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Strong, gusty winds sweeping through Kessock Field in Orono greeted softball spectators this weekend when the Black Bears hosted the University of Stony Brook.
University of Maine fans, who braved the surprisingly cool doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, were treated to some fantastic performances by the Black Bears.
Game one on Sunday was a 12-inning pitching duel between UMaine’s ace right-hander Jenna Merchant, and Stony Brook’s Angela Andrews. Both pitchers went all 12 innings for their respective teams and Merchant still had some of her best stuff left in the extra innings. She struck out two and only allowed one hit during the final five innings.
UMaine broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the 12th when sophomore catcher Lindsay Tibbetts’s RBI-single scored Nikki Taylor, securing a 1-0 victory. Taylor led off the inning with a base on balls. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Lauren Dulkis. Sarah Asadoorian’s ground-out to the second baseman moved Taylor to third. With first base and second base open, Stony Brook coach Megan Bryant intentionally walked UMaine’s leading hitter, Jess Brady, giving the Black Bears runners on first and third. With two outs and two players on base, Tibbets stepped up and stung a base hit past Stony Brook’s diving shortstop, driving in Taylor for the go-ahead run.
UMaine head coach Deb Smith said she knew Stony Brook was going to pitch around Brady, and was confident that Tibbets could get the job done.
“She is just a steady, steady player,” Smith said. “She loves being in those situations, so she can come up with a hit when she’s needed.”
Game two saw another strong performance in the circle for the Black Bears. Sophomore hurler Sarah Bennis scattered five hits and struck out eight Seawolves batters to pick up the 2-0 shutout.
Maine got on the board in the bottom of the second inning when senior catcher Amanda Steven drove home Dana Grimm. Bennis singled to lead off the fourth inning and two Stony Brook errors later, she scampered home for the game’s final run.
Just as Merchant had in game one, Bennis wove in knee-bending change-ups that had the Stony Brook batters off balance all day.
“I could feel my change-up working in warm-ups,” Bennis said. “I was throwing three pitches today, so I had to go to it a lot.”
Smith made certain to mention the exceptional pitching performances, but as a former pitcher herself, she was quick to credit the catchers for the team’s success.
“[Tibbets and Stevens] both called outstanding games,” Smith said. “They were mixing things up; the pitchers had some movement going. We couldn’t have asked for better performances out of the two of them.”
“Today, we won the close games,” Smith said Sunday. “The one-nothing, two-nothing games, for us, are a big confidence booster, to know that we can keep the games close and defend those leads.”
In game one on Saturday, UMaine stuck to the same mantra of holding onto leads. The Black Bears came out attacking from their first at-bat, as Jess Brady led off with a triple to the warning track in right field. Sophomore Brittany Cheney’s sharp single passed Stony Brook’s shortstop scored Brady, giving UMaine an early 1-0 lead, one they would not relinquish.
“I definitely think that set the tone for them,” Coach Smith said of Brady’s lead-off shot to the 200-ft. sign in right field.
“If we can score early, or score first, we play so much better, so much more relaxed,” Smith said.
The Black Bears held onto the 1-0 lead the rest of the game behind seven strong innings from Merchant, who scattered four hits along the way.
Game two saw much of the same offensive punch Coach Smith had been looking for from her team. The Black Bears once again came on strong early. Sophomore Amy Kuhl led off the second inning with a double to center field. She was knocked in by a ground ball out by Bennis.
Three UMaine runs later, Lauren Dulkis’s two-run triple down the line in right capped the scoring for the Black Bears.
“We were so much more solid from top to bottom,” Smith said. “We didn’t have to depend on our one through four hitters. We had hitting top to bottom and that was the key.”
According to Coach Smith, the most important part of the four-game sweep of Stony Brook is the resurgence of her ball club.
“This was the team we saw in Florida,” she said. “This was a team that was aggressive at the plate, aggressive on the bases, putting the ball in play, playing solid defense. This is the team we want to be.”
UMaine hopes to continue their conference winning streak when they take on Albany Friday at 2 p.m. on Kessock Field.
