ORONO, Maine – For the first time in nearly 30 years the Husson University baseball team has defeated the University of Maine, as the Eagles defeated the Black Bears 12-9 on Wednesday afternoon at Mahaney Diamond in non-conference action.

In what was a back-and-forth affair all day, graduate student Jackson Curtis opened the scoring in the top of the first inning, as he homered to right field with classmate Akira Warren and junior Cam Rendell in scoring position to give Husson (5-7) a quick 3-0 edge.

Maine (5-18) found a long-ball of its own in the home-half of the third third after not having a hit through the first two innings, as a two-run shot to right field to bring the Black Bears back to within 3-2.

Husson posted three more runs in the visitor-half of the fourth to extend its lead to 6-2, after sophomore Ryan Bousquet got the frame started by reaching base on an error.

Bousquet would advance to third on consecutive ground outs from senior Ryne Rametta and junior Colin Marshall to give the Eagles a scoring opportunity with two outs.

Following a walk to Warren and a hit by pitch to Rendell, Bousquet would score on a wild pitch, while J. Curtis would post his fourth and fifth RBIs of the contest as he doubled down the left-field line to put Husson up 6-2 after three-and-a-half innings.

The Black Bears got those three runs back in their next turn at the plate, as a sacrifice fly, followed by their second home run of the game with a runner on first brought the game back to a one run lead for the Eagles.

Once again Husson had an answer for Maine's comeback attempt, as junior Hunter Curtis led off the top of the fifth with a walk and would move to third on two wild pitches from the Black Bears.

After a walk to senior Tanner Evans, Bousquet would bring in H. Curtis on an infield single, while Marshall would send Evans home on a sacrifice fly to right field, as the Eagles led 8-5 after the top of the fifth.

Husson gifted the Black Bears with two runs in the bottom-half of the inning, as with the bases loaded and two outs, a hit by pitch and a walk gave Maine its sixth and seventh runs of the contest.

The Eagles got those two runs back in the top of the sixth, as after J. Curtis reached on an error, sophomore Matt Holmes hit his fourth home run of the season to allow Husson to extend its lead to 10-7.

Following a rare one-two-three inning from Maine, the Eagles added two insurance runs in the seventh inning thanks to J. Curtis, who drove in Warren and Rendell following free passes to both batters, as J. Curtis became the second player in Husson baseball history to hit for the cycle with his two-RBI triple.

The Black Bears got one run back in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly, as Husson looked to put the game away in the top-half of the ninth with the bases loaded and just one out, but a double-play promptly ended the inning and gave Maine one last chance.

After two quick outs to start the final frame, a solo home run from the Black Bears followed by a single gave them a sliver of hope, but a ground out to second base ended the game and completed the upset victory for the Eagles.

J. Curtis put together a performance for the ages in the win, as he went 4-6 at the plate, drove in seven runs, which is tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history, in addition to scoring two runs and recording 10 total bases, which is also good for a fourth-place tie in program single-game history.

Warren and Rendell scored three runs each and Evans combined with the top two hitters in the Husson batting order to post eight of the team's 10 walks.

Graduate student Alex Smith got the start on the hill and surrendered just one run on one hit in 2.1 innings of work, while junior Allen Wheaton picked up his first victory of the year.

Juniors Ben Phillips and Tanner Audyatis were clutch out of the bullpen, as the duo combined for just two earned runs allowed in 4.1 innings of work, while allowing just four hits and one walk.

The Eagles will open North Atlantic Conference play this weekend with a four-game series at Lesley University beginning on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.