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When talking about her team’s home opener, University of Maine head softball coach Deb Smith sounded a little like Dorothy in the final scene of “The Wizard of Oz.”
“We are more than excited to finally be at home,” she said. “Having been on the road for the past month has made us very eager to get on our own home field.”
While coach Smith was clicking her ruby slippers together, wishing for home, a fresh blanket of snow covering Kessock Field made the fairytale homecoming less than ideal.
Due to the poor field conditions, her team’s doubleheader against conference opponent Boston University, which was scheduled for Wednesday, has been postponed until today at 2 p.m.
After splitting a pair of games last weekend at Brown University, the Black Bears may finally have some momentum going into today’s matchup with BU and this weekend’s home series with the University of Stony Brook.
“It was nice to see our offense start clicking again this past weekend at Brown,” Smith said. “It helped our speed game to get going as we had more base runners to work with. Hitting became contagious and the defense stepped up as well.”
Now that their offense is clicking, Smith thinks her players can compete with BU, the preseason favorite to retain the league crown.
“The Boston games will be some of our toughest of the season,” she said. “They have all the tools necessary to be a successful team: pitching, speed, offense and solid defense. When we are playing our game, I think we can match up quite well.”
Smith also mentioned the speed game as a key to this weekend’s matchup against Stony Brook. “Offensively, they have power and speed, making for a tough combination,” she said. “We need to have our entire game running effectively.”
The Black Bears must play effectively this weekend because Stony Brook will come to Orono with two underclassmen leading the way.
Stony Brook sophomore Stephanie DiBiase was named America East Conference Player of the Week Monday, while freshman Hayley Durham received Rookie of the Week honors.
DiBiase was phenomenal during the week, which included splits with both the University of Vermont and BU. She had a total of 13 hits, including two home runs and a double, giving her a .520 batting average during Stony Brook’s seven games last week. Durham wasn’t far behind, batting .421 with four runs batted in.
Boston University also has a formidable group of young players the Black Bears must contend with. The Terriers have the reigning America East Player of the Year on their side, sophomore shortstop Jamie Haas, to go along with a line-up that is dominated by underclassmen.
UMaine has some talented young players on its side as well. Sophomore centerfielder Jess Brady, who earlier in the season was named conference player of the week, and freshman Brittany Cheney both went 2-4 in UMaine’s 5-1 win over Brown last weekend.
Sophomore Jenna Merchant and freshman Sarah Bennis have eaten up most of the innings so far in the circle for the Black Bears, including last weekend at Brown when their solid pitching in both games gave the team an opportunity to win each contest, Smith said.
Now that BU and Stony Brook are coming to town, Smith is enthusiastic about the start of conference play.
“Both the BU and the Stony Brook series will be competitive. Each team in the conference brings with them the ability to beat any other team,” she said. “That allows for little room for error on any team’s part and what makes the conference so exciting to be a part of.”
After the Stony Brook series, the Black Bears will stay home to enjoy the snowy spring in Orono. They don’t play again until Friday, April 18, when they host the University of Albany.
