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The University of Maine softball team had a strong showing in its first home series of the year, taking three of four games from the University of Vermont this weekend.
The Black Bears swept a doubleheader on Sunday, winning both in dramatic fashion, to pull their season record to 17-21 and 5-3 in America East play. In game one, senior captain Erica Sobel hit a double in the bottom of the eighth inning to score classmate Leigh Ann Hlywak and give UMaine a 1-0 victory.
Pinch hitter Melissa Mather was the hero in game two as she hit a two-run double to break a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning. UMaine went on to win 3-0.
Freshman pitcher Jenna Merchant picked up both wins for the Black Bears and improved her record to 12-8.
“We really needed to pick up two wins here today,” coach Deb Smith said Sunday. “I thought we played well. We got some timely hitting and this weekend should help get our momentum to the level we’re looking for.”
Sophomore Candace Jaegge pitched five-and-a-third strong innings in game one, but gave way to Merchant with the bases loaded. Merchant struck out a pair of Vermont batters to end the rally in the top of the sixth and retired all eight batters she faced.
Hlywak opened the bottom of the eighth inning with a walk, but didn’t stay at first base long. Sobel drove a pitch from Vermont’s Angie Totaro over the left fielder’s head and Hlywak hustled to score the game-winner.
“That definitely felt good, especially after my previous at bats today,” Sobel said. “It’s good for our confidence to win these close games, because all of our conference games are going to be close.”
Merchant started game two and pitched solidly again, striking out six while surrendering just four hits in seven innings. But it took UMaine until the bottom of the sixth inning to put any runs on the board.
Merchant walked with one out in the sixth and was replaced by pinch runner Andrea Steranko. Senior Katie Churchill followed with a single and freshman Lindsay Tibbetts walked to load the bases. Smith chose to call back her number-nine hitter, freshman Jessica Brady, and sent Mather to the plate instead.
“I hit well in the first game, so I wasn’t surprised when coach called my name,” Mather said. “I was just looking to make contact and put it somewhere on the field.”
Mather roped a double to left field with two strikes to score a pair and give UMaine its first lead of game two. The Black Bears would add another run on a sacrifice fly from senior Aliesha Rautenberg and that was all the scoring Merchant needed.
Saturday
UMaine opened the weekend series Saturday with a split, winning the first game convincingly, 8-0. Merchant was in command from the start and yielded just two hits while striking out three.
“My job was easy today,” Merchant said. “My teammates did a great job putting runs on the board. All I had to do was pitch.”
Hlywak led the Black Bears offensively in game one, going a perfect 4-4 from the plate. She knocked in three runs and belted her 10th home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game via the eight-run mercy rule.
“It was a good win for us, I was happy to help the team,” Hlywak said, but she was quick to deflect any praise. “Our pitchers do a great job keeping us in the game. We just need to get runs for them.”
Sophomore Sara Asadoorian went 3-4 with three runs scored in game one and Merchant helped her own cause with a single and an RBI.
The Black Bears came out flat in the second game Saturday, but remained in the game until the final out of a 2-1 loss. UMaine fell victim to Vermont hurler Kara Massey’s first victory of the season.
“She’s a good little pitcher, but we made her look a lot better than she is,” Smith said. “We weren’t aggressive at the plate and we stranded a lot of runners early which seemed to give her confidence.”
UMaine stranded eight runners total, including six in the first three innings. Jaegge was the hard-luck loser for the Black Bears, though she pitched six strong innings. Sobel and Rautenberg each had two hits in the losing effort.
Vermont broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning with a pair of singles by Jamie Sawyer and Megan Long. Sawyer advanced to third on a flyout and eventually scored on a Jaegge wild pitch.
Bangor Daily News