The Maine Stretch

A three-game weekend cost the Boston University club baseball team its perfect record, but the Terriers still managed to take two out of the three behind an onslaught of BU runs.

The New England Club Baseball Association South Division-leading Terriers (6-1) crushed the University of Maine, 8-2, in the first game, thanks to a six-run fifth inning. Leadoff hitter Pete Lawn (7-for-12, 4 doubles, 5 runs, 4 RBI over weekend) reached on an error to start the inning and was followed by back-to-back singles off the bats of Mike Carozza (6-for-11, 5 runs in three games) and senior captain Nando Trindade.

A Black Bear error kept the inning alive and consecutive walks to Jeff Nitz and Aaron Sarracino loaded the bases with Lawn up for the Terriers. He blasted a two-run double to make the score 8-0 going into the sixth.

Lawn went 2-for-3 against Maine, with two runs scored and two RBI, while Carozza went 2-for-4. Jeff Border made sure that the offense was good enough, giving up two runs on four hits in six innings of work.

"We just had that one late burst of offense," Trindade said. "We couldn't string many hits together early in the game. That has been the theme of our season so far and fortunately we have been able to get by with it."

BU repeated its offensive success in the second game, but the same could not be said for its pitching. Against the University of New Hampshire, the Terriers carried a lead going into the seventh, but five Wildcat runs in the seventh led to an 11-8 loss.

The second game started out much like the first - with the Terriers ahead early. Brad Gerbus started things off right with a two-RBI triple in the first, but the Wildcats roared back for six runs over five innings.

The match-up became a seesaw battle, as Lawn (3-for-4 in Game 2) smacked a three-run homer to dead center in the sixth inning to give the lead back to the Terriers, 7-6. A double by Gerbus gave BU an assurance run, but the Wildcats lined shot after shot to the outfield in the seventh, handing the Terriers their first loss of the season.

"We had to stay out in a hotel the night before the game, and I think that a lot of our pitching problems against UNH stemmed from a lack of rest and other outside factors," Trindade said.

The Terriers found redemption in the final game of the weekend set, beating the University of New England, 9-6. In a rematch of last fall's championship game, BU was fueled by explosive hitting from Craig O'Connell. Moving up in the order from the fifth to the third slot, O'Connell bombed two home runs - the second soaring over 400 feet to right-center - and drove in four.

Jon Koonin gave up two runs on four hits in 5.1 innings of work, and Quinn Duffy came in for the save, loading the bases and dangling the game in front of UNE before he finally recorded the final out.

BU remains in first place with a two-game lead over this weekend's opponent, The College of the Holy Cross. The Terriers could clinch a playoff spot with a win.

"Holy Cross has a lot of hitting potential," Trindade said. "Our pitching should be solid and ready."