College baseball

MAINE vs. BINGHAMTON

Time, site: Saturday (2), 11 a.m.; Sunday (2), noon; Mahaney Diamond, Orono

Records: Maine 23-10 (6-2 America East); Binghamton 6-24-1 (0-8)

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 2-0; Maine 10-0, 3-0 on 5/17/02

Top hitters – Maine: C Aaron Izaryk (.353, 2 HR, 31 RBI), 2B Brett Ouellette (.345, 6 HR, 31 RBI), DH Alain Picard (.306, 3 HR, 35 RBI), 3B Joe Drapeau (.304, 6 HR, 19 RBI), 1B Jesse Carlton (.299, 3 HR, 17 RBI), CF Mike Livulpi (.290, 3 HR, 10 RBI); Binghamton: LF Joe Costello (.367, 4 HR, 27 RBI), 3B Jay Balback (.302, 6 HR, 15 RBI), RF Tony Berube (.296, 1 HR, 14 RBI), CF T.J. Kowalchuk (.293, 4 HR, 31 RBI)

Possible Pitching Matchups

Maine Black Bears Binghamton Bearcats

ERA W-L Ks ERA W-L Ks

RH Mike MacDonald 3.56 4-3 52 RH Jacob Thiel 7.92 1-5 23

RH Mike Collar 3.17 5-2 60 LH Mike Weglinski 7.94 1-4 21

RH Greg Norton 3.51 4-0 36 RH J.D. Brink 8.48 1-5 22

RH Greg Creek 3.49 4-0 26 RH Mark Messina 11.16 2-4 24

Outlook: Weather-permitting, the Bears might have an opportunity to significantly improve their postseason prospects. UMaine has won four in a row after dropping three straight. The Bearcats have lost four in a row and 13 of 14. Binghamton came into the week with a .245 batting average and an 8.62 team earned run average, both of which rank last in the league. UMaine’s 3.94 ERA ranks second in AE and its .288 BA is fourth. The Bears rank sixth in the nation with a .976 fielding percentage.