Minutemen stop Black Bears

GORHAM – One of the few elements the University of Maine baseball team has lacked this season is pitching depth.

That deficiency came to light Tuesday afternoon during the Black Bears’ final nonleague game of the season.

The University of Massachusetts pounded out 13 hits, including six during a seven-run fifth inning, on its way to a 15-8 victory over UMaine at the University of Southern Maine’s Towers Field.

Coach Paul Kostacopoulos’ Black Bears slipped to 27-14, suffering only their second loss in 11 nonconference games since returning from its Florida trip in March.

The Minutemen improved to 12-30.

UMass turned a 3-2 deficit into a 9-3 lead in the fifth, chasing freshman starter John Tesseyman (0-2). Mike Weiner and Curt Szado each stroked two-run singles during the uprising.

The Bears tallied three runs in the fifth on Joel Barrett’s two-run homer and Ross Cantara’s RBI double, then cut the deficit to 9-7 in the sixth, but never got any closer.

Aaron Izaryk paced UMaine with two doubles and three RBIs. He also walked three times. Cantara and Curt Smith each rapped a double and two singles.

Weiner finished with a homer, a double, two singles, and four RBIs to lead UMass. Chris Lloyd (2-0) worked five innings, allowing six runs on nine hits, to earn the win for the Minutemen.

Massachusetts (12-30) 110 070 330 – 15 13 1

Maine (27-14) 120 031 100 – 8 12 2

Lloyd, McGovern (6), Demers (7), Torra (9) and Weiner; Tesseyman, Bishop (5), Brown (5), Zyskowski (8), Robinson (8) and Izaryk