Maine-Farmington Comeback Twice to Sweep Baseball, 4-3 and 9-6

DAVENPORT, Fla. – The MCLA Baseball team spent the penultimate day of their annual spring break road trip to the RussMatt Invitational with a doubleheader against the University of Maine Farmington Beavers at the Northeast Regional Park. Both ends of the double header saw the Beavers get angry and rally back for a pair of wins. A walk-off double in the first game by Nate Coombs gave Farmington the win, and five unanswered runs in the final four innings fueled a second game comeback.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2025
• Game #1: MCLA 3, Maine-Farmington 4
• Game #2: Maine-Farmington 9, MCLA 6
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 2-6 (MASCAC 0-0) | University of Maine Farmington 4-6 (NAC 0-2)
• Series History: Maine Farmington leads the all-time series 6-3, including a sweep of a doubleheader at the RussMatt last season by scores of 9-6 and 10-8 on March 9^th. The teams first met on March 16, 2018, when they split another doubleheader.

HOW IT WENT DOWN

• Game #1
  • MCLA scored first, putting up a run in the first inning without the benefit of a hit. Freshman outfielder Benjamin Jacob (Pittsfield, MA) led off the game by working a walk and almost immediately turned it into a triple by stealing second and moving to third on a wild pitch all in the space of two pitches. Two batters later Joshua Bissaillon's (East Greenbush, NY) sacrifice fly to center field allowed Jacob to complete the circuit.
  • Following three full innings during which the teams combined for one hit, Maine-Farmington posted their first runs in the bottom of the fourth inning when Ike Wrigley's two-out bloop single down the left field line scored Sam Parsell and Colby Lewis.
  • MCLA restored their lead by scoring one run in both the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth inning junior outfielder Michael Wormuth (Wynantskill, NY) reached on a bloop single down the left field line of his own before moving to second on a balk by the Beaver pitcher. Sophomore catcher Henry Blake (Brookfield, MA) then lined a single through the five and a half hole to tie the game at 2-2.
  • The Trailblazers retook the lead in the top of the sixth and again did so without getting a hit. Jacob led off with his second walk of the afternoon and again quickly proceeded to steal second base. A sacrifice bunt by freshman shortstop Roshan Warriar (Pittsfield, MA) advanced Jacob to third, and another sacrifice fly from Bissaillon, this time to right field, brought the freshman home.
  • Down to their final three outs, Maine-Farmington put runners at second and third behind two singles by Jameson Bloch and Ryan Sargent and a balk. Nate Coombs plated both runners with a double into right for the walk-off win.
  • Senior left-handed pitcher Aidan Brett (Seymour, CT) limited Maine-Farmington to two runs on five hits while striking out five over six innings, only to be rewarded with a no decision. Bissaillon (0-2) suffered the loss after allowing the final two runs.
  • Will Harriman (1-1) went the distance for the Beavers, scattering four hits and striking out four in seven innings.
• Game #2
  • Maine-Farmington opened the second game with a crooked number in the first inning, scoring four runs on three hits, capped by a two-run single by Andrew Skory.
  • MCLA clawed back one of the runs in the bottom of the inning after Warriar hit a one out triple to right field and then scored on an RBI groundout by Bissaillon.
  • Senior first baseman Matthew Belfance (Saugerties, NY) started the second inning by legging out a triple into the right-center field gap and scoring two batters later on a single just inside the first base bag by senior catcher Josh Bologh (Waterbury, CT). A single by senior second baseman William Walsh (Maynard, MA) and a hit by pitch to Wormuth loaded the bases until Bologh scored on a wild pitch. Two batters after that, Warriar walked to fill the bags with Trailblazers for Bissaillon. Bissaillon then lined a shot between the left and center fielders that scored Walsh and Wormuth.
  • MCLA extended that lead with some small ball in the bottom of the third inning. Belfance led off with a single through the left side of the infield and moved to second on passed ball. Sophomore outfielder Joe Sardo (Great Neck, NY) advanced him to third with a sacrifice bunt, and Bologh's single to left made the score 6-4.
  • The Beavers knotted the game at 6-6 in the top of the next inning on a two-run double by Sargent before taking the lead in the top of the fifth behind two unearned runs on one hit and an error. Sargent added helped to add an insurance run in the top of the seventh with a sac fly to score Tyler Rosa.
  • TJ Dorn (1-0) threw two and two thirds of scoreless relief to pick up the win for Maine-Farmington and Bloch came on for two thirds in the seventh to secure his second save of the year.

UP NEXT:

On Thursday, MCLA will be back in action at the RussMatt Invitational with a pair of games with Rutgers-Newark University and Elmhurst University at the Northeast Regional Park in Davenport, FL. The first game is scheduled for 9 a.m. start.

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