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With the best start in school history, the University of Maine softball team will look to continue that trend in conference play this weekend.
The Black Bears, who are 20-12 and 2-1 in America East play, are looking to improve their record as they face the University of Vermont in a three-game set this weekend at Kessock Field.
“This past weekend, we had solid pitching and defense and that is what won our games,” said senior captain Dana Grimm. “In order to improve against Vermont, we have to find a way to push some more runs across the plate.”
Last weekend, UMaine was able to win their last two games against Stony Brook, placing them in a tie for second with the University of Maryland – Baltimore County. Perennial conference powerhouse Albany leads the conference with a 3-0 record.
UMaine’s attempt at sweeping the series ran into a bit of trouble during the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.
Heading into the fourth inning, the Black Bears were holding a 3-2 lead until the Seawolves tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom half of the frame.
Stony Brook eventually took the lead when they scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to win the game 5-3.
“It’s plain and simple,” Grimm said. “We have to get the bat on the ball and move runners around. When we do that, we will be successful.”
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Black Bears used freshman starlet Jenna Balent, who pitched a two-hit shutout en route to UMaine’s 3-0 win. Aside from limiting the Seawolves to only three baserunners all game, Balent struck out seven batters.
The Black Bears’ offense was powered by the duo of Brittany Cheney and Ashley Waters. Waters went 3-for-3 as she came in on a groundout by Cheney, giving UMaine a 1-0 lead. The next time Waters was at the plate, she tripled to lead off the inning. Cheney followed with a single to give UMaine a 2-0 lead. The final run was driven in by Molly McKinney for the 3-0 lead.
Sunday’s finale saw UMaine squeak out a 1-0 victory.
The lone run came when shortstop Brittany Cheney scored off a fielding error at third base.
Similar to her start on Saturday, Balent’s performance was a major key in UMaine’s victory as she held Stony Brook to another two-hit shutout.
Besides receiving the merits of a two-win weekend, Balent was named the conference pitcher of the week.
As a staff, we have worked hard on our mental aspect of the game, as well as playing together as a team,” said Balent, who is second on the team in wins with eight. “We have worked together to fix any miscommunications and staying focused for the entire game.”
UMaine’s series against the Catamounts will start on Saturday at noon.
This season, Vermont is 10-13 with a 1-2 conference record. Despite their record, the Catamounts have one of the conference’s best arms in Aimee Kern. This season, Kern is in the top three in ERA, opposing batting average and strikeouts.
Vermont’s conference opener came against last year’s conference title winners, Boston University. The Catamounts dropped the first two games of the series, but bounced back to win the final game 5-4.
“Our goals are high and it is about pursuing hard work and not looking too far down the road,” said head coach Stacey Sullivan. “Starting when we were in Florida our mindset became to look at the opponent in front of us not the ones after.”
