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.