First-year coach Alan Gordon’s University of Maine-Presque Isle softball team heads into the end of its season with an April 28 contest with Thomas College of Waterville.

The Owls’ record stands at 2-18. While UMPI’s record isn’t very good, Gordon is not disappointed with the effort.

“We played a really tough schedule on our spring trip,” he said. “We played Bloomfield College – which went to the nationals last year – and Rutgers and Caldwell; teams Bloomfield plays regularly.

“That week was our first time outside. Our goal was not to come back undefeated, but to get experience playing against better teams that would set us up for playing our Maine schedule,” Gordon added.

Gordon originally had 20 women out for the program, but academics took precedence and the roster fell to 11.

“That made it tough,” Gordon admitted. “But a lot of kids who are academically oriented were concerned about their grades. Many of them play numerous sports and they decided instead of missing classes on Fridays, they’d take the year off and study. That did hurt us.”

What UMPI put on the field, then, was a fairly young team.

In the circle is junior Beth Corrow of Caribou. She has UMPI’s two wins. She leads the team in nearly every offensive category with a .300-plus average and a .600 on-base percentage. She leads the teams in steals and plays the outfield when not pitching.

Freshman Melanie Johnson of Caribou, a non-traditional student who is on campus after a four-year stint in the armed forces, is the catcher.

Johnson leads the team in runs batted in, and raised quite a few eyebrows among the umpiring community for her excellent performance behind the plate as a first-year player. “A lot of the umps have complimented her,” Gordon said. “She’s done an outstanding job filling that role and throws out a lot of runners. She’s a natural.”

Freshman Amy Boyd of Mars Hill, an all-star player from Central Aroostook, is at first base. She has been a big asset to the team both offensively and defensively. Her homer gave UMPI a win over Westbrook.

Sophomore Pam McLaughlin of East Corinth is the second baseman. “She’s definitely one of our top defensive players,” Gordon said. “She solidifies the infield up the middle.”

One of two seniors, Deb Sirois of St. Agatha, is the shortstop. She was the leading hitter on the spring trip, batting .333. A four-year player, she started out strongly at the plate and has one of the better individual defensive records.

Tammy Dumont of East Millinocket, a junior with sophomore eligibility, is at third base. Dumont, an RBI leader, is playing her first year at UMPI after transferring from Hawaii.

In the outfield, Heidi Ballerstein, a sophomore from Presque Isle, plays left field and is the second-leading hitter. One of her better performances was against Westbrook when she had a triple and three RBIs. Defensively, Ballerstein “is the one who makes the outfield really solid,” Gordon said. “Whenever our pitching gets suspect, she makes a number of plays in the field.”

Also playing her first year of softball is the other senior, Deb McNeal of New Sweden, the team’s center fielder.

Nancy Watson, a junior from Caribou who is coming on strong at the plate, is the right fielder. Off the bench, Rebecca Marschall, a strong hitter, can platoon with Watson in the outfield.

The final player on the roster leads a double life during the season. Barb Blackstone, a junior from Easton, serves not only as the team’s athletic trainer, but she’s been in uniform and on the field when needed.

With the season coming to a close, Gordon is a little more relaxed and, depending on the final record, hopeful there might be one more postseason contest.