Bears nip Terriers in title game

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ORONO – The University of Maine softball team pounded out 11 hits in Saturday’s America East conference championship game.

Good enough to win, right?

Wrong. Even though the Black Bear offense was strong and Sarah Bennis pitched well in relief, Maine still couldn’t push across enough runners to rally past two-time defending champion Boston University.

So it’s a good thing Maine came through the winners bracket, because it meant another shot at the Terriers. The second time around, the Bears wasted neither their chances nor Bennis’ stellar effort.

The Bears scored two runs in the sixth thanks to a Jess Brady double, a Lauren Dulkis single and a Brittany Cheney sacrifice, while Bennis held off the Terriers for two more innings, for a dramatic 2-1 victory over BU and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Maine, the first No. 4 seed to win the America East tournament, awaits its opponent for the 64-team double elimination NCAA tourney. The pairings were to be announced Sunday night.

The Bears, 28-21, won their first championship since 1994 when current coach Deb Smith was a senior pitcher.

“This is unbelievable,” said Dulkis, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. “It feels like a dream right now. We come in on our home field, beat BU in the championship. It was a huge team effort.”

Maine got to Saturday’s final thanks to wins over No. 1 Albany on Thursday and No. 2 Stony Brook on Friday. A win in Saturday’s first game would have sealed it but BU won 3-2, sending the teams to a second title game.

Pownal native Bennis and Dulkis were both named to the all-tournament team. They were joined by Maine players Cheney, Brady of Jackman and Molly McKinney.

The Bears didn’t look as inspired at the plate in the second game but leadoff batter Brady changed all of that in the top of the sixth when she drove a 1-1 pitch into left field for a double.

Dulkis followed with a line- drive single to left and Brady scored the tying run when left fielder DeKenya Williams let the ball go by her. Dulkis also moved to third.

Cheney, who had an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the first game, flied out to Williams and Dulkis charged home for the winning run.

“The ball went to the right place at the right time,” Dulkis said of her single. “There was no sign on. Jess had the [double] and it was just like, runner in scoring position and I was ready for anything. It worked out good.”

The Bears loaded up the bases later in the inning but couldn’t drive in another run.

BU’s Abbey Pauley scored in the first inning. Bennis gave up her only walk of the game to the BU leadoff batter, who stole second and advanced to third on a Williams single. Williams’ hit was misplayed by Maine left fielder Erin Provost, allowing Pauley to score.

“We just didn’t get the timely hits,” BU coach Amy Hayes said. “But I’m glad it’s Maine going. They just battle. They have so much heart.”

Pauley singled in the third, but Bennis retired 14 straight Terriers from there, including the top six in the order, during the final two innings.

“Keeping those leadoff [batters] off base was the key so I could face the bigger hitters with no runners on,” Bennis said. “I just wanted to go right at them, make them make mistakes and let my defense play. And they were awesome.”

In Saturday’s first game, America East Pitcher of the Year Jenna Merchant of Maine struggled in her second straight start with six walks. She opened the game by walking Pauley, who came home on a Jamie Haas double.

Bennis relieved Merchant in the third and allowed three hits and one unearned run.

The Bears got two runs back as McKinney doubled and eventually scored on a Merchant single. Brady added another run in the seventh when she tripled and scored on a Cheney sacrifice fly. Maine had runners on first and second with two outs in the seventh but Merchant struck out to end it.

Brady and McKinney combined to go 8-for-8.

The Maine players were eager to face the Terriers, the team that knocked them out of the tourney last year with a 19-6 trouncing.

“It’s great to win America East but it’s even better to win it against them,” Cheney said. “We just battle and battle with them all the time.”

Other all-tourney team members were Haas and Ashlee Freeman of BU, Kristen Brust and Angela Andews of Stony Brook and Andee Lindgren and Ashley Rios of Albany.

BLACK BEARS 2, TERRIERS 1

(Second Game)

Maine (28-21) BU (26-32)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Brady, cf 4 1 1 0 Pauley, cf 2 1 0

Dulkis, 3b 4 1 1 0 Haas, ss 2 0 0

Cheney, ss 2 0 0 1 Alley, 1b 3 0 0

McKinney, rf 3 0 0 0 Williams, lf 3 0 0

Kuhl, 1b 3 0 2 0 McDonald, dh 3 0 0

Belmonte, pr 0 0 0 0 Louie, 2b 3 0 0

Merchant, dh 2 0 1 0 Mendez, c 2 0 0

Joseph, pr 0 0 0 0 King, 3b 2 0 0

Provost, lf 2 0 0 0 Varga, rf 2 0 0

Tibbetts, c 3 0 0 0

Vilardo, pr 0 0 0 0

Asadoorian, 2b 2 0 0 0

Totals 25 2 5 1 Totals 22 1 2 0

Maine 000 002 0 ? 2

BU 100 000 0 ? 1

E?Provost; Alley, Williams; LOB?Maine 6, BU 2; 2B?Brady; S?Haas; SF?Cheney; SB?Pauley

Maine IP H R ER BB SO

Bennis (W,10-9) 7 2 1 0 1 5

BU IP H R ER BB SO

Detwiler (L,5-13) 5 2/3 5 2 0 2 3

Freeman 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 0

HBP?Merchant by Detwiler; WP?Bennis; T?1:41; ATT?322

TERRIERS 3, BLACK BEARS 2

(First Game)

BU (26-31) Maine (27-21)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Pauley, cf 1 1 0 0 Brady, cf 4 1 0

Haas, ss 3 1 1 1 Dulkis, 3b 3 0 0

Alley, 1b 3 0 0 0 Cheney, ss 3 0 1

Williams, lf 2 1 1 0 McKinney, dh-rf 4 1 0

McDonald, dh 3 0 0 1 Provost, lf 0 0 0

Louie, 2b 4 0 0 0 Kuhl, 1b 1 0 0

Mendez, c 3 0 0 0 Sirois, pr 0 0 0

King, 3b 3 0 2 0 Merchant, p-dh 3 0 1

Varga, rf 2 0 0 0 Vilardo, pr 0 0 0

Tibbetts, c 3 0 1 0

Belmonte, pr 0 0 0 0

Grimm, rf-lf 2 0 0 0

Taylor, ph 0 0 0 0

Asadoorian, 2b 3 0 1 0

Totals 24 3 4 2 Totals 26 2 11 2

BU 101 000 1 ? 3

Maine 000 001 1 ? 2

E?Brady, Dulkis, Tibbetts; LOB?BU 9, Maine 10; 2B?Haas; McKinney 2, Asadoorian; 3B?Brady; DP?BU 2; S?Pauley; Dulkis, Kuhl, Merchant; SF?Cheney; SB?Williams; Brady

BU IP H R ER BB SO

Freeman (W,18-13) 7 11 2 2 1 1

Maine IP H R ER BB SO

Merchant (L, 10-5) 2 2/3 1 2 2 6 3

Bennis 4 1/3 3 1 0 2 4

HBP?Kuhl, Taylor by Freeman; WP?Merchant; T?2:23