FARMINGTON, ME
UMPI Baseball split day one of their series with Maine-Farmington in a pair of high-energy games, dropping a slugfest in game one before bouncing back with a strong, controlled win in game two.
Game 1, 17-13 Beavers:
Game one was an all-out slugfest in every sense of the word, with both teams trading a few runs early before things got out of hand in the middle innings. The Owls struck first in the opening inning on an RBI groundout from Garrett Chadwick, and later got big swings from Brock Black, who launched a two-run homer in the 4th to give UMPI the lead.
Farmington then responded with a huge 4th inning, putting up five runs including a three-run homer from Tyler Rosa to take control. The Beavers kept adding on, and a chaotic 7th inning, fueled by errors, walks, and timely hits, blew the game open even further. Despite trailing big, the Owls didn't quit.
UMPI put together a strong rally in the 8th, highlighted by a two-run double from Chadwick and back-to-back home runs from Carter Murphy and Brock Black, Black's second of the day, but the comeback fell short in a 17-13 final. Black led the way offensively with three hits and three RBIs, while Chadwick added three hits and three RBIs of his own. UMPI finished with 15 hits as a team in the loss.
Game 2, 4-1 Owls:
The Owls responded in game two like they have so many times this year. All five of their wins have come in the second game of a doubleheader as they flipped the script with a much cleaner and more controlled performance. After a quiet start, UMPI broke through in the 4th on a sacrifice fly from Mitchell Kley to take a 1-0 lead. The offense added key insurance in the 6th, with Hector Perez drawing an RBI walk before Kley added another sacrifice fly. An error later in the inning helped push the lead to 4-0.
From there, Mike Langley took over. The right-hander delivered a strong outing on the mound, holding Farmington to just one run while keeping hitters off balance all game. He took a no-hitter into the 6th inning, one of the best performances from an UMPI pitcher in recent memory. He picked up the complete game win, giving the Owls exactly what they needed after the high-scoring opener. He struck out five hitters and allowed just three hits – two of which came in a busier 7th inning when Farmington finally got on the board. At the plate, Ronnie Golmon set the tone at the top with two hits, while Long and Black each chipped in offensively in a balanced team effort.
Up Next:
The Owls return to action for day two against Maine-Farmington, looking to build off the momentum from game two and take the series.
