On Friday, Feb. 13, University of Maine baseball had their season opener at Duke University in a four-game series. The Black Bears tied for third in the America East standings for the 2024-25 season and were defeated in the first round of the America East tournament. They were selected fifth in the pre-season poll with 19 points.
The Bears are in for a long awaited season with a 52-game schedule, 15 of which will be played at home on the Mahaney Diamond in Orono. After Duke, they will play three more out of conference games at High Point University, Dayton University and Navy. America East play will ramp up on March 20 through March 22 at UMBC. Maine took two of three from the Retrievers last season. The weekend after, the Black Bears will finally get to play on their home turf March 27 as they host the University of Massachusetts Lowell for a three-game series from the 27th through the 29th.
“We got the same four goals every year,” said senior captain and relief pitcher, Sebastian Holt. “Win the regular season championship, conference, win a regional, and go to Omaha which is the College World Series.”
With 12 additional signings for the 2026-27 academic year, this dynamic group will bring experience and maturity to the developed team. The four returning players to watch are named to the Preseason All-Conference team, including fourth-year shortstop Chris Bear, who is coming off his first season having 33 runs scored and a team leading 15 stolen bases. He achieved 15 RBIs, 11 doubles and three home runs. Fourth-year outfielder Brody Rasmussen was named to the 2024-25 America East All-Conference First Team where he collected 32 RBIs, hit seven home runs, 13 doubles and two triples.
Fourth-year starting pitcher Gianni Gambardella earned a spot on the 2024-25 America East All-Conference second team and had a 4.88 ERA in 62.2 innings pitched. He struck out 51 batters with a 1.44 WHIP and compiled a 5-4 record with a .278 batting average against. Lastly, Holt had the second-lowest ERA on the team last season with a 2.93 in 30.2 innings pitched. He had a team-high seven saves, struck out 26 batters and only allowed nine walks and a team-low 1.24 WHIP. He also got named to #58 on the top 100 D1 relievers list.
Maine will wrap up their 2026 regular season at home as they host Merrimack on May 12 and University at Albany on May 14 to 16. The America East Tournament will begin on May 19 at Binghamton University and will go through May 23. The Bears are driven and focused on accomplishing their four set goals and are ready after training all fall semester to gear up for the season.
