Bears get split with Seawolves Maine is No. 3 tourney seed

loading...

ORONO – The sun finally came out from behind the clouds moments after the final out of Monday’s University of Maine softball doubleheader, but the Black Bears had gotten their good news earlier in the day, when the sky above Kessock Field was still dark.

After two days of weather postponements, Maine earned a 2-0 win in the opener of its America East doubleheader against Stony Brook (N.Y.) to clinch the No. 3 seed for the conference tournament.

The Seawolves took the second game 6-3, but the outcome of that contest was irrelevant for the defending champion Bears. Maine was already assured of a tourney berth but needed at least one win for third place and had to play two games against Stony Brook in order to meet the conference requirement of at least two games against each of the America East teams.

The Black Bears, now 16-24 overall and 10-8 in conference play, will open the America East tourney against No. 2 Boston University Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Fourth-ranked tournament host Stony Brook (20-34, 10-10) faces No. 1 Albany at noon Thursday.

Sealing third place took all the pressure off the Bears for the second game.

“We wanted it that way so we could clinch third,” said catcher Lindsay Tibbetts, who was making her first start behind the plate since suffering an ankle sprain April 23. “We went out in the second game and tried to take it.”

Maine seniors Tibbetts, Lauren Dulkis, Jess Brady, Jenna Merchant, and Candace Jaegge were honored before the opener. Berwick’s Tibbetts celebrated Senior Day with the game-winning RBI single, while Jackman native Brady scored the winning run.

In the first game, Tibbetts and Molly McKinney each had an RBI single in the sixth, which was all the Bears would need.

“That was huge and we played really well. It was a complete game on both sides,” interim head coach Michelle Puls said. “Defense was there, offense was there.”

That, and a three-hit, five-strikeout effort from Sarah Bennis.

The top four batters in Stony Brook’s lineup went 1-for-10 against the junior righty from Pownal. The Seawolves entered the game with 44 home runs.

“I just wanted to keep them off-balance, be careful, and try to pitch around them,” Bennis said.

Tibbetts said she called a lot of curveballs.

“That was working really well, so we went with that a lot today,” Tibbetts said. “They were trying to pull it and it was popping up.”

With a strong Bennis in the circle, the Bears needed just a few runs. Those came in the sixth as Brady led off the inning when she reached on a fielding error by Stony Brook pitcher Sarah Hoffman.

After a flyout, Brady stole second, her 20th stolen base of the season, to get in scoring position. Amy Kuhl then reached first when she fanned on a third strike but Hoffman’s pitch went to the backstop, allowing Brady to scamper to third. Kuhl was lifted for pinch runner Tara Vilardo.

Brady scored easily when Tibbetts, the next batter, hit a flare to right. McKinney lined the first pitch she saw into left, bringing in Vilardo.

“I just went with the pitch and tried to do the best I could,” said Tibbetts, who also singled in the second. “I’m just happy I got two hits and an RBI in my last game here.”

Bennis closed out the Seawolves, but not without a two-out walk. A flyout ended the game.

In the second game, Stony Brook’s hitters heated up, sparked by Durham’s fifth-inning grand slam off Maine starter Jaegge.

“We live and die by the home run,” Stony Brook coach Megan Bryant said. “In the first game, we died by it, and I was happy we got more offensive production in the second game.”

Maine’s Kuhl hit a two-run single in the fifth to cut the lead to 5-2. Stony Brook added another run in the seventh and the Bears scored one more in the bottom of the inning when Brittany Cheney singled in Lauren Dulkis.

BLACK BEARS 2, SEAWOLVES 0

(First Game)

Stony Brook (19-34) Maine (16-23)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Stein, cf 2 0 0 0 Dulkis, 3b 3 0 0

Vogl, c 2 0 0 0 Brady, cf 3 1 0

Brust, 1b 3 0 0 0 Cheney, ss 3 0 0

Durham, dh 3 0 1 0 Kuhl, dh 2 0 0

Turek, lf 3 0 0 0 Vilardo, pr 0 1 0

McCarthy, 3b 3 0 0 0 Grimm, rf 0 0 0

Servello, 2b 3 0 0 0 Tibbetts, c 3 0 1

Westphal, rf 2 0 2 0 Ramos, pr 0 0 0

Bradford, ss 2 0 0 0 McKinney, lf 3 0 1

Hawkins, 1b 3 0 0 0

Provost, 2b 3 0 0 0

Bennis, p 2 0 1 0

Totals 23 0 3 0 Totals 25 2 6 2

Stony Brook 000 000 0 – 0

Maine 000 002 x – 2

E-Bradford, Hoffman; Provost; LOB-Stony Brook 6, Maine 6; 2B-Westphal; S-Vogl, Bradford; Kuhl; SB-Brady

Stony Brook IP H R ER BB SO

Hoffman (L, 10-14) 6 6 2 1 0 4

Maine IP H R ER BB SO

Bennis (W, 9-8) 7 3 0 0 2 5

WP-Hoffman; PB-Tibbetts; T-1:40; ATT-57

SEAWOLVES 6, BLACK BEARS 3

(Second Game)

Stony Brook (20-34) Maine (16-24)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Stein, cf 4 1 1 0 Dulkis, 3b 4 2 0

Vogl, 3b 3 0 1 0 Brady, cf 3 1 0

McCarthy, 3b 0 0 0 0 Cheney, ss 4 0 1

Brust, 1b 3 1 1 0 Kuhl, 1b 3 0 2

Durham, dh 4 1 1 4 Vilardo, pr 0 0 0

Turek, lf 2 1 0 0 Merchant, dh 4 0 0

Westphal, rf 3 1 2 0 Soule, c 0 0 0

Blair, c 4 0 1 0 McKinney, lf 3 0 0

Hoffman, 2b 3 0 0 0 Jaegge, p 2 0 0

Bradford, ss 4 1 2 1 Pullen, p 1 0 0

Provost, 2b 3 0 2 0

Grimm, rf 3 0 0 0

Totals 30 6 9 5 Totals 30 3 8 3

Stony Brook 010 040 1 – 6

Maine 000 020 1 – 3

E-Vogl, Brust; Dulkis, Soule; LOB-Stony Brook 10, Maine 6; 2B-Dulkis, Kuhl, Provost; HR-Durham (17); DP-Bradford-Brust; S-Vogl, Westphal; SB-Westphal, Blair

Stony Brook IP H R ER BB SO

Andrews (W, 6-19) 7 8 3 2 1 4

Maine IP H R ER BB SO

Jaegge (L, 2-7) 5 1/3 8 5 5 1 3

Pullen 1 2/3 1 1 0 2 0

HBP-Brust, Stein (by Jaegge); Brady (by Andrews); WP-Jaegge; T-1:47; ATT-54