ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine softball team will head to Alabama for the Mardi Gras Classic at the University of South Alabama this weekend. The Black Bears are scheduled to play five contests from Friday, Feb. 21 through Sunday, Feb. 23.

Maine will face Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Lipscomb on Friday, Notre Dame and Lipscomb on Saturday and host-South Alabama on Sunday. Live stats will be available for all five games while Sunday's contest against South Alabama will be available for live streaming via ESPN+.
 
Mardi Gras Classic (All times listed EST)
Game 5 | Maine vs Texas A&M – Corpus Christi
Friday, Feb. 21 | 10:00 a.m. | Mobile, Ala.
 
Game 6 | Maine vs Lipscomb
Friday, Feb. 21 | 3:00 p.m. | Mobile, Ala.
 
Game 7 | Maine vs Lipscomb
Saturday, Feb. 22 | 10:00 a.m. | Mobile, Ala.
 
Game 8 | Maine vs Notre Dame
Saturday, Feb. 22 | 3:00 p.m. | Mobile, Ala.

Game 9 | Maine at South Alabama
Sunday, Feb. 23 | 1:30 p.m. | Clinton, S.C.
Streaming available on ESPN+
 
ABOUT THE MARDI GRAS CLASSIC

• This marks the third time that South Alabama has hosted the Mardi Gras Classic, doing it in 2020 and 2023.
• The 2025 Mardi Gras Classic will feature Maine, Lipscomb, Notre Dame, Texas A&M – Corpus Christi and the host Jaguars.
• Over the course of the program's history, South Alabama has hosted a total of five tournaments.

BLACK BEARS VERSUS…

• Maine is 0-2 all-time against Notre Dame …. both meetings came in neutral site contests, with the Black Bears falling 3-1 in March 3, 1994 in South Caroline and 8-0 on Feb. 24, 2001 in Arkansas.
• Maine and South Alabama have never met.
• Maine and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi have never met.
• Maine and Lipscomb have never met.

PINNACLE PC INVITATIONAL REWIND

• The Black Bears opened up the 2025 season last weekend at the Pinnacle PC Invitational, hosted by Presbyterian College.
• Maine went 0-4, dropping three contests by two runs or less against East Tennessee State (6-12, 1-3) and Presbyterian (5-6, 2-3).
• Gabby Papushka (.308 BA) and Kyrah Haba-Dailey (.400 BA) led Maine with four hits each while Immy Gie (.250 BA) had a team-leading four RBI … Nora Campo had a .500 on-base percentage, drawing four walks while hitting a home run.
• In the Circle, four pitchers saw time for the Black Bears … Alysen Rieth threw a team-leading 12.0 innings, allowing eight runs on nine hits … Madison Simmerman threw 10.0 innings, giving up eight runs – one earned – with five strikeouts.

ABOUT HEAD COACH KIMBERLY STILES

• Kimberly Stiles was named the seventh head coach of the Maine softball program on July 9.
• Stiles, who has achieved over 300 collegiate victories during her coaching career, comes to Orono with 14 years of head coaching experience across the Division I and Division II levels.
• She most recently spent the past three seasons at Holy Cross, guiding the Crusaders' program to 50 wins in a three-year span for the first time in 25 years.