Spring is here and spring sports are in the midst for the Black Bears. The University of Maine played the UMass Lowell Riverhawks on March 27 and March 28 in Lowell, Massachusetts.
On Friday, Maine fell 10–1. The team was unable to find a rhythm, with the Riverhawks dominating for the entirety of the opening game. In the opening inning, UML opened up the scoring with one run, which was scored by first-year catcher Cal Chance after a single hit by fourth-year outfielder/pitcher Carlos Martinez.
The Riverhawks would go on to score again in the second inning after a fly ball to center hit by Chance. The run was scored by fourth-year infielder Joseph DeLanzo. This run would mark a brief end to UML’s early inning scoring when going into the third, where the Black Bears would put up their first and only run of this game. Fourth-year outfielder Brody Rasmussen ran home after a hit by grad student outfielder Juju Stevens.
This would be the end of the scoring for UMaine before UML picked back up where they left off in the scoring. The Riverhawks scored 5 runs in the sixth inning, increasing their lead to 7–1. These runs were scored by fourth-year infielder Zachary Scott, utility player Brayden Cali, Chance, third-year infielder Rowan Masse and second-year infielder Sean O’Leary.
UML would score three more runs in the eighth inning to seal the game. These were scored by Martinez, O’Learly and Masse.
Saturday’s game would show that the Black Bears are resilient across all sports as they would go on to win 9–5 against the Riverhawks.
Some familiar names would push the Black Bears early in the game with a run scored by third-year catcher Shane Andrus after a hit by Stevens in the second inning. The Black Bears would score again in the second inning by Stevens after a hit from first-year pitcher Rex Hauser. The Riverhawks were able to get an RBI in the second after a home run from grad student catcher Nicholas Solorzano.
To open up the third inning, Andrus would go on to score, putting the Black Bears up 3–1. For a moment, it seemed as if the Riverhawks would be able to catch up after home was stolen by Cali. The score would sit at 3–2 until the fourth, where fourth-year first baseman Drew Reynolds scored, bringing the Black Bears up 4–2.
The fourth inning was full of domination from the Black Bears as the team would close out this inning 6–2 after runs were scored by third-year infielder Nic Pepe and second-year utility player Jack Quigley.
No runs were scored on either side in the fifth and sixth innings.
Inning seven brought UMaine’s run count up to eight after a hit from first-year infielder Hunter St. Denis, and a run was scored by Stevens. Also in the seventh, St. Denis would score.
The Riverhawks scored two runs in the eighth after hits from Marinez and DeLanzo. Masse would score off the hit from Martinez, and second-year infielder Sean O’Leary would score off the hit from DeLanzo. The score sat at 8–4 to go into the final inning.
The final run for the Black Bears was scored by Quigly, bringing the game to 9–4 before a big hit and home run for the Riverhawks, hit and scored by O’Leary.
Not a bad weekend for the Black Bears as they continue through the Spring 2026 season.
