Softball

MAINE vs. VERMONT

Time, site: Saturday (2), Sunday, noon; Kessock Field, Orono

Records: Vermont 5-30 (2-11 America East); Maine 20-19 (7-7)

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 3-1, Vermont 4-1 on 4/28/03

Top hitters – Vermont: 3B Kate DeForge (.323, 1 HR, 11 RBI), DH Kate Ramsey (.318, 2 HR, 16 RBI), OF Heidi Gebo (.273, 2 HR, 13 RBI); Maine: CF Jess Brady (.361, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 11 SB), SS Brittany Cheney (.320, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 6 SB), 3B Lauren Dulkis (.291, 10 RBI), 1B-DH Amy Kuhl (.246, 1 HR, 11 RBI)

Pitching Matchups

Vermont Catamounts Maine Black Bears

ERA W-L Ks ERA W-L Ks

RH Kara Massey 3.60 3-15 49 RH Sarah Bennis 1.73 6-9 82

RH Meghan Doonan 4.23 2-12 69 RH Jenna Merchant 1.53 6-4 47

Outlook: Maine is entering what should be a relatively easy portion of its schedule, starting with this three-game series against the Catamounts, who are next-to-last in the conference. The Black Bears got a huge boost Wednesday with a split against Boston University, while Vermont dropped a doubleheader to Albany. The Catamounts rank last in team hitting and fielding and second-to-last in team pitching.

BASEBALL

MAINE vs. VERMONT

Time, site: Saturday (2), noon; Sunday, 11 a.m.; Burlington, Vt.

Records: Maine 22-16 (5-4 America East); Vermont 11-20 (4-5)

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 77-46; Maine 6-1 on 5/23/03

Top hitters – Maine: 1B Joel Barrett (.396, 23 RBI), 3B Greg Creek (.380, 5 HR, 31 RBI), DH Matt McGraw (.345, 1 HR, 13 RBI), RF Joe Hough (. 316, 4 HR, 32 RBI), LF Ryan Quintal (.296, 4 HR, 27 RBI); Vermont: CF Leif Ekelund (.372, 1 HR, 16 RBI), 2B Dean Geoffrey (.333, 1 HR, 8 RBI), RF Kyle Brault (.323, 9 HR, 34 RBI), 3B Miguel Magrass (.319, 4 HR, 33 RBI), 1B Barry Chamberland (.294, 2 HR, 14 RBI)

Pitching Matchups

Maine Black Bears Vermont Catamounts

ERA W-L Ks ERA W-L Ks

RH Mike MacDonald 2.95 4-1 57 LH Chris Blazek 5.13 2-3 54

RH Greg Norton 4.47 4-5 33 LH Justin Bissonnette 7.43 2-3 38

RH Troy Martin 3.55 2-0 32 RH Bryan Rembisz 8.53 3-3 37

Outlook: The Bears continue their quest for a playoff spot in a key series against the Catamounts. UMaine has won three straight and eight of its last 10 while UVM has lost nine of 11. The Bears have scored 10 or more runs in eight consecutive games. They’re batting .296 overall, .309 in the last two AE series. Creek owns a 12-game hit streak and Barrett has been battering opposing pitching. UVM has a solid offense (.277), but has struggled on the mound with a league-worst 7.95 team ERA.