Orono, Maine -- After beginning the season 3-2 at the Seahawk Classic, the University of Maine softball team will return to action when it travels to Oklahoma State for the 2018 Mizuno Classic beginning on Friday.

The Black Bears will begin action with a doubleheader on Friday, March 2. Maine meets Saint Francis in game one at 2:30 p.m. EST before challenging the host Oklahoma State Cowgirls later that evening at 7:30 p.m. EST. Day two begins when Maine takes on Saint Francis at 12 p.m. EST before a 5:00 p.m. showdown with the Cowgirls. The Black Bears wrap up the weekend on Sunday when they take on Nebraska Omaha at 12 p.m. EST.

The Black Bears are entering the weekend festivities with a record of 3-2 after competing in the Seahawk Classic, in Wilmington, N.C. Maine is led offensively by senior outfielder Rachel Carson who is entering the weekend with an average of .500 after going 10-for-20 over the first five contests. Maddie Decker has the team's lone home run, which came as a three-run walk off in the bottom of the seventh, propelling the Black Bears to victory over Longwood. Decker also has four RBIs which is tied for first along with Alyssa Derrick and Rachel Carson. The pitching staff is led by a pair of senior right-handers, each with sub 1.00 ERAs. Annie Kennedy, the reigning America East Pitcher of the Week, has one win and one save with a 0.64 ERA while fellow senior Molly Flowers has added a win with a 0.78 ERA. Through just nine innings, Flowers has accumulated a team-leading 12 strikeouts while allowing just seven hits.

The Oklahoma State Cowgirls are entering the Mizuno Classic with a record of 9-6. After starting the season off hot with a record of 9-2, the Cowgirls are coming off four straight losses to Oregon, Oregon State, Mississippi State, and UC Davis. Their offense is lead by infielder Rylee Bayless and utility man Vanessa Shippy, batting .563 and .513 respectively. Their power is fueled by clean up hitter Sydney Pennington who already has four home runs on the season and a team high of 18 RBIs. The Oklahoma State pitching staff is lead by Emmie Robertson, coming into the weekend with a record of 4-3 and an ERA of 2.75. Robertson has 40.2 innings pitched where she has compiled a team leading 31 strikeouts while only allowing 39 hits.
 
Saint Francis University is entering the Mizuno Classic this weekend with a record of 9-6, and could be one of the hottest teams in the competition. After a slow start to the season, the Red Flash have won six of their last seven outings including a dominating 7-2 win at Eastern Carolina. The SFU offense is led by catcher/outfielder Sierra McKee who is hitting .350 this season with an on-base percentage of .422 and three stolen bases. The power of this Red Flash team is brought on by senior infielder Madison Cabell, who has compiled five home runs and a team leading 12 RBIs. Between sophomore pitchers Adrian Smith and Abby Trahan, the pitching staff has been exceptional. Smith's ERA is 1.46 over 33.2 innings while Trahan's is only slightly higher at 2.45 across 68.2 innings, in addition to striking out 54.
 
The University of Nebraska Omaha is the only team with a record under .500 in the Mizuno Classic field, with a record of 7-8. Early in the season, this Mavericks team has already been to extra innings four times, going 2-2 in those contests. Their offense is led by senior outfielder Kelly Pattison, who is batting, .429 and junior catcher  Natalie Mostek who is hitting .359. Lacking power this season, this Nebraska team has put up five homers evenly spread across five different players. The pitching staff is led by ace freshman pitcher Sydney Hampton whose ERA sits at 1.98 across 46 innings. Hampton has a team leading 26 strikeouts while only allowing nine extra base hits all season.

-UMaine-