Last weekend, University of Maine baseball coach Paul Kostacopoulos had to do some maneuvering to get his team out on the field.

After spring conditions made it impossible for the Black Bears to play a three-game series at Rhode Island, Kostacopoulos hooked up with former assistant coach Mike McRae, now the head coach at Niagara University, and set up a three-game series to be played at Salisbury, Md.

“We don’t take weather for an answer,” quipped Kostacopoulos, who said it was worth the several extra hours on the bus to get his team some games.

“The risk is, if you don’t play last weekend, you can go two or three weeks without playing and you can’t do that and expect that you’re going to be OK,” Kostacopoulos said.

UMaine swept Niagara while improving to 10-7 with its eighth win in the last nine games.

Among the highlights last weekend for the Bears was the hitting of sophomore outfielder Joe Hough, who went 7-for-11 (a .636 clip) with 10 RBIs and six runs scored. He rapped three doubles and a home run in three games.

“Joe’s on a little bit of a tear right now and that’s great. We need that,” said Kostacopoulos, who added Hough also was outstanding in right field.

Junior Greg Creek of Chelsea posted five hits and Ryan Quintal added four hits and four RBIs in the series. Freshman Matt McGraw also had four hits on the weekend.

“We got a lot of two-out hits, a lot of clutch hits,” Kostacopoulos said.

While UMaine starters Mike MacDonald of Camden and Greg Norton of South Portland struggled a bit, freshman Steve Richard continued his tremendous pitching. The righthander threw seven innings of one-hit, shutout ball while improving to 1-1 and lowering his earned run average to 2.42.

“The last two times out, he’s gone into the seventh inning with no-hitters,” Kostacopoulos said. “He really only has command of one pitch, but when he’s on and exploding and hitting spots, he’s tough.”

Richard, out of Billerica, Mass., features a fastball consistently around 88 mph, but is capable of bumping it up to 91 or 92 when needed. He continues to work on a slider and a changeup.

Sophomore Troy Martin of Dover, N.H., also has been solid of late. He gave up two hits, no runs and struck out six in a relief outing last weekend.

UM women to face tough foes

The UMaine women’s basketball team will play another testy non-conference schedule during the 2004-05 season.

Potentially, the Black Bears could run into three teams that finished the 2003-04 season ranked No. 64 or higher in the Rating Percentage Index (RPI).

Coach Sharon Versyp’s team, which will welcome back 11 veterans, including four regulars, from this season’s 25-7 NCAA Tournament entry, will take on Montana, either Mississippi State of the Southeastern Conference or Saint Joseph’s (Pa.) of the Big East, and has dates with Big Ten entries Michigan and Indiana along with Southern Methodist, Buffalo, Loyola-Chicago and Rider.

“You’ve got to have a great RPI,” Versyp said. “It doesn’t matter what you do in the conference. We’ve got to prepare ourselves to do the best we can before conference and that’s playing Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Montana and those type of schools.”

The Bears will open with road games against Rider and SMU, then return home to face Loyola of Chicago and either Mississippi State or Saint Joseph’s in the Dead River Co. Classic, all in November.

In December, UMaine visits Buffalo, entertains Indiana and Michigan, then competes in the Montana holiday tournament against the host Grizzlies and either Florida State or an as-yet-undetermined team.

Versyp hopes the Bears will have enough experience to be successful during their non-league schedule.

“You never know,” Versyp said. “We’ve been fortunate the last two years with injuries.”

Stults a finalist for Byers award

Missy Stults, a senior on the University of New England women’s basketball team, is one of six finalists for the NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship Award.

The NCAA selects one male and one female student-athlete as its Walter Byers Scholars each year. The recipients must have a.3,50 grade point average, show evidence of superior character and leadership, and demonstration participation in athletics that has been a positive influence on personal and intellectual development.

The winners each receive a $21,500 scholarship to be used for graduate school and have an option for renewing the scholarship in their second year of school if they are in good academic standing and a full-time student during their second year of study.

Stults, a marine biology and environmental science major, is a seven-time dean’s list qualifier with a 3.87 grade point average.

The only NCAA Division III finalist for this year’s award, Stults finished her basketball career as UNE’s career leader in points (1,808) and ranked second in rebounds (1,031). Stults also has been her class president for four years and served as an orientation leader for three years.

The Walter Byers Scholars will be named April 26.