ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine softball team will close the regular season this weekend with a three-game set at Stony Brook. The teams will meet Friday at noon for a doubleheader before the regular season finale on Saturday at 11 a.m.
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America East Standings
| Team |
Conference Record |
Overall Record |
| UMass Lowell |
12-2 |
19-23 |
| UAlbany |
9-4 |
24-13 |
| Maine |
8-5 |
18-22 |
| Stony Brook |
8-6 |
21-19 |
| Binghamton |
6-8 |
13-22 |
| UMBC |
7-10 |
12-29 |
| Hartford |
0-15 |
9-28 |
Postseason seedings are on the line this weekend as the Black Bears and Stony Brook check in third and fourth in the league standings, respectively. The two teams enter the series deadlocked in the wins column (8) but Stony Brook, who has played one more conference game than the Black Bears, have one more loss. Both teams will be looking to move up into the No. 2 ranking. UAlbany currently sits in second place at 9-4.
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine is coming off a Senior Weekend in Orono which saw it drop two out of three to visiting Binghamton. The Black Bears rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh in game two on Saturday to score their lone win of the weekend by a final of 9-8.
Senior centerfielder
Rachel Carlson continues to pace Maine's offensive attack. Carlson ranks ninth in the league with a .333 mark at the plate and checks in fourth overall in both runs scored (23) and total hits (45). Carlson, who has tallied 13 multi-hit games including seven three-hit performances, has started all 40 games for the Black Bears and leads the league with 135 official at-bats.
Laurine German enters the weekend riding a streak in which has seen her reach base safely in each of her last 12 games, the longest such streak of the season for the Black Bears. During the streak, German is hitting .323 with seven runs scored, four RBI and five walks. Overall, German is batting .278 with 19 runs and 10 RBI. German is tied with Carlson for the team lead in stolen bases (5) and ranks ninth in the league with 15 walks.
Erika Leonard has been impressive in conference play this year where she boasts a team-leading .310 mark against league opponents. On the season, Leonard is hitting .261 with 21 runs and 10 RBI. Her 18 walks are third best among league leaders.
Maddie Decker is adding a .277 average. She ranks fourth in the league in RBI (23) and is tied with Leonard in the walks category (18). Decker also leads the Black Bears with six multiple RBI games.
Alyssa Derrick packs the power punch for Maine, ranking second in the league in RBI (29) and fifth in home runs (5).
Annie Kennedy has been Maine's top arm in the circle this season. Kennedy leads the Black Bears in wins (9), making 29 appearances with 17 starts. Kennedy's 1.30 ERA is lowest among league leaders while her 88 strikeouts rank fourth best in the conference, 31 of those batters have struck out looking which is tops in the America East. A large amount of Kennedy's success this season can be credited to her impressive control. Kennedy ranks sixth in the nation in walks allowed per seven innings (0.83) and features the 16th best strike to walk ratio in the country (6.29). In league play, the senior hurler is 4-3 with a 1.29 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 54.1 innings. Kennedy is joined in the rotation by rookie
Kyleigh O'Donnell. O'Donnell is 5-7 overall with a 3.76 ERA in 23 appearances. O'Donnell has fanned 65 hitters in 76.1 innings and is a two-time America East Rookie of the Week honoree.
SCOUTING STONY BROOK:
In their most recent outing on Wednesday, the Seawolves outlasted UMBC, 3-2, in a nine-inning conference matchup. Irene Rivera went 4-for-5 on the day, including a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the ninth. Stony Brook is 4-2 in its last six conference games.
Melissa Rahrich leads the league in hitting with an incredible .431 mark. Rahrich is also tops among league leaders in on-base percentage (.521) and total hits (50). The sophomore checks in third in the league in runs scored (24), fifth in RBI (23) and sixth in home runs (5). Riley Craig is adding a .300 average while Rivera is batting .286 and leads the league with 30 RBI. Taylor Pechin is hitting .269 with power as she enters the weekend with a league-leading seven home runs to go along with 17 RBI and 17 runs scored. As a team, the Seawolves are hitting .267.
Rahrich has also been Stony Brook's leader in the circle. She enters the weekend at 11-9 with a 4.27 ERA in 26 appearances with 22 starts. Rahrich is the team's leader in strikeouts, fanning 92 hitters over 126.1 innings. Pechin is 7-8 on the rubber with a 4.95 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 92.2 innings of work.
INSIDE THE SERIES:
Maine enters the weekend 4-6 in its last 10 games against Stony Brook. A year ago, the Black Bears swept Stony Brook in a three-game series held in Orono. In its last trip to Stony Brook, back in 2016, Maine split a doubleheader with the Seawolves, winning 6-2 in its most recent contest on the road in the series. However, the Black Bears are 1-5 in their last six games at Stony Brook.
-UMaine-
