April 4, 2012

Husson Game Notes

After 25 game on the road, the University of Maine baseball team plays its Mahaney Diamond opener on Wednesday, April 4 at 5 PM. Maine is 11-14 on the season, while Husson enters play with a mark of 7-9.

 

SCOUTING THE MAINE BLACK BEARS: Colin Gay (Franklin, Mass.) leads the way for the Black Bears, hitting for an average of .303. He has 30 hits with three doubles, a home run, and 11 RBI. Gay is one of two Black Bears to start all 25 games thus far. Michael Fransoso (Portsmouth, N.H.) is hitting .289 with 19 runs scored and five RBI. He has eight doubles and a pair of triples. He leads the team with eight stolen bases. Tyler Patzalek (Burlington, Ontario) is batting .284 with 14 runs scored and nine RBI. Fran Whitten (Westborough, Mass.) is chipping in with a .279 batting average with 13 runs scored and 11 RBI. He has seven doubles on the campaign. Brian Doran (Ayr, Ontario) has a .258 batting average with seven runs scored. He has hit four doubles on the season. Alex Calbick (Burnaby, British Columbia) is hitting .258 with 18 runs scored and 13 RBI. He is tied for the team lead in doubles with eight. Justin Leisenheimer (Middle Village, N.Y.) has a .255 average with eight runs scored and 12 RBI, while twin brother, Ian Leisenheimer (Middle Village, N.Y.) is batting .200 with 13 runs scored and eight RBI. Ian has two doubles, a triple and a home run, while Justin has three doubles and a pair of home runs. Nick Bernardo (Glenmont, N.Y.), Sam Balzano (Portland, Maine) and Troy Black (Mississauga, Ontario) are all hitting over .300, but are all averaging less than 2.5 at-bats per game. 

 n the mound, Steve Perakslis (Abington, Mass.) is 2-2 with an ERA of 3.10 in 40.2 innings pitched. He has surrendered 19 runs, 14 of which have been earned and 10 walks while striking out 22 batters. Shaun Coughlin (Northford, Conn.) comes in with a record of 1-2 on the year. He has pitched 35.1 innings over eight appearances; five of which were starts. He has also thrown a complete game and has earned two saves. Coughlin has allowed 42 hits and 22 runs; 18 of which were earned for an ERA of 4.58. He has walked only six batters and struck out 26. Mike Connolly (Middleborough, Mass.) has made 10 appearances with a pair of starts. He has a 2-3 record, two saves, and an ERA of 5.90 thus far. He has pitched 29.0 innings, surrendering 25 hits and 20 runs, including 19 earned runs. He has issued 15 walks and is second on the team in strikeouts with 27. Jeffrey Gibbs (Toronto, Ontario) is 1-4 record and a 8.48 ERA. He has made six starts on six appearances and has a complete game under his belt. He has worked 28.2 innings, allowing 27 earned runs and 28 hits. He has walked 19 and struck out 32 batters. D.J. Voisine (Plainville, Conn.) is 2-0 on the season with a 4.12 ERA. Jonathan Balentina (Willemstad, Curacao), Luke Morrill (South Thomaston, Maine) and Manny Pupo (Boynton Beach, Fla.) each also have a victory on the season. 

 

MAINE COACHING STAFF IN 2012: Maine head coach Steve Trimper (Eastern Connecticut State University '92) is in his seventh season at the helm of the Black Bears. He has an overall record of 359-338-4 in his 14th season as a head coach. He has a record of 187-164-2 with the Black Bears. He is assisted by Jason Spaulding (Vermont '00), and former student-athletes Billy Cather (Maine '09) and Ryan Forrest (Maine '09). 

 

SCOUTING THE HUSSON UNIVERSITY EAGLES: Husson is led by Jason Smith who is batting .368 with three runs scored and eight RBI. He has a double and three triples. Brandon Gendreau has a .348 batting average with three runs scored and four RBI. Kevin Rennick is hitting .286 with two runs scored and three RBI. Dylan Foster has a .283 average with seven runs scored and four RBI. He leads the team in hits with 13. Kyle Vanidestine is batting .262 with five runs scored and a RBI. Benjamin McLain has a .242 average with seven runs scored and five RBI. 

 he pitching staff is led by Pat McEwen who is 3-2 with a 3.62 ERA. He has struck out 12 batters in 32.1 innings on the mound. Nate Adams is 2-3 with a 4.60 ERA. He leads the team in strikeouts, having fanned 16 batters in 31.1 innings. Mark Dvilinsky and Joe Stanevicz each also have a win on the season. 

 usson is coached by Jason Harvey (Husson '06). He is assisted by Jason Folsom, Aaron Brideau, Craig Harvey and Chris Pease. 

 

FRANSOSO, CONNOLLY HONORED BY AMERICA EAST: Michael Fransoso was named the America East Player of the Week on Monday, while Mike Connolly earned Pitcher of the Week honors. Fransoso hit .471 on the week with a team-high seven runs scored and one RBI. He had three doubles and stole four bases. He drew five walks on the week without striking out. Fransoso finished with a .591 on-base percentage and a .647 slugging percentage.  Connolly went 1-0 on the mound for the Black Bears with one save. He finished with a 0.00 earned run average in eight innings of work. He pitched in both games of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. In the first game, he went 5.1 innings in relief to pick up the victory in extra innings. He allowed just two hits while striking out four. In the second game, he pitched 2.2 innings in relief to earn the save. He allowed just two hits.

 

BACK FOR MORE: The Black Bears have returned 18 letterwinners from last year's squad and have brought in nine newcomers. 

 

OPENING WIN: Maine opened up this season with a 6-5 win at #16 Clemson. It was the first time the Black Bears won their season opener since 2008 when they swept Delaware State. 

 

BROTHERLY LOVE: The Black Bears have three sets of brothers on the squad this season: Justin and Ian Leisenheimer, Robbie and Steve Trask, and Nick and Garrett Bernardo. 

 

FAMILY TIES: Garrett and Nick Bernardos' father Rick Bernardo played for the Black Bears from 1983-86 and was a first team All-American. 

 

KEEPING IT LOCAL:  Maine currently has eight players from Maine and an additional 11 from the New England area.

 

TOUGH OPENING STRETCH: Seven of Maine's first nine games were against nationally ranked opponents: Clemson (#16), Florida State (#8), and Stetson (#19).   

 

PERFECT RELIEF: Luke Morrill pitched 3.2 innings of perfect relief against Fordham at the Seton Hall Strike Out Cancer Tournament on March 17. He retired all 11 batters he faced, five of them on strike outs. 

 

WHAT A BEAUT: Shaun Coughlin threw a complete game in Maine's 6-1 win over Bowling Green on March 10. He surrendered only six hits and one run. He did not issue a walk and struck out seven batters. 

 

GOING...GOING...GONE!: Justin and Ian Leisenheimer have combined for three of Maine's five home runs this season. Colin Gay and Alex Calbick have the other homers.

 

HOME SWEET HOME: Maine will play their first game at home this year on April 4 at 5 PM against the Husson University Eagles. 

 

PORTLAND BOUND: The Black Bears will take on the Boston College Eagles at Hadlock Field in Portland on May 15. Gametime is set for 6 PM.

 

1800 AND COUNTING: Last year's Regional Tournament win over FIU marked the 1,800th win in program history. The Black Bears are currently 1811-1422-17.

 

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Maine has four captains for the 2012: Jonathan Balentina, Michael Fransoso, Jeff Gibbs, and Justin Leisenheimer. 

 

BLACK BEARS HONORED FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: Maine had eight student athletes earn Maine Scholar Athlete Honors for the fall 2011 semester: Sam Balzano, Garrett Bernardo, Brian Doran, and Luke Morrill were awarded the *Rising Star* honors. A.J. Bazdanes, Colin Gay and Pat Thibodeau earned Bronze Medals while Jonathan Balentina earned Double Gold Honors. 

 

AMERICA EAST ACADEMIC HONORS: Maine had 11 student-athletes honored last spring by being named to the America East Academic Honor Roll: Jonathan Balentina*, Nick deVries, Ian Leisenheimer*, Justin Leisenheimer, Taylor Lewis, Joey Martin, Tony Patane, Carson Pillar*, Kyle Benoit, Kyle Stilphen and George Tager*. * denotes Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll with 3.5 or higher. 

 

NEW WAYS TO FOLLOW THE BLACK BEARS: In addition to following the Maine baseball team on www.GoBlackBears.com, you can also follow the Black Bear baseball team via facebook and twitter. Become a fan of UMaine Baseball on facebook and follow the Black Bears on twitter at www.twitter.com/MaineBaseball