WALTHAM, Mass. – Shiro Ando may have been the smallest man on the field here Thursday, but he easily put up the biggest numbers.

Ando drove in six runs with five hits, including a home run and a double, to power the University of Maine to a 16-9 baseball victory over Boston College in a game played at Bentley College.

The Black Bears banged out 14 hits and parlayed those, and eight walks, into their 11th win against 22 losses. The Eagles slipped to 9-12.

Maine, which jumped to a 6-0 lead during the first 1 1/2 innings, then watched Boston College retake the lead with seven runs in the bottom of the bottom of the second.

The Bears poured it on for eight runs in the fourth while retaking the lead for good. But it wasn’t pretty.

“I just don’t like to see us being ragged, but sometimes when you get a lead like that you lose that concentration,” said Maine coach John Winkin. “At least we got a lot of good experience. I thought we hit the ball pretty decently.”

Ando had his biggest day as a collegian, pushing his average from .229 to .264. The sophomore from Tokyo, who had managed one hit in his previous nine at bats, also scored three runs.

He admitted it can be hard to maintain concentration in such a long, high-scoring game.

“It’s just mental things,” Ando said. “You’ve got to stay focused in a game and keep working hard. Once we get a big lead we kind of get relieved. I’m just glad we won today.”

Freshman designated hitter Tony Bianchi stroked three hits, including a double, for Maine, snapping an 0-for-7 drought.

“I was in a slump coming back from the (California) trip, so I’m starting to get into a groove, having more confidence.” Bianchi said. “I feel more relaxed at the plate. I’m not overswinging, I’m just trying to make contact.”

Freshman second baseman Dan Catlin exceled in the leadoff spot, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. He reached base five times and scored five runs.

Sophomore righthander Steve Coombs (2-2) couldn’t establish the kind of rhythm he had used in beating Providence last week. But he allowed the defense to work behind him and pitched well enough to get the job done for 5 1/3 innings. Five of the nine runs he gave up were unearned.

After freshman Brad Veilleux finished the sixth in relief of Coombs, Dave Foran, Jason Dryswak and Garrett Quinn each worked an inning for the Bears. The Eagles paraded eight pitchers to the mound as their first two allowed 12 runs on eight hits and five walks.

Maine retaliated in the fourth after BC had scored seven runs in the second to take a 7-6 lead. The Bears bounced back with an eight-run uprising against starter Rich Levrault.

Catlin walked, Ando laid down a drag-bunt single, and Steve Puleo was hit by a pitch. Nick Caiazzo and Bianchi each plated a run with a pop-fly single, then Jeff Longo walked with the bases loaded.

Brian Jolliffe greeted reliever Kevin Penwell with a sacrifice fly and Matt Huff walked, setting up a two-run single to right by Catlin and Ando’s sun-obscured two-run double to center field.

“I got a hit for that?” Ando chuckled while recounting the flyball that Bryan Manahan lost in the sun. “I was just lucky.”

The Bears scored a pair of unearned runs in the first. Puleo’s sacrifice bunt put Catlin and Ando in scoring position. Caiazzo’s groundout and a wild pitch led to the runs.

Maine chased Levrault in the second inning. Matt Huff had an RBI single, but the big blow was Ando’s three-run homer over the fence in right-center.

Boston College wiped out the deficit with a seven-run second inning. Maine committed two errors and misplayed two other chances to aid the rally. Steve Marciano rapped a run-scoring triple, David Burnes hit an RBI single and Pete Carmichael provided an RBI double.

Sean Curtin hit a towering three-run triple to put the Eagles ahead.

In the fifth, BC trimmed Maine’s lead to 14-8 on Marciano’s solo homer, but the Bears got an insurance run in the eighth on Joe Polizzotti’s pinch-hit single.

Bears 16, Eagles 9

Maine Boston College

Name ab r h bi Name ab r h bi

Catlin, 2b 4 5 2 2 Martin, 2b 4 1 1 1

Ando, ss 6 3 5 6 Carmichael, rf 5 1 1 2

Puleo, c 3 1 0 0 Sankey, 1b 3 1 0 0

Caiazzo, rf 5 2 1 2 Curtin, dh, 3 b 4 0 1 3

Bianchi, dh 5 1 3 1 Lynch, lf 3 1 1 0

Trahan, 3b 4 0 0 0 Marciano, c 5 2 2 2

Longo, lf 1 2 1 1 Burnes, 3b, p 4 1 2 1

Jolliffe, 1b 3 0 0 1 Manahan, cf 5 0 1 0

Huff, cf 3 2 1 1 Katz, ss 3 2 1 0

Ellis, lf, c 1 0 0 0 Dorsey, lf 2 0 1 0

Polizzotti, lf 1 0 1 1 McNeil, ss 0 0 0 0

Totals 36 16 14 15 Totals 38 9 11 9

Maine 240 800 011 – 16

Boston College 070 011 000 – 9

E – Coombs; Katz, Levrault 2B – Bianchi, Ando; Carmichael, Dorsey 3B – Curtain, Marciano HR – Ando (2); Marciano (1) LOB – Maine 7, Boston College 11 DP – Martin to Katz to Sankey SB – Bianchi, Huff, Caiazzo, Jolliffe, Catlin S – Puleo, Longo SF – Jolliffe

Pitching Summary

PITCHER IP H R ER BB SO

Maine

Coombs (W, 2-2) 5 1/3 8 9 9 3 1

Veilleux 2/3 0 0 0 1 1

Foran 1 2 0 0 1 1

Dryswak 1 0 0 0 1 1

Quinn 1 1 0 0 1 0

Boston College

Levrault 1 1/3 5 6 4 1 1

Penwell (L, 0-1) 2 3 6 6 4 1

Migliaro 2/3 2 2 2 1 1

Bettancourt 1 0 0 0 0 2

Romboli 1 0 0 0 0 1

McKenna 1 0 0 0 0 0

Burnes 1 2 1 1 2 0

HBP – Puleo (by Levrault), Puleo (by Penwell); Curtin (by Dryswak) WP – Levrault (2)