MAINE baseball vs. DELAWARE

Time, site: Saturday (2), noon; Sunday (2), 11 a.m.; Smithfield, R.I.

Records: Maine 18-7 (5-3 America East); Delaware 19-8 (6-2)

Series, last meeting: Delaware leads 22-11; Maine won 15-11 on 4/2/00

Top hitters – Maine: DH Jon Hambelton (.420, 7 HR, 29 RBI), CF Mike Livulpi (.393, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 6 SB), C Joe Drapeau (.346, 7 HR, 32 RBI), 3B Matt Reynolds (.316, 1 HR, 8 RBI), LF Mike Ross (.293, 3 HR, 23 RBI); Delaware: CF Chris Kolodzey (.417, 4 HR, 30 RBI), 3B Peter Maestrales (.364, 4 HR, 27 RBI, 8 SB), DH Vince Vukovich (.339, 1 HR, 14 RBI), 2B Andrew Salvo (.302, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 8 SB), SS Kris Dufner (.302, 2 HR, 17 RBI)

Pitching Matchups

Maine Black Bears Delaware Blue Hens

ERA W-L Ks ERA W-L Ks

LH Rusty Tucker 1.50 3-1 33 RH Rich McGuire 4.62 5-2 36

RH Simon Stoner 4.24 3-1 25 RH Jason Vincent 5.27 5-0 31

RH Mike Collar 1.91 4-0 24 RH Vic Sage 4.35 3-2 19

RH Mike MacDonald 5.31 2-0 12 RH Mike Mihalik 4.45 1-1 18

Outlook: The Bears will get a better feel for how they stack up in league play against first-place Delaware. Maine, forced back on the road for a “home” series, is coming off a disappointing nonleague doubleheader loss Wednesday at Central Connecticut. Maine (.319) and Delaware (.311) rank Nos. 1 and 2 in America East hitting. This series begins a critical eight-game stretch during which the Bears hope to lay the groundwork for earning a spot in next month’s league tournament. Late-game pitching and defense will be keys in trying to contain the dangerous and speedy Hens, who have 50 stolen bases.

MAINE softball vs. HARTFORD

Time, site: Saturday (2), 2 p.m.; Sunday (2), noon, Rockland

Records: Maine 7-26 (2-6 America East), Hartford 5-5 (3-1)

Last meeting: Hartford won 4-1 on April 2, 2000

Top hitters – Maine: 3B Leigh Ann Hlywak (.281, 3 HR, 14 RBI), SS Erica Sobel (.235, 3 HR, 8 RBI), P Ashley Yuhas (.222, 0 HR, 2 RBI), 1B Katherine Churchill (.217, 0 HR, 4 RBIs), 2B Sara Asadoorian (.206, 0 HR, 5 RBI); Hartford: LF Jodiann Palmieri (.406, 1 HR, 7 RBI), C Brynn Weller (.389, 0 HR, 3 RBIs, 1B Abbey Toich (.310, 0 HR, 9 RBI), P-DH Liz Nadeau (.250, 0 HR, 7 RBI), 2B Alex Picillo (.231, 0 HR, 2 RBI)

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Maine Black Bears Delaware Blue Hens

ERA W-L Ks ERA W-L Ks

Carrie Green 2.93 2-7 25 Liz Nadeau 1.73 3-2 14

Candace Jaegge 3.84 3-9 39 Andi Miller 1.87 2-2 18

Ashley Yuhas 4.77 2-10 14 Jamie Graves 2.00 0-1 5

Outlook: The Black Bears make their “home” debut in coastal Rockland after 33 games outside the state of Maine. The Bears and Hawks have struggled in different ways this spring. UMaine’s big problem has come at the plate, while Hartford’s major challenge has become finding a place to play: the Bears have played more than three times as many games. The Bears don’t have a player hitting above .300 and the team is a collective .191. Hartford’s pitching staff, meanwhile, boasts a 1.83 team ERA and is holding opposing teams to a .217 batting average. UMaine is seventh in the eight-team league race.