ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine softball team will stay in the Northeast this weekend, traveling to New Haven, Conn. for the Yale Bulldog Invitational.

The Black Bears are set to play five games, with two against Yale, two against Sacred Heart and one against Central Connecticut.

Every game of the Bulldog Invitational is set to be streamed on ESPN+.
 
Bulldog Invitational
Game 14 | Maine vs Sacred Heart
Friday, March 7 | 10:00 a.m. | New Haven, Conn.
 
Game 15 | Maine at Yale
Friday, March 7 | 2:30 p.m. | New Haven, Conn.
 
Game 16 | Maine vs Sacred Heart
Saturday, March 8 | 1:30 p.m. | New Haven, Conn.
 
Game 17 | Maine at Yale
Saturday, March 8 | 3:45 p.m. | New Haven, Conn.
 
Game 18 | Maine vs Central Connecticut
Sunday, March 9 | 11:00 a.m. | New Haven, Conn.
 

THE BULLDOG INVITATIONAL

• The 2025 Bulldog Invitational, hosted by Yale, will take place at the 5K Corral Field at Dewitt Family Stadium.
• The tournament will feature Maine, Yale, Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut State.
• All games of the tournament are set to be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats also provided via YaleBulldogs.com.

BLACK BEARS VERSUS…

• Maine is 8-1 all-time against Yale … the most recent meeting came in April 2016 New Haven, with the Black bears winning 4-2 and losing 3-0 … the first-ever meeting in the series came in 1997, with Maine winning 6-5.
• Maine is 4-10 all-time against Central Connecticut … the Black Bears and Blue Devils last met for two games in March 2021 in Connecticut, with Maine winning 4-2 and losing 8-7 … the first-ever meeting came in 1987, with Maine earning 7-0 and 4-0 wins.
• Since 2017, Maine is 5-1 against Sacred Heart … the teams last met in March 2021 in Connecticut, with Maine winning 8-2 and falling 10-5.

QUICK HITS

• Maine has scored at least seven runs in three consecutive games for the first time since 2016.
• Gabby Papushka has two home runs, two triples and two doubles on the year and is the first Black Bear to register multiple hits in each of those offensive categories since 2022 … with two triples on the year, the senior is also the first Black Bear to register multiple triples in a season since 2023.
• With at least eight hits on the year, Kyrah Haba-Dailey has already recorded a career-high in hits while tying her career-high in doubles (2).

SIMMERMAN NAMED PITCHER, ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

• After going 1-1 at the Mardi Gras Classic, Madison Simmerman was named both the America East Pitcher of the Week and Rookie of the Week on Feb. 25.
• Simmerman earned her first career win in the tournament's opening game, throwing 4.0 innings while striking out two and giving up just three hits and no earned runs in Maine's 9-1 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. … Saturday, she threw 7.0 innings for her second complete game of the season while giving up five runs – four earned – in a 5-0 loss to Lipscomb.
• On the year, Simmerman is 1-2 with a 1.67 ERA in 21 innings pitched.
• It was the first time an America East student-athlete has won multiple softball weekly awards in the same week since March 2022 … she was also the first Black Bear to earn a weekly award since Kelby Drews was Player of the Week on Feb. 14, 2023.

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.

 
UP NEXT

• Maine will play a three-game series at Merrimack next weekend … a doubleheader is set for Saturday, March 15 with a single game slated for Sunday, March 16.
• The Black Bears will then travel to Iona for a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 18.
• Maine will begin America East play at Bryant on Saturday, March 22.