Vestal, N.Y. – No. 5 UMass Lowell downed No. 4 Bryant in an 11-inning thriller while No. 3 Maine mashed their way past No. 6 UAlbany on the opening day of the 2026 #AEBASE Championship held at Binghamton.
In the first game the River Hawks led 3-0, but Bryant tied up the score 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh. Neither team broke through until the 11th, when UMass Lowell put up four runs and held off a Bryant rally to advance to Thursday.
In the second game of the day the Black Bears homred twiced in the first three innngs, and put up five runs in the six en route to taking down No. 6 UAlbany, 11-5.
No. 5 UMass Lowell will face No. 1 Binghamton at 11 a.m. to open the Thursday’s action, while No. 3 Maine and No. 2 UMBC will battle at 3 p.m. The losers of the first two games will face off in an elimination game at 7 p.m.
No. 5 UMass Lowell 7, No. 4 Bryant 5 (11 inn.)
- Each of the first three UMass Lowell batters reached base, and Carlos Martinez grounded out to second, driving in the opening run of the contest.
- Nicholas Solorzano followed with an RBI single, but the Bulldogs were able to get out of trouble trailing just 2-0.
- Bryant threatened in the fourth, putting runners on second and third with two outs, but Alfred Mucciarone induced a flyout to end the inning.
- In the top of the seventh, Sean O’Leary launched a shot over the right-field wall, extending the River Hawks’ lead to 3-0.
- After recording just two hits through the first six innings, Bryant loaded the bases with just one out. After a groundout, Carlos Irizarry came through with a two-run single to make it 3-2.
- Casey Wensley followed with a single up the middle, tying the game at 3-3, though Irizarry was thrown out trying to advance from first to third on the play
- Solorzano finished 4-for-6 with three RBI to pace the River Hawk offense, while Martinez drove in three runs as well.
No. 3 Maine 11, No. 6 UAlbany 5
- Maine grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly from Hunter St. Denis.
- UAlbany took the lead in the top of the second with three runs, two of which came on a Michael Maggio single.
- The advantage was short-lived, as the Black Bears answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame, highlighted by a Nic Pepe three-run homer to make it 5-3.
- Maine added a run in the third and five more in the sixth, highlighted by a Quinn Murphy two-run double, for an 11-5 advantage.
- Pierce Friedman and Sebastian Holt allowed just one hit over the final 2.1 innings to keep UAlbany off the board. Jason Krieger earned the win, allowing all five runs while recording seven strikeouts.
- Albert De La Rosa and Juju Stevens each had three hits and multiple RBIs.
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