Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine softball team will begin its 13 games in nine days road trip on Friday in Tampa, Fla. The Black Bears begin their spring break action on the diamond on March 9 at 2 p.m. when they take on Loyola University Chicago followed by a 4:30 p.m. first pitch against Quinnipiac.
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Softball Spring Break Schedule
| Date |
Time (EST) |
Opponent |
| March 9 |
2:00 p.m. |
Loyola University Chicago |
| March 9 |
4:30 p.m. |
Quinnipiac |
| March 10 |
9:00 a.m. |
Robert Morris |
| March 10 |
11:15 a.m. |
South Dakota State |
| March 11 |
11:15 a.m. |
Southern Illinois |
| March 13 |
10:00 a.m. |
Iona |
| March 13 |
12:00 p.m. |
Iona |
| March 14 |
5:00 p.m. |
at South Florida |
| March 15 |
10:00 a.m. |
Tennessee Chattanooga |
| March 16 |
11:30 a.m. |
Butler |
| March 16 |
2:00 p.m. |
LIU Brooklyn |
| March 17 |
9:45 a.m. |
Florida A&M |
| March 17 |
2:30 p.m. |
Florida Gulf Coast |
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS: The Black Bears enter their spring break stretch at 4-6 with victories over Bucknell, UNC Wilmington, Longwood and Saint Francis. Maine is led on offense by senior outfielder
Rachel Carlson who has notched a hit in seven of Maine's first 10 games, including four multi-hit performances. Carlson enters Friday's play batting .389 with 14 hits, four runs and four RBI to go along with three stolen bases. Catcher
Maddie Decker is hitting .250 and is tied with
Meghan Royle for the team-lead in both home runs (2) and RBI (6). Decker's .625 slugging percentage places her third best among America East hitters. Kirsten Niland is adding a .250 clip with six hits and a team-best three doubles while
Alyssa Derrick has driven in five.
In the circle, the Black Bears are led by senior
Annie Kennedy, who earned the league's Pitcher of the Week honor after Maine's opening weekend. Kennedy leads the America East in ERA (1.45) and hits allowed per seven innings (4.71) while ranking fifth in the nation with 0.36 walks allowed per seven. Kennedy is 2-1 on the season in nine appearances with one save and 17 strikeouts over 19.1 innings of work. Fellow senior
Molly Flowers is 1-2 in the circle with a team-best 20 strikeouts in 18.0 innings, including five starts. Flowers' 7.8 strikeouts per seven innings leads the conference.
As a team, Maine ranks second among America East teams with 3.50 runs per game. Defensively, its 0.958 fielding percentage is third in the league. The Black Bears enter play with a team average of .214 at the dish with a 4.91 staff ERA.
-UMaine-
