College Baseball

MAINE vs. HARTFORD

Time, site: Saturday, 5 p.m.; Sunday (2), noon; Mansfield Stadium, Bangor

Records: Maine 14-14 (1-2 America East); Hartford 6-15 (1-2)

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 48-13; UH 6-5, UM 8-7 on 4/13/03

Top hitters – Hartford: 3B Ron Acabbo (.381, 5 HR, 18 RBI), DH Brian Eck (.333, 4 HR, 13 RBI), C Ryan Crowley (.327, 2 HR, 6 RBI), 1B Ryan Cuscovitch (.304, 1 HR, 8 RBI), SS Matt Denorfia (.262, 3 HR, 15 RBI); Maine: 1B Greg Creek (.371, 2 HR, 20 RBI), 3B Matt McGraw (.337, 6 RBI), DH Joel Barrett (.319, 10 RBI), RF Joe Hough (.289, 4 HR, 24 RBI), CF Simon Williams (.281, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 12 SB)

Possible Pitching Matchups

Hartford Hawks Maine Black Bears

ERA W-L Ks ERA W-L Ks

RH Scott Roy 2.92 2-2 36 RH Mike MacDonald 3.99 2-1 37

RH Jarrett Stawarz 4.32 2-2 32 RH Greg Norton 4.50 3-4 21

RH Jeff Swedberg 6.48 2-4 18 RH Steve Richard 3.89 1-2 29

Outlook: The Bears, who have yet to play in Orono, hope to get back on the winning track against the Hawks. UMaine has lost two straight and five of its last seven, by an average of two runs. UMaine is likely to make a few lineup changes in hopes of jumpstarting the offense, which has been inconsistent. UMaine’s Paul Kostacopoulos seeks his 450th career coaching victory. Hartford, an average offensive team that doesn’t steal many bases, has dropped three straight and five of seven. The Hawks’ team ERA of 6.79 is high, but they don’t walk too many batters.