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The Maine softball team went to Maryland and Delaware last weekend, trying to improve on their 5-19 record heading into the weekend. Unfortunately, the Black Bears only were able to come away with one win, despite being close to winning three of those four.
“Close, but not quite,” was how coach Deb Smith summed up the weekend’s losses.
Maine started the weekend on Friday afternoon at Maryland for a non-conference game. The game was a pitchers’ duel that went into extra innings. Maine’s Candice Jaegge pitched a complete game for the Black Bears, only giving up three hits in seven and a third innings. She also gave up the game’s only run.
Maryland designated hitter Monica Cyphert led off the bottom of the eighth with a double. She was sacrificed over to third and then scored on AnneMarie Brown’s RBI single to left to give the Terrapins the 1-0 win in eight innings.
“We couldn’t come up with the clutch hit when we needed to,” Smith said.
Maine outhit Maryland in the game by a 4-3 margin. The Black Bears committed the game’s only error.
Maine traveled to Newark, Del. the next day to open the conference schedule against the Delaware Blue Hens. In the opening game, Maine played well, holding a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. A costly error in that inning provided the spark Delaware would need to score three runs in the inning. Delaware pitcher Susan Duggan shut Maine down in the seventh to give the Blue Hens the victory 4-2. Delaware native Carrie Green took the loss for Maine.
Maine was shutout in the nightcap on Saturday. Delaware came away with a 4-0 win to make the Black Bears start America East 0-2.
Smith said, “We didn’t hit well, so that was a legitimate loss. We played tough in the first game through six innings. The error hurt us.”
In the Sunday’s first game, Jaegge was the victim in another low scoring extra-inning game. She pitched seven innings before giving up the winning run in the eighth. She allowed six hits in the game, including the game-winning double by Lauren Mark, to give the Blue Hens a 2-1 win. Jaegge’s record fell to 3-7 with the loss.
Maine came out swinging the bats in the second game cruising to an 8-0 victory, improving Maine’s conference record to 1-3 and 6-23 overall. Green made up for her loss on Saturday by scattering six hits in a complete game shutout. She improved her record to 2-6 on the season.
Shortstop Erica Sobel led the way hitting for Maine, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while first basemen Kate Churchill went 3-for-4, driving in one.
“We came out hitting. We put it together in the second game,” Smith said. “We’re very close to putting our hitting, defense and pitching together. We’re at that `almost’ stage. We’re seeing a lot of positives. The team is very positive and we think that things are going to turn around.”
Maine was scheduled to open up its home schedule this weekend with a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday at Kessock Field, but the snow on the field has forced Maine to travel to Drexel.
They were looking at playing the games in either southern Maine, New Hampshire, or Massachusetts, but the team made the decision Tuesday afternoon to travel to Drexel instead. Maine will still be the home team in those games.
Drexel entered last weekend with an overall record of 13-10 to go with a 4-0 America East record.
“They’re a scrappy team,” Smith said. “They’ve got a decent pitching staff and very good defense. We’ll need to try and put everything together this weekend and try to pick up where we left off in the last game Sunday.”
Smith believes that with the performance this weekend, the top of the order appears ready to hit well, especially Erica Sobel and Leigh Anne Hlywak, the third and fourth hitters in the order. Smith is looking at pitching Green and Jaegge on Saturday, and is unsure about her pitching lineup for Sunday’s doubleheader.
Both doubleheaders are scheduled to get underway at noon.
