LOWELL, Mass. – Two extra inning walk-off wins highlighted the first day of the America East Baseball Championship as Albany, Stony Brook and Maine posted wins on Wednesday at LeLacheur Park.
The fourth-seeded Great Danes got outstanding pitching on their way to a 3-0 win over No. 5 Maine, while third-seeded Stony Brook walked-off with a win to beat sixth-seeded Hartford, 4-3, in the second game. Maine then followed that with a walk-off win of their own, 2-1, over Hartford in the first elimination game of the championship.
Albany 3, Maine 0 – Box Score | Highlights
Jack McClure and Dom Savino combined for a six-hit shutout as Albany moved onto the winners' bracket with a 3-0 win over Maine. McClure allowed six hits and struck out six over 6.1 innings while Savino came in to shut the door, throwing 2.2 perfect innings in relief. The Great Danes got on the board as Travis Collins singled and then came around to score when a throw to try to catch Marc Wangenstein stealing went into centerfield in the second. Alex Thul then slugged his first home run of the year to extend the lead to 2-0 in the fifth, and the Great Danes tacked on an insurance run in the eighth on a fielder's choice.
Stony Brook 4, Hartford 3 (10 innings) – Box Score | Highlights
Bobby Honeyman's single in the bottom of the tenth inning brought home Dylan Resk as Stony Brook walked-off with a 4-3 win over Hartford. The Seawolves advance to the winners' bracket to take on UMBC on Thursday. Hartford led 2-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth when Casey Baker doubled to score Toby Handley and cut the deficit to 2-1. Freshman Michael Wilson had the big hit for the Seawolves, slugging a two-out, two-run home run in the seventh to put Stony Brook on top, 3-2. Hartford tied the game in the top of the ninth on a squeeze bunt by Trevor Thompson that scored Jackson Olson. Aaron Pinto shut down the Hawks in the 10th, setting the stage for Honeyman's walk-off single.
Maine 2, Hartford 1 (11 innings) - Box Score
Tyler Schwanz's walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th kept Maine alive in the America East Baseball Championship with a 2-1 win over Hartford in the first elimination game of the tournament. Starting pitcher Justin Courtney threw eight innings, allowing just 1 run on four hits while striking out eight. Jeff Gelinas got the win for the Black Bears, throwing three shutout innings. Schwanz drove in both runs, first with an RBI double in the first and then with the game-winning single in the 11th.
Albany will face top-seeded Binghamton in the first game Thursday at 9 a.m. while Stony Brook will play second-seeded UMBC at 12:30 p.m. Maine will play the lowest seeded team among the losers of the early games at 4 p.m.
Visit Championship Central for links to box scores and highlights from Wednesday's game and watch live and live stats links for Thursday's games.