MAINE vs. TOWSON

Time, site: Saturday (2), Sunday (2), noon; Mahaney Diamond, Orono

Records: Maine 22-9 (7-5 America East); Towson 23-11 (7-5)

Series, last meeting: Towson leads 13-8; UMaine won 4-3, 7-3 on 4/30/00

Top hitters – Towson: OF Gregg Davies (.398, 7 HR, 44 RBI), 1B Mike Costello (.354, 5 HR, 21 RBI), 3B Scott Bacon (.345, 5 HR, 34 RBI), 2B Jimmy Kittelberger (.342, 6 HR, 27 RBI), C Casey Stidham (.337, 5 HR, 17 RBI); Maine: 1B Jon Hambelton (.417, 9 HR, 33 RBI), 2B Quin Peel (.393, 2 HR, 11 RBI), CF Mike Livulpi (.359, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 7 SB), C Joe Drapeau (.352, 11 HR, 43 RBI), RF Aaron Young (.339, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 10 SB)

Pitching Matchups

Towson Tigers Maine Black Bears

ERA W-L Ks ERA W-L Ks

RH Bryan Rogers 5.97 4-2 26 LH Rusty Tucker 1.70 4-1 36

LH Matt Brady 4.97 3-3 27 RH Simon Stoner 3.56 4-1 29

RH Bryan Simmering 3.43 4-2 50 RH Mike Collar 2.37 4-0 27

LH Matt Nein 2.80 4-0 20 RH Mike MacDonald 5.55 2-1 14

Outlook: The Bears have a chance to gain ground in the tight America East playoff race as the two teams are tied for third place. The Bears and Tigers statistically rank as the league’s top two hitting and pitching squads. Peel (broken knuckle) is expected to play after missing nine-plus games. One challenge for UMaine is to hit Towson’s two lefthanded starters. Lefties can be tough on the Bears, who haven’t faced many this season. The Tigers lead the league with a .966 fielding percentage so UMaine, coming off wins over Bowdoin and Colby, must limit its mistakes. Towson’s 38 home runs are second only to the Bears’ 44.