (27-22) Maine (36-15)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Graham, 2b 5 4 4 4 Young, rf 4 0 1

Whitaker, lf 6 1 2 0 Izaryk, dh 4 0 0

Devins, ss 5 2 2 0 Picard, c 4 1 1

Sandora, 3b 2 1 2 2 Ross, lf 4 0 1

Theoharis, 3b 0 0 0 0 Drapeau, 3b 4 1

Lipschutz, rf 5 1 1 1 Ouellette, 2b 4 0

Blumberg, rf 1 0 0 0 Tobin, 1b 3 0 0

Kull, c 6 2 3 2 Carlton, 1b 1 0 0

Zielinski, dh 3 1 0 0 Reichley, ss 2 0

Mischo, dh 2 0 0 0 a-Reynolds 1 0 0

Larsen, cf 2 2 1 1 Ferriggi, ss 0 0 0

Taormina, cf 1 1 1 1 Livulpi, cf 4 2 0

Etzel, 1b 5 1 1 2

Totals 43 16 17 13 Totals 35 4 8 4

a-flied out for Reichley in eighth

Stony Brook 112 260 121 ? 16

Maine 000 020 200 ? 4

E?Graham (13), Devins (17), Sandora (10); Picard (1), Ouellette (10), Reichley (16); LOB?Stony Brook 9; Maine 8; 2B?Sandora, Kull, Etzel; Drapeau; HR?Graham (3), Taormina (2); DP?Reichley-Ouellette-Tobin; SF?Larsen; Young; SB?Lipschutz (11), Kull (3)

Stony Brook IP H R ER BB SO

Lewis (W,9-3) 8 8 4 1 2 4

Mischo 1 0 0 0 0 1

Maine IP H R ER BB SO

Collar (L,8-3) 4 9 9 8 1 3

Robinson 1 3 3 2 2 2

Labelle 2 3 1 1 1 0

Bruder 1 2 2 2 0 2

Smith 1 0 1 1 2 0

HBP?Zielinski by Collar; Graham by Labelle; WP?Lewis 2; Collar; T?3:13; ATT?790