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The University of Maine softball team opened its home season on Friday with a pair of wins against Binghamton. Maine followed up its two game sweep with a loss to Binghamton on Saturday 5-1. The weekend marked the first time the new bleachers behind the backstop at Kessock Field were in use, and they were filled for all three games. In the first game of the Friday afternoon double-header, Sarah Bennis pitched a complete game shutout to lift Maine to a 2-0 win. In the second game, Jenna Merchant controlled the circle for Maine, going the full seven innings to give Maine the 2-1 victory.
The Bearcats were able to keep the Black Bear bats fairly quiet, but Maine’s defense and pitching did their jobs against the best hitting team in the conference. Bennis allowed just five hits in game one. Maine got its runs early. Sophomore Brittany Cheney and junior Jess Brady led off the first inning with a pair of singles. After two mistakes by Binghamton on the following plays, both runners came home, giving Maine the 2-0 advantage. Bennis would take over from there, picking up the win to improve her record to 3-7.
In game two, Merchant grabbed her fourth win of the season, with a complete game effort giving up seven hits and one earned run. Maine again found its offense in the first inning when sophomore Dana Grimm’s bases loaded RBI bunt brought in the runner for the Black Bears. In the fourth inning freshman pinch runner Tara Vilardo came to the plate when Brady hit an RBI single, putting Maine up 2-0. An RBI double by Jessica Dima in the sixth inning for the Bearcats cut the Maine lead to 2-1, but Merchant would not let up, and Maine held on in the top of the seventh for the 2-1 win.
Maine coach Deb Smith was happy with her team’s play in two hard-fought wins on Friday.
“We played tough and we played two close games,” said head coach Deb Smith. “It’s huge for us to come away with those one-and two-run games. Defensively we played very well. Pitching we got exactly what we needed.
“We were controlling but not necessarily dominating as far as pitching went. We were very solid behind those guys and had we not been that would have given us trouble.”
“Defense was awesome today,” said junior third baseman Lauren Dulkis. “All around, everyone played great. Scoring early, I think it took a lot of pressure off us.”
On Saturday, Maine did not have luck go its way. Candice Jaegge took the start and the loss. She pitched three innings and allowed five hits and two earned runs. Sarah Bennis tried her luck in the fourth inning but, after pitching the day before, struggled in just a little over one inning, allowing four hits and three runs. After giving up two runs in the fifth inning, Smith again made a pitching change. She went to Merchant, who pitched the last two and1/3 innings and gave up no hits and recorded a strikeout.
“We definitely would have liked to have all three games,” said senior first baseman Nicole Taylor. “It wasn’t like we couldn’t have had all three games but today we were just a little sluggish.”
Maine plays at Boston University on Wednesday before returning home next Friday and Saturday for three games against UMBC.
