ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine softball team will head to Florida this weekend for Florida Atlantic's annual Joan Joyce Classic.
 
The Black Bears will play four games, taking on Michigan, FAU, Louisville and Seton Hall.
 
Joan Joyce Classic 
Game 5 | Maine vs Michigan
Friday, Feb. 16 | 2:00 p.m. | Boca Raton, Fla.
Streaming available on FloSoftball 

Game 6 | Maine at Florida Atlantic 
Friday, Feb. 16 | 7:00 p.m. | Boca Raton, Fla.
Streaming available on FAUSports.com
 
Game 7 | Maine vs Louisville
Saturday, Feb. 17 | 9:00 a.m. | Boca Raton, Fla.
Streaming available on FloSoftball 

Game 8 | Maine vs Seton Hall
Saturday, Feb. 17 | 1:30 p.m. | Boca Raton, Fla.
Streaming available on FloSoftball 
 
ABOUT THE JOAN JOYCE CLASSIC

• The Joan Joyce Classic is hosted annually by Florida Atlantic in honor of long-time head coach Joan Joyce, who passed away in 2022.
• Joyce was the first-ever FAU head coach, guiding the Owls to 1,002 wins and becoming only the 27th coach in NCAA Division I history to win 1,000 games. 
• This year's edition features Maine, FAU, Seton Hall, Louisville and Michigan.

HOW TO WATCH

• Four of Maine's five games – Louisville, Seton Hall and both games against Michigan – will stream on FloSoftball ($).
• Maine's contest against the host FAU Owls will be streamed for free on FAUSports.com.

BLACK BEARS VERSUS…

• Maine and Seton Hall last met on March 9, 2014, with Maine earning a 4-1 win in Florida … Maine is 2-2 all-time against the Pirates.
• Maine is 0-2 all-time against Michigan, dropping two games in the 2011 season.
• Maine is 0-1 against FAU … the Black Bears and Owls met back in 1995, with FAU picking up a 9-4 win.
• Louisville and Maine have never played.

LAST TIME OUT

• Maine opened up the 2024 season this past weekend at the Kajikawa Classic, dropping contests to Weber State (10-5), Grand Canyon (10-1), Wisconsin (9-0) and Arizona State (9-1).
• Krista Francia and Katie Jo Moery both opened up the year with three-game hitting streaks … Francia finished the four-game weekend with a .364 average, four hits and one run scored while Moery hit .333 with three hits and one run scored.
• Nora Campo knocked in three runs on the strength of a home run and a double while Anna Margetis had a two-run shot.
• Kenedee Giddens, Kyli Hernandez and T Smith were all 1-for-1 in stolen base attempts.
• Alysen Rieth, Caitlyn Fallon, Isabelle True and Kaly Thomas all earned starts … Rieth led all pitchers with 6.0 innings pitched while sporting a 9.33 ERA and allowing nine runs – eight earned – and striking out five and walking nine.

WHAT'S BACK FOR THE BLACK BEARS
At the Plate

• Five of Maine's top nine hitters from 2023 return to the 2024 roster.
• Krista Francia is Maine's leading returner at the plate after hitting .246 as a freshman, good four fourth on the 2023 squad … she earned 20 walk to lead the team and tie for third in America East … Francia had a .348 on-base percentage while also knocking seven doubles and one triple … she had 17 RBI, good for 20th in the conference.
• Katie Jo Moery led the team and tied for the America East league with four triples … her 15 runs scored were second on the team and 15th overall in the conference.

In the Circle

• Maine returns 81 percent of its innings pitched, with both Alysen Rieth and Caitlyn Fallon throwing over 120 innings a season ago.
• Fallon appeared in 36 games with 27 starts and went 8-16 … she threw a career-high 71 strikeouts, good for ninth in America East, and had a 4.22 ERA in 121.0 innings pitched ... she threw four complete games, including two in America East play, and threw at least 7.0 innings in six games.
• Rieth appeared in 37 games with 16 starts and had a 7-8 record and 3.60 ERA across 124.1 innings of work … she threw a team-leading 78 strikeouts, good for eighth in the league … she went 4-4 with a 2.82 ERA and 44 strikeouts across 57.0 innings in America East play.

UP NEXT

• The Black Bears will travel to Delaware next weekend for the Blue Hen Invitational. 
• Maine will play a double header against Delaware on Friday, back-to-back games against Bucknell and Fairfield on Saturday and then wrap things up with a single game against Bucknell on Sunday.