College baseball

MAINE vs. MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE, DELAWARE STATE

Time, site: Saturday (2), noon, Princess Anne, Md.; Sunday (2), 1 p.m., Dover, Del.

Records: Maine 11-9, UMES 6-19-1, Delaware State 9-17-1

Series, last meeting: UMaine leads Maryland Eastern Shore 3-0, UMaine 9-5 in 2002; 1st meeting with Delaware State

Top hitters – Maine: 3B Kevin McAvoy (.431, 3 HR, 22 RBI), SS Curt Smith (.420, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 5 SB), 1B Joel Barrett (.353, 22 RBI), DH Matt McGraw (.348, 14 RBI), 2B Danny Menendez (.314, 9 RBI); Maryland Eastern Shore: C Justin Hoban (.337, 1 HR, 13 RBI), DH Morgan Schirmer (.297, 8 RBI), 2B Eric Gaines (.292, 6 RBI, 7 SB), SS Bernie Stratchko (.282, 12 RBI); Delaware State: RF C.J. Acker (.355, 18 RBI), SS Tyler Hostetter (.354, 15 RBI, 6 SB), LF Jared Lineweaver (.302, 8 RBI, 11 SB), DH Brandon Gravely (.284, 3 HR, 17 RBI)

Possible Pitching Matchups

Maine Black Bears Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks

ERA W-L Ks ERA W-L Ks

RH Troy Martin 7.04 2-4 13 RH Dustin Longchamps 4.23 3-2 25

RH Mike Powers 2.45 0-0 1 RH Ken Richardson 8.27 1-2 10

Maine Black Bears Delaware State Hornets

LH Nolan Boike 3.80 3-0 7 RH Chase Korneman 5.18 2-1 26

RH Josh Zyskowski 3.05 0-0 19 RH Nick Bittner 5.48 3-4 45

Outlook: The Bears make the first of two straight weekend trips to Maryland to take on the Hawks and the Hornets. UMaine, which has won seven of 10, looks to diversify its starting pitching. Freshman Powers gets his first start after overcoming a stress fracture in his pitching hand. The Bears are averaging 7.8 runs per game. Senior Scott Robinson needs one save to tie the school record (19). UMES has struggled to a .233 batting average and only 3.7 runs per contest. Its team ERA is a bloated 9.40. DSU has a steady offense (.262, 5.6 rpg) and an unspectacular mound staff (7.14 ERA) that has allowed 27 home runs.