ORONO – Small ball, big hits, outstanding pitching, and defense.

The University of Maine softball team used every weapon in its arsenal to sweep Vermont in an America East series over the weekend at Kessock Field.

The Black Bears capped the sweep Sunday afternoon with a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Catamounts after UMaine won both Saturday games by 7-0 scores.

“This weekend definitely showed our range,” first-year Maine coach Stacey Sullivan said Sunday, moments after Kristie Hawkins looped a single into left field to score Erin Provost for the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.

“If we’re up by a couple of runs, our kids are going to show you what our bats can do,” Sullivan added. “If our backs are against the wall, it’s get kids on base and show what we can do to steal bases and put the ball in play.”

The Bears (5-1 in America East), who won their fifth straight game and the seventh in their last eight, take a 23-12 record into Wednesday afternoon’s doubleheader at conference rival Boston University.

Vermont drops to 10-16 and 1-5 in the league.

After pounding out 18 hits in Saturday’s games, the Bears started out much slower Sunday as the Catamounts scored two runs in the top of the third to take the lead.

Maine scored a run in the fourth and tied it in the sixth, which set up Hawkins’ winning hit in the seventh.

Provost led off with a line- drive single into left, moved to second on Ashley Waters’ sacrifice bunt, and scrambled to third on a passed ball. Vermont issued intentional walks to Maine star Brittany Cheney and Molly McKinney to load the bases.

Catamount ace Aimee Kern struck out the next batter, but Hawkins hit an 0-2 screwball down the left-field line, allowing Provost to score easily.

“I got deep in my stance and just hung with it,” Hawkins said. “You just can’t think about it. You just have to block everything out and focus on the pitch.”

Vermont coach Pam Childs liked her team’s position in the seventh.

“With the 0-2 count I thought it was a good pitch,” she said. “It was an inside screwball that jammed [Hawkins], but unfortunately it dropped into fair territory. We take our hats off to Maine. They got the job done this weekend by hook or by crook.”

Maine cut the deficit in the fourth when McKinney singled, advanced on an Amy Kuhl single and a Hawkins sacrifice bunt, and scored on a fielding error.

The tying run came as a result of Maine’s second successful squeeze play of the weekend, as Courtney Gingrich bunted in pinch runner Tara Vilardo.

“We had a lot of success with the suicide squeeze this weekend, and that was great because we haven’t been doing it that much,” Sullivan said.

The Bears stayed in it thanks to senior Sarah Bennis, who struck out 13, including nine straight at one point. Vermont was unable to get a runner past first base after the third inning.

Bennis also picked up a win in Saturday’s opener, fanning 10 in a one-hitter.

“I knew if I could keep the team in the game, they’d battle back,” she said of Sunday’s rally. “… Today we did a curve-drop mix and that seemed to work well.”

Maine stranded 10, leaving the bases loaded in the fourth.

In Saturday’s first game, UMaine racked up nine hits, including three for extra bases, against Kern, who had a 1.56 ERA entering the weekend.

Not that the Black Bears noticed who she was.

“We were just excited to play and hit the ball,” said Kuhl, who went 6-for-10 with five RBIs in the series. “It doesn’t really matter who [the pitcher] is. She was just throwing pretty flat with decent speed and we like the faster pitchers anyway.”

Maine put up more than enough runs in the first two innings. In the bottom of the first, McKinney had a sacrifice bunt for an RBI and Kuhl drove in a run on the first of her two doubles. The Bears followed with two runs in the second thanks to Waters, who had an RBI single and eventually scored on a passed ball.

Kate DeForge singled in the sixth for Vermont’s only hit.

Kern wound up with seven strikeouts and two walks. Three of Maine’s seven runs were earned as the Catamounts had three errors.

In Saturday’s second game, the Black Bears again had nine hits, seven of which were for extra bases.

Kuhl smacked her first home run of the year in Maine’s five-run fifth inning. She also plated Cheney, who had hit her second triple of the day.

Vilardo tripled to drive in Dana Grimm, who led off the inning with a single.

Maine pitcher Jenna Balent, who has allowed no runs and just eight hits in her last three starts combined, struck out seven. She gave up two walks and four hits, including Jeanine Connolly’s two-out, pinch-hit double in the seventh.

“Bennis and Balent, they’re the best in the conference and they got the job done,” Sullivan said. “It’s important we give them [the runs] they need.”

BLACK BEARS 3, CATAMOUNTS 2

(Sunday’s Game)

Vermont (10-16) Maine (23-12)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Kern, dh-p 3 1 2 1 Provost, rf 4 1 0

LeClair, ss 0 0 0 0 Waters, 2b 3 0 0

Eloschuk, lf 3 0 0 0 Cheney, ss 2 0 0

DeForge, 3b 3 0 1 1 McKinney, lf 2 1 0

Borisenok, c 3 0 0 0 Kuhl, dh 3 0 0

Ramsey, 1b 3 0 0 0 Ramos, pr 0 0 0

Daggett, p-dh 3 0 1 0 Vilardo, pr-ph 1 0

Miles, pr 0 0 0 0 Hawkins, 1b 2 0 1

Fleming, 2b 3 0 0 0 Gingrich, 3b 2 0 1

Rizza, rf 3 0 0 0 Joseph, pr 0 0 0

Rappaport, cf 2 1 1 0 Soule, c 3 0

Grimm, cf 3 0 0 0

Totals 26 2 5 2 Totals 25 3 8 2

Vermont 002 000 0 – 2

Maine 000 101 1 – 3

Two outs when winning run scored

E-LeClair 2; LOB-Vermont 4, Maine 10; 2B-Kern; Waters 2; S-Hawkins 2, Waters; SF-Cheney; SB-Provost, Vilardo, Hawkins

Vermont IP H R ER BB SO

Daggett 3 3 0 0 0 3

Burke 1/3 1 1 0 2 0

Kern (L, 8-8) 3 1/3 4 2 2 2 3

Maine IP H R ER BB SO

Bennis (W, 13-4) 7 5 2 2 1 13

WP-Bennis; PB-Borisenok; T-1:55; ATT-212

BLACK BEARS 7, CATAMOUNTS 0

(Saturday’s First Game)

Vermont (10-14) Maine (21-12)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Kern, p 2 0 0 0 Provost, rf 4 0 0

Eloschuk, lf 3 0 0 0 Waters, 2b 3 2 1

DeForge, 3b 3 0 1 0 Cheney, ss 4 2 0

Borisenok, c 2 0 0 0 McKinney, lf 2 0 1

Ramsey, 1b 3 0 0 0 Belmonte, lf 0 0 0

Toczylowski, dh 3 0 0 0 Kuhl, dh 4 2

LeClair, ss 0 0 0 0 Ramos, pr 0 0 0

Fleming, 2b 3 0 0 0 Hawkins, 1b 3 0 0

Rizza, rf 2 0 0 0 Soule, c 3 0 0

Rappaport, cf 2 0 0 0 Grimm, cf 3 0

Vilardo, 3b 3 1 2 1

Totals 23 0 1 0 Totals 29 7 9 5

Vermont 000 000 0 – 0

Maine 220 012 x – 7

E-Kern, Ramsey, Fleming; Cheney, Bennis; LOB-Vermont 4, Maine 7; 2B-Kuhl 2, Grimm; S-McKinney; SB-Waters 2, Cheney 2, Grimm, Vilardo

Vermont IP H R ER BB SO

Kern (L, 8-7) 6 9 7 3 2 7

Maine IP H R ER BB SO

Bennis (W, 12-4) 7 1 0 0 2 10

WP-Bennis; PB-Borisenok 2; T-1:45; ATT-172

BLACK BEARS 7, CATAMOUNTS 0

(Saturday’s Second Game)

Vermont (10-15) Maine (22-12)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Kern, dh 4 0 0 0 Provost, rf 4 1 1

LeClair, ss 0 0 0 0 Waters, 2b 3 1 0

Eloschuk, lf 3 0 0 0 Ramos, 2b 1 0 0

DeForge, 3b 3 0 0 0 Cheney, ss 3 2 2

Borisenok, c 2 0 2 0 McKinney, lf 3 0 0

Miles, pr 0 0 0 0 Belmonte, lf 0 0 0

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

Daggett, p 2 0 0 0 Joseph, pr 0 0 0

Burke, p 1 0 0 0 Hawkins, 1b 3 0 0

Fleming, 2b 1 0 0 0 Foltz, c 2 0 0

Crosby, ph 1 0 0 0 Gingrich, ph 0 0 0

Rizza, rf 2 0 0 0 Grimm, cf 3 1 0

Connolly, ph 1 0 1 0 Vilardo, 3b 3 1 1

Rappaport, cf 3 0 1 0

Totals 25 0 4 0 Totals 28 7 9 7

Vermont 000 000 0 – 0

Maine 000 250 x – 7

E-Balent; LOB-Vermont 7, Maine 4; 2B-Connolly; Kuhl, Hawkins; 3B-Cheney 2, Waters, Vilardo; HR-Kuhl (1); S-Ramsey; SB-Grimm

Vermont IP H R ER BB SO

Daggett (L, 2-5) 4 2/3 8 7 7 0 4

Burke 1 1/3 1 0 0 1 2

Maine IP H R ER BB SO

Balent (W, 9-8) 7 4 0 0 2 7

WP-Balent; T-1:39; ATT-172