Picard hit helps UM top CCSU Bears split twinbill

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ORONO – Few Division I baseball teams are willing to travel to Mahaney Diamond for midweek games against the University of Maine.

Central Connecticut demonstrated Wednesday why it is an exception to the rule.

Alain Picard punched an opposite-field single to left field, scoring Mike Livulpi with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning of the second game as UMaine eked out a 4-3 victory and a split of Wednesday afternoon’s non-league baseball doubleheader.

The 26-15-2 Blue Devils cruised to an 8-1 win in the opener behind a 15-hit attack and a strong outing by lefthander Jake Ruder.

Coach Paul Kostacopoulos’ Black Bears are 32-13 heading into an America East weekend series at Stony Brook.

Kostacopoulos squared off Wednesday against childhood friend, high school teammate and former assistant coach Charlie Hickey, whose Blue Devils presented a much tougher challenge than most of UMaine’s midweek foes.

“For them to come up here and play in the middle of the week, it’s a great thing,” Kostacopoulos said, adding the men’s longtime friendship is a key reason CCSU is willing to play at UMaine. “I’ve got a lot of respect for what they do.”

What they did was push the Bears to the limit.

In Game 2, UMaine finally banged out some clutch hits. In the seventh, Livulpi lined a single to center field, his fourth hit of the game, with one out.

Aaron Izaryk reached on a bad-hop single past the shortstop, then Picard took an 0-2 pitch down the left-field line.

Livulpi scored as left fielder Nick Mullins fell down on the sloppy turf while making the throw to the plate.

“With a guy on second base, especially in a close game like that, I just try to drive the ball up the middle,” Picard said. “I lucked out. I got the guy in.”

Junior Mike MacDonald of Camden (6-4), doing his “bullpen” work between starts, pitched two scoreless innings. He finished up after Adam Labelle and Greg Creek held CCSU to seven hits.

“I think I only threw 19 [pitches] in the game. I got my quota in for the day. I was pretty happy,” said MacDonald, who chatted with a Houston Astros scout after the game.

The Devils took a 2-0 lead in the second on Rob Hosgood’s RBI single and a run-scoring, double-play grounder. The Bears countered with three in the same inning, keyed by Livulpi’s two-run single to center.

“They can play and they’ve showed that to us for three years,” Livulpi said. “That second game was do or die.”

CCSU tied it in the fourth when Phil Rothkugel lined a solo home run off Creek.

Ouellette and Pat Tobin singled twice each for UMaine. Nick Macellaro stroked three singles for the Blue Devils.

In Game 1, Ruder spaced nine hits as the Bears went 1-for-9 with men in scoring position. CCSU feasted on UMaine freshmen Troy Martin and Jamie Grattelo, who allowed 15 (14 singles) and eight runs.

“They’re the best hitting team, up north, that we’ve faced,” Kostacopoulos said of CCSU (.334 batting average).

Tim D’Aquila was 4-for-4 with four runs scored and Rothkugel plated three runs with a double and three singles.

Williams paced UMaine with two hits, including an RBI double in the seventh. Steve Gambale singled twice.

“Even though [Ruder] wasn’t overpowering, he pitched us smart,” Picard said. “We were trying to pull the ball and he kept throwing away to us.”

BLUE DEVILS 8, MAINE 1

(First Game)

Cent. Conn. State Maine

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Muldoon, cf 4 0 0 0 Livulpi, cf 4 0 0

Stegbauer, 2b 3 2 2 0 Williams, rf 4 1

D’Aquila, c 4 4 4 1 Drapeau, 3b 4 0 0

Rothkugel, 1b 4 1 4 3 Ouellette, 2b 3 0

Hosgood, rf 4 0 2 1 Izaryk, c 3 0 0

Macellaro, 3b 4 1 2 1 Houser, lf 2 0

Mullins, dh 3 0 0 1 Picard, dh 3 0 0

Lorde, lf 4 0 1 1 Carlton, 1b 2 0 0

Tarnowski, ss 3 0 0 0 a-Hough 1 1 0

Gambale, ss 3 0 2 0

Totals 33 8 15 8 Totals 29 1 9 1

Central Conn. State 113 102 0 ? 8

Maine 000 000 1 ? 1

a-singled for Carlton in the 7th

E?Macellaro (13); Ouellette (12); 2B?Rothkugel; Williams 2, Izaryk; DP?Tarnowski-Stegbauer-Rothkugel, Tarnowski-Stegbauer; Gambale-Ouellette-Carlton 2; SB?Lorde (2)

Central Conn. IP H R ER BB SO

Ruder (W,3-1) 7 9 1 1 0 4

Maine IP H R ER BB SO

Martin (L,1-2) 3 9 5 5 2 2

Grattelo 3 6 3 2 0 3

Rogers 1 0 0 0 1 0

HBP?Houser by Ruder; WP?Ruder; T?2:03

BLACK BEARS 4, BLUE DEVILS 3

(Second Game)

Cent. Conn. State (26-15-2) Maine (32-13)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Muldoon, cf 4 0 0 0 Livulpi, cf 4 1 2

Stegbauer, 2b 3 0 1 0 Izaryk, 3b 4 0

D’Aquila, c 3 0 1 0 Picard, dh 4 0 1

Rothkugel, 1b 3 2 2 1 Drapeau, c 3 0

Hosgood, rf 3 1 1 1 Ouellette, 2b 3 1 0

Macellaro, 3b 3 0 3 0 Quintal, lf 2 0

Mullins, lf 3 0 0 0 Williams, rf 3 1 0

Memoli, dh 3 0 0 0 Tobin, 1b 3 1 1

Tarnowski, ss 3 0 0 0 Gambale, ss 2 0

Totals 28 3 8 2 Totals 28 4 11 4

Central Conn. State 020 100 0 ? 3

Maine 030 000 1 ? 4

E?Hosgood (4); Ouellette (13), Labelle (1); LOB?CCSU 4, Maine 7; HR?Rothkugel (6); DP?Macellaro-Stegbauer-Rothkugel; Ouellete-Gambale-Tobin; S?Quintal; SB?Livulpi 3 (19), Gambale (4)

Central Conn. IP H R ER BB SO

Crossman (L,2-2) 6 1/3 11 4 4 1 3

Maine IP H R ER BB SO

Labelle 3 4 2 1 0 0

Creek 2 3 1 1 0 0

MacDonald (W,6-4) 2 1 0 0 0 3

WP?Macdonald; T?1:45; ATT?143