MAINE vs. ALBANY

Time, site: Friday, 3 p.m., Saturday (2), noon, Sunday, 1 p.m.; Varsity Field, Albany, N.Y.

Records: Maine 13-21 (4-4 America East), Albany 15-19 (2-6)

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 13-7, Albany 7-4 on 5/7/06

Top hitters – Maine: 1B Joel Barrett (.361, 4 HR, 24 RBI), DH Myckie Lugbauer (.333, 2 HR, 12 RBI), 3B Curt Smith (.318, 3 HR, 24 RBI), LF Kevin McAvoy (.307, 2 HR, 19 RBI), C Matt McGraw (.302, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 11 SB); Albany: SS Sean Donovan (.374, 1 HR, 23 RBI), C Tom Hill (.349, 2 HR, 17 RBI), 2B Steve Wyland (.327, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 7 SB), RF Leo Corvino (.272, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 8 SB)

Possible Pitching Matchups

Maine Black Bears Albany Great Danes

ERA W-L Ks ERA W-L Ks

RH Alejandro Balsinde 3.86 1-3 19 RH Casey Walsh 5.40 3-5 40

LH Brad Hertzler 4.09 2-3 41 RH Sean Gregory 5.49 2-3 31

RH Greg Norton 5.71 3-3 29 LH Cory Warrings 6.68 0-4 24

RH Kevin McAvoy 4.70 0-2 4 RH John Naples 4.43 5-2 34

Outlook: The Black Bears need three or four wins this weekend to stay in the thick of the conference playoff hunt. UMaine, coming off Thursday’s 4-2 nonleague loss at Siena, has won eight of its last 10. Albany, which has had four days off, has gone 5-9 in its last 14 contests. The Bears’ starting pitching has improved, although its depth is questionable. And UMaine hasn’t been scoring runs as consistently as it would like, although the return of McAvoy from a bruised tailbone could provide a boost. The Great Danes haven’t been a potent offensive team and, like UMaine, have struggled at times defensively.