Black Bears cruise Offense backs up Robinson

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ORONO – When Scott Robinson took the mound Friday evening for the 77th time in his career, he tied the University of Maine career record for appearances.

The Black Bears provided the senior righthander with offensive support befitting one of the most durable and versatile pitchers in school history, racking up 17 hits in a 16-2 drubbing of New York Tech at Mahaney Diamond.

“Robby’s a class act. He’s our No. 1 pitcher right now,” said junior Joel Barrett of Brewer, who hit two home runs and knocked in five runs as UMaine (21-10-1) opened the three-game series with a resounding offensive effort.

Not wanting to have a letdown against a formidable nonconference opponent in New York Tech (18-13), UMaine coach Steve Trimper challenged his players during practice this week.

“They’re (NYIT) a good ballclub,” Trimper said. “I didn’t want our guys to say, oh, it’s an off week and we’re just playing for a tuneup, so we kept it competitive all week.”

Every UMaine starter registered at least one hit while giving Robinson (6-2) a comfortable cushion. He spread out seven hits, all of them singles, over seven innings while mixing his fastball, slider, curveball and changeup.

“I had a bad bullpen on Wednesday and usually that tells me I might throw well on the weekend. I know it gets my bad innings out of the way,” said Robinson, who tied the UMaine appearances mark set by Garrett Quinn (1994-97).

The visitors didn’t have many hard-hit balls off Robinson, who struck out five and walked three before giving way to freshman A.J. Balsinde, who pitched two scoreless innings.

“We scored 16 runs, that’s great, but Robby pitched a hell of a ballgame,” Trimper said. “He had a great tempo and he kept them off-balance the whole day long.”

New York Tech lefthander Jon Burke (2-1) didn’t offer the Black Bears a lot of fastballs, but UMaine batters patiently waited for good pitches.

Curt Smith sparked UMaine by scorching four hits, including a double, and scoring four runs. Barrett belted a two-run homer in the fourth inning and smacked a three-run shot in the fifth.

Brewer’s Kevin McAvoy continued his fabulous freshman season with a double, two singles and two RBIs while Joe Hough and Danny Menendez each chipped in with two singles and two RBIs.

“It’s a scary thing,” Robinson said of the UMaine offense. “I’m just glad I’m on this side. When they get going, it just makes it so much easier.”

UMaine broke a 1-1 tie with three runs in the third inning. With one out, Quintal lined a low solo homer to right field. Smith singled, stole second and scored on McAvoy’s double to the gap in left-center. One out later, Sean Parker punched an RBI single to center.

The Bears gave Robinson some breathing room with a three-run uprising in the fourth, then piled on five more in the fifth to shift the rout into full gear.

Billy Cather led off the fourth with a single, stole second and took third when Hough reached on an error. A Menendez groundout plated the first run and Barrett jacked a high homer over the scoreboard in left to give the hosts a 7-1 lead.

“There were not a lot of bad pitches swung at tonight and that’s good,” Barrett said. “That’s when we do our best, when we string at strikes and we let the balls go by. It sounds easy, but that’s the name of the game.”

New York Tech picked up a run in the fifth, but UMaine answered with five of its own.

BLACK BEARS 16, BEARS 2

NYIT (18-13) Maine (21-10-1)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Binick, cf 4 0 0 0 Hough, cf 5 2 2

Garland, cf 1 0 0 0 Kabatznick, lf 1 0 0

Karkoulas, lf 4 0 2 0 Menendez, 2b 5 2

MacMillan, ss 3 0 1 0 Barrett, 1b 5 5

Peralta, 2b 1 0 0 0 Quintal, dh 4 1 1

Esposito, dh 2 0 0 0 Brown, dh 1 0 0

O’Rourke, dh 1 0 1 0 Smith, ss 5 4 0

Johnson, 1b 3 1 0 0 McAvoy, 3b 5 1 2

Murray, lf 4 0 1 0 Hackett, 3b 0 0 0

Pastor, 2b 2 1 1 0 Ostrander, rf 3 2 0

Neill, 3b 1 0 0 0 Parker, c 3 0 3

LaLuna, 3b-22 3 0 1 1 Cather, lf-cf 4 0

Lucente, ss 1 0 0 0

Kenefick, c 3 0 1 0

Leonick, c 1 0 1 0

Totals 34 2 9 1 Totals 41 16 17 15

NYIT 010 010 000 – 2

Maine 013 352 20x – 16

E-MacMillan 2 (17), Kenefick (4); Smith (13), McAvoy (14); LOB-NYIT 8, Maine 8; 2B-Smith, McAvoy; 3B-Ostrander; HR-Barrett 2 (4), Quintal (5); DP-LaLuna-Pastor-Johnson; Smith-Menendez-Barrett, Smith-Barrett; SF-Parker; SB-Pastor (3); Hough (12), Smith (10), Cather (9)

NYIT IP H R ER BB SO

Burke (L, 2-1) 4 2/3 13 12 10 0 3

Ronan 2 1/3 4 4 4 3 2

Roth 1 0 0 0 1 1

Maine IP H R ER BB SO

Robinson (W, 6-2) 7 7 2 2 3 5

Balsinde 2 2 0 0 0 4

HBP-Parker (by Burke), Ostrander (by Ronan); WP-Ronan; Robinson; PB-Parker; T-2:45; ATT-368