BANGOR – The Husson College softball team was facing a huge obstacle at the beginning of the school year.

The problem? No ace pitcher.

Jamie Wells, a former Hampden Academy standout, pitched her freshman year, but decided to focus on academics. Sherri Capponi, who starred at Brewer High last year, chose not to play. That left the Braves without a solid, experienced starter.

Coach Randy Dodge turned to a group of players with limited pitching experience, but Heather Bailey, Lesley Freese and Nicole Duplisea have come through for the Braves.

Although the team has had its pitching woes – such as 55 walks in 10 games during a March swing through Florida – Bailey, Freese and Duplisea have been pitching with more accuracy.

“We knew that was going to be a tough point so we had to work our way through that a little bit,” Dodge said. “We’re getting better as we’re playing more consistently now. Our pitchers are starting to throw more strikes.”

All three players pitched a little in high school (Duplisea at Stearns in Millinocket, Freese at Lawrence of Fairfield and Bailey at Narraguagus in Harrington) but weren’t regular starters. Dodge had to scramble a bit when he realized he didn’t have an ace, but regular work with his three pitchers helped.

“I knew the fundamentals,” Duplisea said. “It’s not too bad. Basically pitching underhand, it’s just a motion. With a lot of practice it’s pretty easy.”

Husson’s offense has come on strong lately, and that’s helped overcome the inexperience in the circle. The Braves pounded out 47 hits in a four-game weekend series against Sunrise Conference rival Lyndon State and had another 17 hits against Maine Maritime Tuesday.

“I think with us playing more consistency, we’re really going to hit the ball and find spaces instead of hitting it at people,” Dodge said.

The Braves have been pleased with their defense, too. Husson has several newcomers at key spots, including freshman Jodi Reynolds sharing time with Rhonda Chambers behind the plate and Sara Agouab, a transfer from USM, splitting time at second with freshman Freese.

“Defensively we’ve been pretty good and that will continue,” said shortstop Erin Weston, the team’s only senior.

As of earlier this week Husson was sitting in fourth place in the Sunrise Conference after taking three of four from Lyndon. It was a big boost for the Braves, especially after dropping a key doubleheader against the University of Maine-Presque Isle last week.

“Those were big wins,” Weston said. “We came off a couple of losses last week so we wanted to get right back into it and we had three wins. That’s good for us.”

Husson is 7-3 since April 11. The top four teams in the Sunrise Conference advance to the playoffs, which will be held May 2-4 at Thomas College in Waterville.