Struggling UMaine baseball team still confident it will earn a tourney spot

The University of Maine’s baseball team has dug itself a hole in its quest to earn an America East tournament berth.

After being swept on the road by the University of Maryland Baltimore County last weekend, the defending champion Black Bears find themselves in last place in the seven-team league with a 6-11 league record.

The top six qualify for the double-elimination tournament which will be hosted by Binghamton on May 21-25.

The top two finishers earn first-round byes.

Binghamton (7-11) is also in danger of missing the tournament.

The good news for the Black Bears is they control their own destiny and their final six games are at Mahaney Diamond in Orono beginning with a three-game set against league leader Bryant (14-4 in conference play) at 3 p.m. on Friday; 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at noon.

Binghamton is hosting second-place UMBC (11-7) for three this weekend and will finish with three at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (8-9).

Albany is 8-12 in the conference and will entertain Manhattan for a non-conference series before traveling to UMaine for a season-ending three-game series in two weekends.

UMaine has lost five straight and 13 of its last 15 games, conference and non-conference, and its injury-depleted pitching staff has allowed at least 11 runs in 10 of its last 15 games.

But the offense also let them down last weekend, managing only four runs and 19 hits in the three losses at UMBC. The Black Bears had just five extra-base hits in the series.

“We pitched as poorly as we could have last weekend and the offense responded accordingly,” said UMaine coach Nick Derba. “This is the worst time for the bats to go silent.”

Even if the hitters continue to struggle and UMaine gets swept by Bryant, the Black Bears could still finish ahead of Binghamton and Albany.

If UMaine finishes with a better record in the last six games than Binghamton, it would leapfrog the Bearcats.

And if UMaine sweeps Albany, it would be tied with Albany and would win the tie-breaker vs. the Great Danes because it would have gone 4-2 against them.

UMaine did break out of its slump in an 18-11 midweek non-conference loss to former UMaine assistant coach Bobby Whalen’s Dartmouth College team. UMaine collected 13 hits including two homers by Dean O’Neill and one apiece by Jeremiah Jenkins and Zach Martin.

Derba and his players are confident they can get the job done and earn a tournament spot.

“I’ve never doubted this team’s ability as far as talent goes, even with all the injuries. We can still make the playoffs and win the conference tournament,” said Derba.

Junior first baseman Jenkins, the league leader in homers with 20, said “I have so much confidence in these guys. There’s no doubt in my mind we can make the tournament if we just play our game.”

Jenkins hit his 20th homer of the season in the loss at Dartmouth which made him the first player in America East history to have back-to-back 20-homer seasons. He hit 21 last year.

“That’s pretty exciting news to hear,” Jenkins said.

Derba said senior lefty Geoff Mosseau (2-1, 5.32 earned-run average) and freshman lefty Gabe Gifford (0-4, 9.00) will start the first two games and sophomore righty Luc Lavigueur (2-3, 7.83) will get the Sunday start.

Mosseau has allowed just one hit and no runs over his last two appearances spanning six innings and Gifford has struck out 18 hitters over his last eight innings of work.

Derba said Lavigueur could also be used as the closer in the first two games.

Senior righty Colton Carson pitched an inning against Dartmouth after being sidelined since April 2 with an oblique strain and Derba said he could throw as many as 120 pitches this weekend.

Derba said having Carson back “helps out considerably.”

All America East first team and all-rookie team pitcher Gianni Gambardella, who was chosen to the Freshman All-American team, could be available after being sidelined since April 7 due to tendinitis.

But it would be on a very limited basis according to Derba.