Maine advances in America East Baseball Championship

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WABI) - Maine baseball took care of business in a 10-7 win over UMass Lowell to start its America East Baseball Championship schedule.

The Black Bears and River Hawks traded runs in the first inning before the bats really came alive for both teams in the third frame.

Fritz Genther gave Lowell a 3-1 lead with a two-run home run in the top half before Maine took its first lead in the bottom half.

Quinn McDaniel got Maine within one with a solo shot before Nick White matched Genther with a two-run homer of his own to hand the Black Bears a 4-3 advantage.

The River Hawks retook the lead in the fourth inning with Robert Gallagher tying the game with a double before Genther’s groundout made it 5-4 Lowell.

Maine struck back in the fifth when Matt McElwain went yard with a two-run home run to left field to make it 6-5 Maine.

The Black Bears added three insurance runs in the sixth inning with Jeremiah Jenkins’s two-RBI single and a Connor Goodman groundout, giving Maine a 9-5 lead.

Those extra runs came in handy when Trey Brown sent a seventh-inning pitch out for a two-run home run. His shot pulled Lowell to within two runs at 9-7.

Goodman added an RBI single in the eighth for good measure, and Maine sealed the deal with a 10-7 win.

The Black Bears will be back in action on Friday at 1 p.m. against No. 2 UMBC.

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