The University of Maine softball team will welcome seven new players to the program next fall.
Coach Mike Coutts and the Black Bears on Tuesday announced their recruiting class, which includes two Maine players, that will join the team for the 2017-18 academic year.
The class includes catcher Hailey Perry of Hermon, pitcher Lilly Volk of Scarborough, infielder/pitcher Maddie Kimble of Ohio, catcher Makayla Livingston of New Hampshire, infielder Amanda Nee of Virginia, pitcher Kyleigh O’Donnell of Massachusetts and infielder/outfielder Shanna Scribner of New Hampshire.
“We are very pleased with our 2017 recruiting class,” Coutts said in a press release. “They combine all that is important to our program and to University of Maine athletics, quality people, great students and athletic softball players. They will be asked to continue building on the incredible culture our graduating seniors have built and we expect they will.”
Perry is a three-time, all-state selection and a two-time Penobscot Valley Conference honoree in three years at Hermon. As a junior, she batted .604 with four home runs and led the Hawks with 37 RBIs. She also scored 25 runs.
Volk compiled an 18-0 record and a 0.75 earned run average in her junior campaign at Scarborough. She struck out 155 batters and walked just 20, while also hitting .417 with five home runs.
Volk also hurled a perfect game during the 2016 Class A South playoffs.
Kimble was named Saint Joseph Academy’s offensive player of the year in 2015 after hitting .568 with an .862 slugging percentage. The three-year letterwinner recorded a fielding percentage of .933 and hit three homers with 20 RBIs.
Kimble also can pitch, having struck out 10 batters in 27 innings last spring.
Livingston has started at catcher at Timberlane Regional since her freshman campaign. As a junior, she hit .380 with three home runs and 28 RBIs.
Nee has earned all-conference honors while catching and playing first base for Briar Woods High the last two seasons. Last spring, she hit four homers while batting .464 with five doubles and three homers as a sophomore.
O’Donnell has posted a 43-23 record with 731 strikeouts and only 78 walks in three years at Archbishop Williams High. In the last two seasons, her ERA has not climbed over 0.60 and she has a .420 career batting average with 14 home runs.
Scribner is a two-year starter at Bedford High, and she has an on-base percentage of .430. She also was the 2015 New England champion in the javelin.
Two UMaine football players honored
University of Maine seniors Christophe Mulumba Tshimanga and Patrick Ricard have been named to the New England Football Writers’ 2016 Division-I All-New England team.
Mulumba Tshimanga and Ricard will be recognized at the New England Football Writers Annual Captains and Awards banquet held on Thursday, Dec. 8 at the Montvale Plaza in Stoneham, Massachusetts.
Mulumba Tshimanga, a linebacker, ranked second in the league with 9.7 tackles per game. He finished the season with 97 tackles, 7.0 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks and a pair of pass breakups.
Ricard, a defensive lineman, completed his season with 11 starts and 50 tackles, including 15.5 TFLs and 5.5 sacks.
3 Black Bears honored
Three members of the UMaine field hockey team have been selected for the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Association Division I All-Region teams.
Black Bears Casey Crowley and Sydney Veljacic were named to the First Team, and Samantha Wagg gained a second-team spot.
Crowley led the team in points with 30, ranking second on the team with 10 goals and 10 assists.
Veljacic, a senior captain, finished with three goals scored and eight assists for a total of 14 points.
Wagg finished the season with nine goals scored, added six assists for a total of 24 points scored.
The Longstreth/NFHCA Division I Regional Players of the Year will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 1, and the All-America squad will be recognized on Wednesday, Dec. 7.
Husson plans Winter Carnival
The Husson University softball program is hosting a Winter Carnival 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, inside Newman Gymnasium on the Bangor campus.
The event, sponsored by Blast Party Rentals, will feature bounce houses, numerous games and food. A $5 wristband purchased at the door provides unlimited access to the carnival.
The Winter Carnival will be hosted by Husson softball players and coaches, and proceeds will benefit the Eagles’ program.
