MAINE vs. HARTFORD
Time, site: Saturday (2), 3 p.m., Sunday, 1 p.m., Mahaney Diamond, Orono
Records: Maine 23-21 (11-5 America East), Hartford 4-38-1 (1-15)
Series, last meeting: Maine leads 74-24, Hartford 4-1 on 4/17/11
Top hitters: Maine — 1B Justin Leisenheimer (.325, 5 HR, 16 RBIs), RF Joey Martin (.309-3-35, 13 stolen bases), SS Michael Fransoso (.297-3-25, 12 SBs), CF Taylor Lewis (.296-2-20, 17 SBs), 2B Troy Black (.429-0-13); Hartford — 1B Matt Walker (.286-2-19), CF Ryan Lukach (.255-1-12), SS Simon Kudernatsch (.250-1-19, 8 SBs), LF Mark Sorbara (.247-2-9)
Possible pitching matchups: Maine — RH Keith Bilodeau (7-2, 3.06, 65 Ks), RH Jeff Gibbs (5-4, 4.47, 49) RH Steve Perakslis (4-4, 4.33, 40); Hartford — RH Mike Thatcher (0-5, 4.96, 20), RH Hunter Englehart (0-5, 5.40, 16), RH Anthony Mannuccia (2-7, 6.66, 33)
Outlook: The Black Bears look to continue generating momentum as they chase Binghamton for second place in the league standings. UMaine has won eight in a row and 14 of its last 16 behind a resurgent offense led by Leisenheimer, Martin and Fransoso. The struggling Hawks ended a 13-game losing streak Wednesday with a 7-0 road win over Fairleigh Dickinson. Hartford, which is directed by interim head coach Jerry Shank, is batting only .222 in AE play and is scoring only 2.6 runs per game.