Four-run 6th powers Black Bears

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ORONO – All week, the minds of the University of Maine softball team members have been on Wednesday’s single game against Boston University.

In fact, the matchup against the Terriers has been several weeks in the making. The two teams split a doubleheader on April 12, and after this past weekend’s sweep of Hartford the focus was squarely on BU.

The Black Bears looked sluggish early, but they put up four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally for a 6-4 victory and a key conference series win, their fifth of the season.

Brittany Cheney hit an RBI double and Amy Kuhl added an RBI single, all in the sixth, to lift UMaine to a 31-15 overall record and a league-leading 12-3 America East conference mark.

“It was a matter of determination,” Cheney said. “We didn’t want to die out there. We wanted to take it because we knew how important it was.”

BU, which falls to 22-24 (8-7), looked strong early and took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. In fact, the Terriers outhit the Bears 12-4 and had at least one baserunner in six of the seven innings.

Maine’s Erin Provost responded with a two-run home run in the bottom of the third, but the Terriers fought back with a run in the fourth and another in the sixth for a 4-2 lead.

BU starter Cassidi Hardy had one-hit the Bears to that point – the lone hit being Provost’s homer – and struck out eight.

But Maine looked like a different team in the sixth.

Ashley Waters led off with a line-drive single to center and scored on Cheney’s double to center. Molly McKinney walked and then Kuhl, a slugger who had managed just a sacrifice bunt and a hit-by-pitch earlier in the game, singled to left. Cheney scored and McKinney went to third, but kept going when the ball was misplayed by the leftfielder.

“I think we were seeing the ball better [later in the game],” Cheney said. “We were a little more patient and in control more than at the beginning of the game.”

Kuhl got to second and Meagan Ramos, who pinch-ran for Kuhl, advanced on a groundout. Ramos scored on another error and the Bears had a two-run lead.

The Terriers stranded 13 baserunners.

“We worked hard to [get the bases loaded] but it’s hard to put hits together,” said BU coach Shawn Rychcik. “I think it was just execution, getting that one big hit.”

BU loaded the bases on a walk and two hits in the top of the seventh. There was some consideration given in the seventh to walking BU’s Shayne Lotito, who had gone 4-for-4 with four singles to that point.

She went on to hit her fifth single of the game, but no baserunners scored on the play and Maine’s Jenna Balent, who earned the win in relief, got a strikeout to end the game.

“We went after her,” Balent said. “If she was going to get a hit she was going to have to work for it. I think maybe we threw too many changeups. But we came through out there.”

The Black Bears are now just one win away from tying the program’s all-time record for wins in a season. Maine hosts last-place Binghamton in a three-game series this weekend.

BLACK BEARS 6, TERRIERS 4

BU (22-24) Maine (31-15)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Lotito, cf 5 2 5 0 Provost, rf 3 1 2

Benson, dh 2 0 0 0 Waters, 2b 3 1 0

Leath, c 3 0 1 2 Cheney, ss 3 1 1

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

Mendez, rf 4 0 0 0 Kuhl, dh 1 0 1

Alley, 1b 3 1 2 0 Belmonte, pr 0 0 0

Militz, pr 0 0 0 0 Ramos, pr 0 1 0

Dubay, ss 4 1 1 0 Hawkins, 1b 3 0 0

Gallagher, lf 3 0 1 0 Soule, c 3 0

Hudson, 3b 4 0 0 0 Foltz, c 0 0 0

Grimm, cf 1 1 0 0

Vilardo, 3b 2 0 0 0

Gingrich, ph 1 0 0 0

Totals 31 4 12 2 Totals 21 6 4 4

BU 020 101 0 – 4

Maine 002 004 x – 6

E-Leath, Gallagher; LOB-BU 13, Maine 3; 2B-Alley 2, Shields; Cheney; HR-Provost (4); S-Benson 2; Kuhl; SF-Leath; SB-Dubay 2; Grimm

BU IP H R ER BB SO

Hardy (L, 12-9) 6 4 6 4 4 9

Maine IP H R ER BB SO

Bennis 5 2/3 10 4 3 3 7

Balent (W, 12-9) 1 1/3 2 0 0 1 2

HBP-Kuhl by Hardy; WP-Bennis 2; PB-Soule 2, Foltz; T-1:55; ATT-142