The University of Maine’s defending America East champion Black Bears will carry a five-game losing streak into next weekend’s America East softball tournament after Albany’s Great Danes spoiled Senior Day festivities by sweeping the suddenly struggling Black Bears 2-0 and 6-5 at Kessock Field on Friday afternoon.
UMaine and Albany were supposed to play a three-game series but due to the impending rain, the decision was made to cancel Saturday’s game.
The Black Bears, 16-23 overall and 10-6 in America East, lost three games to Binghamton last weekend as Binghamton (21-21, 11-2) sewed up the regular season championship. UMaine will be seeded second for the conference tourney, which begins Wednesday at Binghamton University in Vestal, New York.
Prior to the Binghamton series, UMaine had won seven straight and 13 of 14.
UMaine won’t play until Thursday at 1:30, when they will take on the winner of Wednesday’s game between sixth seed Hartford (3-41, 0-14) and either Albany (23-15, 8-7) or Stony Brook (14-27, 7-7).
Binghamton will open Thursday’s play by facing the winner of Wednesday’s game between the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (20-28, 3-10) and either Stony Brook or Albany.
In Orono on Friday, the Great Danes scored a pair of first-inning runs in the opener and Celeste Verdolivo did the rest, firing a two-hitter with four strikeouts and three walks.
Kelly Spear’s one-out triple down the right field line triggered the decisive rally and she scored on Elizabeth Snow’s single. Snow went to second on a passed ball and scored on Sarah Petzold’s double to right center.
Snow had two singles for Albany while Alyssa Derrick and Felicia Lennon singled for UMaine and Erin Bogdanovich threw a complete-game five-hitter with 12 strikeouts and two walks.
In the second game, Elizabeth Snow belted a three-run homer and McKenzie Bump slugged a two-run shot to key the Albany triumph.
Albany built a 6-2 lead before UMaine rallied with two outs in the seventh on Erika Leonard’s run-scoring double and Maddie Moore’s two-run single.
But the Black Bears couldn’t tie it, stranding runners on first and second.
Bump had two singles to go with her homer and Bailey Turner picked up the win with five and one-third innings of six-hit, two-run ball. Devin Durando picked up the save.
Moore singled twice for UMaine and Derrick walloped her 13th homer of the season, a two-run shot in the fifth. Molly Flowers went the distance for UMaine, allowing five hits and six runs, four earned, with 10 strikeouts and four walks.
Thomas advances to NAC championship round
At O’Keefe Field in Bangor on Friday, the third-seeded Thomas College Terriers from Waterville advanced to the championship round of the North Atlantic Conference Tournament by upsetting top seed and host Husson University 5-3 after beating No. 2 seed Castleton University 5-1 earlier in the day.
Husson had opened with a 3-2 triumph over No. 4 New England College (N.H.) before Castleton State posted a 3-1 victory over New England College in an elimination game.
Husson, 28-12, and Castleton State, 19-9-1, will meet in an elimination game at noon on Saturday and the winner will advance to the championship round against Thomas, 13-21, at 2.
In the winners bracket game, freshman Lauren Farina drove in three runs with a pair of doubles and sophomore pitcher Sydney LeBourveau hurled her second complete game of the day to lead Thomas past Husson.
Husson built a 2-0 lead on a run-producing error in the first and Brianna Bires’ run-scoring single in the fourth but Farina’s first double delivered a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth and Thomas took the lead for good in the fifth on another Husson error.
Farina’s RBI double and Katie Taylor’s RBI groundout made it 5-2 in the sixth before Husson’s Bri Brochu tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the seventh.
But Husson stranded two runners as LeBourveau finished off a six-hitter in which she walked four and struck out two.
LeBourveau and Lexi Colpack doubled for Thomas while Chloe Gorey singled twice for Husson and Olivia Smith had a double.
In Husson’s earlier game, Bri Brochu’s infield single capped a wild sixth-inning rally as the Eagles scored the eventual game-winner.
Brochu collected four singles among nine hits for Husson and Tamara Aunchman provided an RBI single. Jen Jones (8-5) worked four innings of one-hit shutout relief to earn the win in the circle. She struck out six with no walks.
Brianna Castellano singled twice for New England College. Debra Mazzeo (7-15) suffered the loss.
Aunchman’s run-scoring hit gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but the Pilgrims went ahead 2-1 in the third on Alexa Scribner’s two-run single.
Husson countered in the sixth when Jones singled with one out and advanced on Kylie Kennedy’s fielder’s choice and an error. Nicole Andrade walked, before the first run scored on a wild pitch.
One out later, Brochu’s infield single to shortstop plated the go-ahead run.
In Thomas’ win over Castleton State, LeBourveau pitched a two-hitter with four strikeouts and two walks and she also had a two-run double and a single.
Colpack, Courtney Veilleux and Korrie Laren each posted two singles for Thomas College of Waterville.
Timi Carone and Sara Baker singled for Castleton and Tori Swaine hit a sacrifice fly. Starter Taylor Paquette suffered the loss, giving up seven hits and four runs with three strikeouts in four innings.
In the Castleton triumph over New England College, Kayla Wood scattered five hits with six strikeouts and no walks and Kayley Fountain drove in two runs with a sacrifice fly and a fielder’s choice.
Baker had a triple while Carone and McKinlie Carpenter each doubled for the winners. Castellano and Rachel Kerrigan each singled twice for 17-21 New England College and Joslyn Gallagher doubled.