Black Bears buoyed by Binghamton sweep Maine has momentum for playoffs

Every year, one team puts its pitching, hitting and defense together and plays well on three consecutive days.

The reward is the America East baseball championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The University of Maine Black Bears believe they have the kind of momentum necessary to do just that heading into the America East tournament, which begins today at Centennial Field.

UMaine, the No. 2 seed at 31-16, plays host Vermont, seeded third with a 26-17 record, in a 7 p.m. first round contest.

Coach Paul Kostacopoulos’ Bears are coming off a three-game sweep of Binghamton, a performance that further built the team’s confidence.

“Any time you can go into the tournament after sweeping a series, it gives you a little bit of added edge when you get on the field there Thursday,” said UMaine senior captain Aaron Izaryk.

“That’s the best way to go into the postseason, winning games, so we’re playing our best right now,” added senior captain Greg Creek of Manchester.

The Bears know getting off to a winning start in the four-team, double-elimination tourney is critical. The team that wins its first two games advances to the championship round and must win only one more game to earn the title.

“It’s building that momentum, getting hot and starting to feel it,” Kostacopoulos said. “The sooner you do that, the better the jump you have on everybody else.”

UMaine is most successful when it plays well early. The fourth inning appears to be the critical measuring point.

This season, the Bears are 25-3 when ahead or tied after four innings. When trailing after four, their record slips to 6-13.

“I think it’s particularly important for us that we can play from the lead,” Kostacopoulos said.

The Bears face a Vermont team that has a talented pitching staff featuring three lefthanded starters. The Catamounts also are playing on their home field.

“We’re playing the game of baseball, we’re not playing the opponent, so if we go in with that mentality, I think we’ll be all right,” said sophomore Joel Barrett of Brewer.

One keys for UMaine is pitching. Sophomore right-hander Steve Richard (7-1, 2.19 earned run average) has been a consistently effective No. 1 starter all season.

“He basically gets us into the seventh inning and we’re usually ahead or we’re tied,” Kostacopoulos said. “With him, we’re in the ballgame and if we do that [tonight], we’re going to like our chances.”

The Bears have been tremendously successful in 2005 when keeping their opponents moderately in check. UMaine is 27-4 when limiting its opponent to five runs or less.

Kostacopoulos knows it likely will take some contributions from unexpected sources for UMaine to win the championship.

“Whenever we’ve had success in tournaments since I’ve been coaching a team, we’ve always had an unlikely hero. If you don’t have them, you usually don’t win,” he said.