UMass, Albany on deck for Maine

The University of Maine softball team has had to juggle its schedule this spring because of bad weather and field conditions up and down the east coast. One of those postponements has been rescheduled for Friday, and it might turn out to be a good move for the Black Bears.

Coming off a three-game sweep of America East rival University of Maryland Baltimore County, Maine heads to UMass Friday for a doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m.

The Minutemen are one of the top teams in the Northeast, so the series win over the Retrievers could be just what the Bears need going into the weekend. Maine and UMass were scheduled to play April 1, but bad weather forced a postponement.

At least a split with UMass would be welcome as the Bears then head to Albany Saturday for a key three-game set against the Great Danes. Maine returns home but it doesn’t get easier as the Bears will host Boston University for a doubleheader Wednesday.

“If we play anywhere close to where we are we should be OK.,” UMaine coach Deb Smith said after Saturday’s 2-1 and 4-3 wins. “Tough weekend but it’s really a good one for us coming off this weekend and moving into the following week.”

After the UMass doubleheader the Black Bears will play two games at Albany Saturday and a single game Sunday. Maine and BU will play a doubleheader at Kessock Field in Orono Wednesday.

Albany leads America East with a 9-1 record, while BU is second with a 5-1 mark. Maine’s sweep of UMBC pulled the 6-3 Bears into a tie for third place with Stony Brook.

UMass isn’t ranked in the most recent USA Today/ National Fast Pitch Coaches Association Division I poll, but the Minutemen received consideration early in the season. They’ve won nine straight Atlantic-10 titles and Smith said UMass (22-12 overall, 6-0 A-10) is traditionally a strong program.

The Black Bears faced the Minutemen in the fall and lost 1-0, but Smith said UMaine sophomore Sarah Bennis had a no-hitter going into the late innings.

“Even though they’re non conference games we’re looking at them as very important games for us,” Smith said. “Even if we can play with a team like UMass we can play with a BU, we can play with an Albany.”

Maine’s pitching and defense have been its strong suit all season, but the Bears finally seemed to come alive at the plate this weekend. UMaine’s team batting average went from .240 going into the games against UMBC to .252 after the three wins.

Jess Brady of Jackman continues to lead the Black Bears with a .396 batting average. The junior has nine stolen bases this season and is just three away from tying Maine’s career record of 44 set by Sara Jewett from 1997-2000.

The Bears seemed to get contributions from almost every spot in the order. Sophomore Dana Grimm, who batted seventh and fifth over the weekend, was 5-for-9 with two RBIs.

Senior Sara Asadoorian, who has been batting ninth, is hitting .216 but had a key RBI single in Saturday’s 2-1 win.

“When you can hit it seems like everything works for you,” said sophomore leadoff hitter Brittany Cheney, who went 5-for-10 in three games and drove in the winning run in the 4-3 win Saturday. “The defense works, the pitching works. Hitting is a huge reassurance for us. I really hope we can continue to hit this well through the rest of the season.”