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Black Bears sweep away hapless Catamounts

By Ryan Clark

Posted on Monday, April 10th, 2006, 12:00 am

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TAKING OFF - Brittany Cheney tries to steal second base (background) as the Vermont first baseman eyes the action at home plate (foreground).

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ORONO – With the bases loaded, a Kristie Hawkins single gave the University of Maine softball team a 3-2 win over the University of Vermont on Sunday at Kessock Field.

UMaine’s matinee win coupled with two 7-0 victories against the Catamounts on Saturday gives the Black Bears their third sweep of the season. The sweep also keeps them in first place in America East. UMaine improves to 23-12, 5-1 AE while Vermont drops to 10-16, 1-5 AE.

“I really just tried to focus on the ball and not on what was going on around me,” Hawkins said. “It’s really good for us to know that we can come and blow out a team and also being able to come back and win a game as well.”

Before Hawkins’ game-winning hit, the Black Bears clawed back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game at 2-2.

In the bottom of the seventh, Erin Provost led off with a single to left field. Provost advanced to second with a sac bunt by Ashley Waters.

Then with Brittany Cheney at the plate, Provost stole third base. Once the senior from Peru, NY was at third, Vermont head coach Pam Childs made the tactical decision to intentionally walk Cheney and Molly McKinney with one out.

“I was actually pretty surprised but I mean they were trying to load the bases for the bottom of the order which has been hitting,” Cheney said. “For me it was just, they were kind of bailing me out on that one.”

After the bases were loaded, Vermont’s Aimee Kern, who came on in relief in the fourth, struck out Tara Vilardo.

The move by Childs almost paid off until Hawkins hit a single to shallow center field to give UMaine the 3-2 win.

Besides the performance the Black Bears received from Hawkins, they were also led by Sarah Bennis who, despite giving up two runs, struck out 13 batters for her 13th win of the season.

“Today we really had to earn the win and it was a good team win,” Bennis said. “My mindset is always just to try and keep the team in the game.

“Regardless if we are down early, I know the team has my back.”

Bennis, who started the first game of the series, ran into a bit more trouble in the finale.

After Saturday’s start where Vermont’s first hit came in the sixth inning, the Catamounts started hitting off the former Greely High standout in the first inning.

Vermont was able to put something together in the third inning when RBIs from Kern and Kate DeForge gave the Catamounts the 2-0 lead.

Although UMaine cut the lead to 2-1 in the fourth, the Black Bears tied the game at 2-2 in sixth when a sac bunt by Courtney Gingrich was misplayed by the Vermont infield.

Saturday was a different story as Maine used an offensive barrage to score two runs in the first inning en route to a 7-0 in their first game.

With runners in scoring position and one out, a McKinney sacrifice bunt brought Waters home for the 1-0 lead. In the following at-bat Amy Kuhl crushed a double to center field to drive in Cheney for a 2-0 lead.

In the second inning, UMaine added two more runs with an RBI single by Waters. Waters came home on the following at bat as she scored on a wild pitch.

UMaine’s commanding lead made the job easy for Bennis, who took a no-hitter into the sixth until DeForge hit an infield single.

“They did a good job of making the adjustments to my pitching compared to the first game,” said Bennis when comparing her two starts. “It was just a matter of feeling out for one another and seeing what works.”

In the second game, UMaine was powered by reigning America East Pitcher of the Week Jenna Balent as she pitched a four-hit shout for another 7-0 win.

Balent struck out seven batters as Maine’s offensive surge was led by Cheney and Kuhl, who combined for six RBIs. Two of Kuhl’s RBIs came in the fifth as she homered to help the Black Bears cap a five-run, fifth inning.

Outside of their improving conference record, UMaine has now won seven of their last eight games.

“We absolutely earned the win [Sunday] and in conference it’s difficult to win two days in a row against the same team,” said coach Stacey Sullivan. “It’s huge for us to win three games at home now that we are going on a tough road trip against Boston University and Albany.”