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Softball Splits Doubleheader at Hartford
April 26, 2008
HARTFORD, Conn. - The University of Maine softball team split a Saturday doubleheader at Hartford, including dropping the opener by a count of 1-0, but rebounding in the second game to pull out a 2-1 triumph in eight innings. Maine improved to 10-36 overall and 9-8 in America East. The Hawks fell to 18-17 and 7-10 in the league. The two teams will conclude their three-game series with the finale on Sunday at 12 p.m., at Campus Field. After spotting Hartford a 1-0 lead following an inning of play in the day's second game, Maine responded with a tying run in the top of the third. The Black Bears knotted the score at 1-1 when Erin Iandoli singled home Kali Burnham, who led off the inning by drawing a walk. The game would go scoreless over the next four and a half innings before Alexis Souhlaris stepped to the plate to lead off the eighth inning. The sophomore outfielder put the Black Bears on top for good as she led off the frame with a solo home run over the wall in left field. Junior pitcher Jenna Balent, who started both games on Saturday and pitched all 14 innings, retired the Hawks in the bottom half of the frame to make the homer stand up and preserve the win for the Black Bears. Balent pitched all eight innings in the contest and yielded just one run on seven hits with five strikeouts and only two walks. Balent also turned in a spectacular performance in the first game despite coming up on the short end of a 1-0 defeat. Just as she did in the second game, Balent pitched a complete game (6 innings) and yielded just that one run on only six hits with three strikeouts.
Maine's offense couldn't get on track in the first game and was only able to muster three hits, one each from Ashley Waters, Kristen Calvetti and Kirstin Allen.
With Saturday's doubleheader split, and UMBC splitting its doubleheader at Vermont, both the Black Bears and Retrievers are still tied for the fourth spot in the America East standings with identical 9-8 league records. The top four teams in the league following the regular season earn a spot in the conference playoffs. Hartford sits in sixth, two games back of both teams with a 7-10 mark. Both Maine and UMBC will face each other in a three-game series at Mike Kessock Field next weekend in Orono. For more information on Maine softball, please visit the team's page at www.GoBlackBears.com(.) |
