DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The University of Maine baseball team erupted for six runs in the first inning Thursday afternoon and got a good pitching performance from Greg Norton in a 14-4 win over Long Island University at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

The Braves sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning before making their first out.

“We did a good job of getting out front, scoring six runs, and Greg Norton pitched outstanding,” Maine coach Paul Kostacopoulos said.

Norton, a freshman from South Portland, scattered seven hits over four innings while striking out six and not allowing a walk.

“He was the star of the day,” Kostacopoulos said. “What he did well today was have command of his fast ball. He worked in his slider and change up. He throws upper 80s [mph], 90s, and he needs to have those three pitches.”

The Black Bears, now 5-2, had 17 hits. Including two doubles and a single from senior Joe Drapeau. Pat Tobin had two doubles with three RBIs, and Simon Williams had a double, single and scored three times. Jesse Carlton’s lone hit was a home run. Ryan Quintal had a pair of hits and Alain Picard also had two hits and drove in two runs.

The coach was happy to see his team hitting the ball.

“We haven’t hit as well as we’d like coming out of the gym, but I think it’s there. It’s just one of those things,” Kostacopoulos said.

The Black Bears have supported their pitchers well in the early going defensively. Maine has committed only four errors in seven games.

“And we’ve pitched well. Norton really pitched great today,” the coach said.

The Black Bears are back in action today at 6:05 p.m. Again the opponent is 1-3 Long Island.

The Blackbirds were led by first baseman Mike Thompson, who singled twice.

BLACK BEARS 14, BLACKBIRDS 4

(Thursday Afternoon)

Long Island (1-3) Maine (5-2)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Bell, lf 5 1 2 0 Livulpi, cf 1 1 0

Martino, dh 4 0 2 0 Quintal, lf 4 1 0

Echevarria, rf 4 1 1 1 Williams, lf-cf 4 0

Thompson, 1b 4 1 2 0 Saunders, cf 1 0 0

Farrison, cf 3 0 0 1 Picard, dh 4 1 2

Roach, c 3 0 0 0 Creek, dh-1b 1 1 0

Bennett, c 0 0 0 0 Ouellette, 2b 4 2 1

Brescia, 3b 4 0 1 1 Esaryk, 3b 4 1 1

Valvano, 2b 4 0 0 0 Reichley, 3b 1 1 1

Perez, ss 3 0 1 0 Carlton, 1b 2 2 2

Zapata, ss 1 1 0 0 Tobin, 1b-c 2 0 3

Young, rf 4 0 1 1

Hough, rf 1 0 0 0

Drapeau, c-dh 5 1 3 1

Gamble, ss 4 0 1 0

Totals 35 4 9 3 Totals 42 14 17 12

Long Island 000 000 040 ? 4

Maine 603 100 40x ? 14

E?Valvano, Perez; Ouellette; LOB?Long Island 7, Maine 10; 2B?Erescia, Williams; Tobin 2, Drapeau 2; HR?Carlton; S?Martino; SF?Farrison

Visitor IP H R ER BB SO

Sarrica (L) 1/3 5 6 5 2 0

Bunyan 5 2/3 6 4 4 1 5

Leahy 2 6 4 4 1 2

Home IP H R ER BB SO

Norton (W) 7 4 0 0 0 6

Rogers 2 5 4 3 0 2

HBP?by Sarrica (Carlton), by Bunyan (Williams); by Rogers (Roach); T?2:46; ATT?85

Husson 10, Arcadia 7

At Tampa, Fla., Craig Harvey smacked a three-run homer and Tony LaPrino doubled and knocked in four runs as the Braves prevailed.

Justin Spencer tallied two singles and two RBIs for the winners.

Justin Lumas went 4-for-6 with an RBI for Arcadia University.

Husson (4-4) 070 200 01 – 10 12 3

Arcadia (3-5) 010 021 12 – 7 14 0

York, McInnis (6), Fergerson (8) and Kane; Reonchuck, Fassi (2), Magliaro (5), Langdon (8) and Matranga

Softball

Black Bears split pair

At Osceola, Fla., Brittany Cheney and Molly McKinney had fifth inning RBI singles Thursday afternoon and the Black Bears defeated Tennessee-Martin 2-0 to earn a split for the day after having lost 6-5 to George Mason in the morning.

In the afternoon game, the Black Bears improved to 5-2 on their trip South. Jess Brady of Jackman had three hits foor Maine while Jenna Merchant tossed a complete game three-hitter and ran her record to 3-1.

In the morning game, George Mason scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning off Merchant who had come on in relief of starter Candace Jaegge in the fifth inning.

Cheney singled three times and drove in a run to lead the Black Bears. Amy Kuhl and Lauren Dulkiss had a hit and two RBIs apiece for Maine.

The Black Bears will take Friday off and will play Army at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday and will follow that with a game with Bucknell at 4:10.

Monks earn split

At Cape Coral, Fla., the St. Joseph’s College softball team split a pair of games, knocking off Defiance 3-1 in the opener before falling to Cornerstone 5-3 in the nightcap.

In the first game, Kristen Gaudette socked a triple and drove in two runs for the Monks, and Jessie Dennis had an RBI single.

In the second game, Heather Miles and Moe Moran each doubled and knocked in two runs to spark Cornerstone.

Courtney Sirois went 3-for-4 for St. Joe’s and plated a pair of runs, while Darcy Lee doubled and knocked in a run.

(First Game)

St. Joseph’s (2-5) 000 030 0 – 3 8 2

Defiance (0-9) 000 001 0 – 1 2 3

Dennis and Bain; Woodward, Harman (4), Bielawski (7) and Vandermose

(Second Game)

Cornerstone (6-3) 200 010 2 – 5 14 1

St. Joseph’s (2-6) 000 030 0 – 3 7 1

Paterson, Mauro (3) and Moran; Dowling and Bain