Lefty pitcher has given UMaine baseball a lift heading into crucial Albany series

ORONO, Maine — University of Maine baseball coach Nick Derba needed somebody to step up to help fill the void left by injuries to two All-America East first-team pitchers and an All-Rookie team selection.

Enter 24-year-old lefthander Geoff Mosseau.

The St. John’s University transfer, who is in his sixth year after being a medical redshirt his freshman season and then receiving the COVID-year exemption, has strung together three strong outings entering this weekend’s America East three-game showdown against visiting Albany to decide the sixth and final league tournament spot.

Albany is in sixth place with an 8-12 league record and UMaine is last in the seven-team league with a 7-13 mark.

Defending champ UMaine needs two wins to earn the sixth spot. If the teams finish in a tie, UMaine would win the tie-breaker because it has a better record against regular season champion Bryant (2-4). Albany is 0-3 vs. Bryant.

UMaine beat Bryant 7-5 last Sunday after losing the first two games of the series.

The teams will play at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 1 p.m. on Friday, and Saturday at noon.

Mosseau is expected to be a key factor in the series. The 6-foot-6 Bedford, N.H. native, who was the top-rated high school lefthander in New Hampshire by Perfect Game, has the lowest earned-run average on the team at 5.52.

In conference play, it is 3.44.

In his last three outings, he is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA. He has allowed eight hits and four earned runs over 11 ⅔ innings with 14 strikeouts and six walks.

He had allowed only one run and five hits through five innings against Bryant last Friday before Jackson Phinney belted a three-run homer off him with two outs in the sixth inning in Bryant’s eventual 10-4 triumph.

“That was the only mistake he made all game,” said UMaine sophomore catcher Dean O’Neill.

“It was a 3-1 changeup and it was a pitch I didn’t think (Phinney) would be sitting on. He made a great swing and hit it over the fence,” said Mosseau.

With the exception of the team’s win-loss record (11-35 overall), he has been happy with his season in which he has thrown a career-high 29 ⅓ innings and has a record of 2-2.

“I’ve been able to establish two pitches in the strike zone, my fastball and changeup. I worked on the changeup all summer and all fall. It has worked for me all season,” said Mosseau.

Even though he has been a reliever for most of his college career including all 26 appearances he made in three seasons at St, John’s (N.Y.), he said it doesn’t matter to him if he relieves or starts.

“Whatever the team needs. I like coming out of the bullpen which I did my previous five years in college and now that I’m starting a little bit, it’s a lot of fun, too,” said Mosseau who had allowed just one hit and no runs in a pair of three-inning relief stints before the Bryant start.

Mosseau is looking forward to the weekend and trying to help the team win two out of three and then make a run for the title in the tournament.

He said the pitchers are going to have to pound the strike zone early in the count with the fastball and the hitters are going to have to “keep doing what they’ve been doing, banging the ball around the yard.”

O’Neill will come into the series as one of UMaine’s hottest hitters with a .353 average over his last nine games.

Albany is just 1-7 on the road in conference play while UMaine is 4-4 at home.

“We’re super comfortable playing at home, having the fans and the atmosphere,” said O’Neill.

UMaine has been led offensively by Jeremiah Jenkins (.341-20 homers-47 runs batted in), Zach Martin (.292-3-21), Jake Marquez (.285-7-32) and O’Neill (.272-6-20).

Albany, 13-32-1 overall, has been paced by Will Binder (.325-3-28), Luke Filippi (.315-0-30), Ryan Ferremi (.281-3-23) and John Vitucci (.276-0-17).

Albany took two of three from UMaine earlier this season in Albany.