College softball
MAINE vs. QUINNIPIAC
Time, site: Friday, 3 p.m.; Saturday noon doubleheader; Quinnipiac University softball field, Hamden, Connecticut
Records: Maine 8-10, Quinnipiac 8-12
Series, last meeting: 2-2, Maine 3-2 on March 8, 2014
Key players: Maine — C Janelle Bouchard (.433 average, 1 homer, 15 runs batted in), 2B-3B Meghan Royle 2B-3B (.385-1-8), 3B-DP Maddie Decker (.378-1-11), LF Rachel Harvey (.358-1-8), CF Rachel Carlson (.316-0-4), RF-3B-2B Alyssa Derrick (.293-5-18); Quinnipiac — 2B Emily Czaja (.324-0-1), 3B Miranda Magana (.311-0-7), LF Sarah Heimbach (.309-0-3), C Dani Edmands (.293-1-6), DP-P Sydney Robey (.286-0-5), CF Keilani Finley (.235-3-13)
Pitching matchups: Maine — RHP Annie Kennedy (3-3, 2.41 earned run average), RHP Molly Flowers (5-4, 2.58), LHP Erin Bogdanovich (0-3, 7.08); Quinnipiac — RHP Sydney Robey (3-6, 3.38), RHP Casey Herzog (4-6, 3.73), RHP Kendall Brundrett (1-0, 5.87)
Game notes: Both teams have won two of their last three games on their spring trips to Florida. Maine is hitting .302 as a team and has averaged 5.1 runs per game while the Bobcats have had their struggles at the plate, hitting just .238 and averaging only 2.8 runs per game. Quinnipiac graduated its top two hitters, All-MAAC first teamers Nikka Barba and Jordan Paolucci. Czaja has been a pleasant surprise. She hit .107 in limited service last year. The 6-foot-3 Derrick was the America East Rookie of the Week. Flowers has 58 strikeouts in 40 ⅔ innings and has surrendered only 23 hits. Sophomore right fielder Erika Leonard has 10 of Maine’s 21 stolen bases and she hasn’t been caught. Both teams have received important contributions from freshmen as Maine has received a lot of production from Royle, Decker and Derrick while Heimbach has stood out for Quinnipiac.