This weekend, they hosted the University of Vermont, the third-worst team in the conference, in hopes of continuing to roll through conference play.

Despite taking the first game of each doubleheader, Vermont took both late games, capitalizing on UMaine mistakes to salvage a series split.

UMaine won Saturday’s first game 11-8 before losing the second 5-4. On Sunday, the Black Bears took the first contest 5-1 and fell in the second 6-3.

With the split, UMaine is 26-15 on the season and 9-3 in the conference. The Catamounts are 12-25 overall and 5-7 in America East play. The Black Bears resume play Tuesday when they host Thomas College in a nonconference game before heading to the University of Albany for a four-game series starting next Saturday.

In Saturday’s first game, UMaine scored nine runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to erase a 6-2 deficit.

Trailing in the sixth, UMaine sent nine batters to the plate before Vermont even recorded an out. Myckie Lugbauer led off the inning with a double, Kevin McAvoy drew a walk, and Justin Leisenheimer followed with a three-run home run to deep center to make it 6-5. Jarrett Lukas and Tony Patane then hit back-to-back double, Patane’s scoring Lukas to tie it. Kyle Stilphen put the Black Bears ahead when he hit an RBI single to knock in Patane.

Kevin Scanlan (3-3) picked up the win in relief, while reigning America East Pitcher of the Year, Joe Serafin, picked up the loss for Vermont.

In Saturday’s second game, Catamounts left-hander Justin Albert scattered 11 hits and struck out 11 in a complete game effort.

UMaine trailed 4-2 in the eighth inning and tied the game when McAvoy and Leisenheimer belted back-to-back solo home runs.

Vermont responded in the ninth, however, when Dave Soltis hit a solo home run off of reliever Keith Bilodeau (1-5).

In Sunday’s first game, Pat Quinn tossed a complete game, one-hitter, allowing only one unearned run.

Quinn stymied the Catamount attack, limiting them to just a leadoff single in the top of the fourth inning. Vermont scored on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. The freshman right-hander (6-0) walked only two Vermont batters and struck out four on the afternoon, retiring the final eight batters of the game.

UMaine gave Quinn a two-run cushion in the second on RBI singles by Lukas and Joey Martin. Martin knocked in Lukas in the fourth inning on a single to give UMaine a 3-0 lead.

Martin and Lukas led the attack with three hits each, including Lukas’ solo home run in the fifth inning.

In game two of Sunday’s twin bill, Keith Rakus held the Black Bears in check for eight innings and Greg Lutton picked up his second save of the season to salvage the split.

Matt Duffy gave Vermont a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Matt Duffy’s 11th home run of the season, and Ethan Paquette tacked on another with an RBI double.

UMaine responded in the second inning when McAvoy and Stilphen scored on a field error to tie it 2-2.

Vermont took the lead back in the third inning, pushing across two runs, which is all they would need.

McAvoy belted his seventh home run of the season to pull within one run, but Vermont plated two more to put it out of reach in the eighth.

After last weekend’s four-game sweep of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, UMaine sits 7-1 in the conference and 24-13 overall. Last season at this time, the Black Bears were 14-18-1 overall and 3-5 in America East and on their way to a last-place finish.

Things have changed since last season though. The Black Bears graduated one of the greatest players in program history, Curt Smith, now in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system, but the rest of last season’s young team has developed further and several key freshmen have infused more talent into the pitching staff.

Offensively, of the 10 players who started at least one of the games against UMBC, they are all hitting above .300 except redshirt freshman Justin Leisenheimer who is hitting close to the mark at .294. The emergence of Justin’s twin brother, Ian, this week’s America East Rookie of the Week, has balanced the Black Bear lineup. Ian is leading the team with a .421 batting average and has a team-high 34 runs batted in. Senior outfielder Kevin McAvoy has regained his freshman form, hitting .414 so far this season with a team-high five home runs. Senior second baseman Danny Menendez’s development has also aided UMaine. Menendez stole a team-record four stolen bases in Sunday’s second game and is on pace to break the single season record of 35. He has 23 currently.

Defensively, the Black Bears have been stellarly led by the play of Menendez and his double play partner, Tony Patane. The two middle infielders have led a defense that is tied for second in the nation with 51 double plays turned.

The starting rotation is comprised of two sophomores and two freshmen. Freshman right-hander Pat Quinn leads the team with a 5-0 record and 1.74 ERA. Matt Jebb has the most wins on the staff with six. AJ Bazdanes and Jonathan Balentina fill out the rotation with 3-0 records and Alejandro Balsinde has been solid out of the bullpen with a team-high four saves.

Softball

Senior Ashley Waters, last year’s America East Player of the Year, keeps adding to her resume. The UMaine second baseman broke the career hits record on April 11 against Binghamton. She now has 209 hits in her career, breaking the record previously held by Jess Brady.

Men’s Basketball

Coach Ted Woodward has announced the addition of three student-athletes to next year’s squad. Mike Allison, Murphy Burnatowski and Jacob McLemore, younger brother of current player Gerald McLemore, will join the men’s basketball team in the fall of 2009.

Allison and Burnatowski are both Ontario natives and have international experience. McLemore is from San Diego, Calif. and is ranked by ESPN as one of the top 200 point guards in this recruiting class.

Football

The spring football season is underway for the UMaine football team and Coach Jack Cosgrove’s team will take part in the annual Jeff Cole Memorial Spring Football Scrimmage on May 2 at 10 a.m. On April 30 the Black Bears will host the Jeff Cole Memorial “Bone Marrow” Drive from 3-7 p.m.