ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine softball team will head to Virginia this weekend for the Battle at the Bay, hosted by Norfolk State and Hampton University.
 
The Black Bears will face four different opponents in Stony Brook, Norfolk State, Saint Francis and Hampton, taking on the Pirates twice. The tournament schedule is subject to change.

For the most up-to-date game times, stat links and watch links, visit GoBlackBears.com/softballschedule.
 
Battle at the Bay (All times listed ET)
Game 11 | Maine vs Stony Brook
Friday, Feb. 20 | 1:00 p.m. | Norfolk, Va.
 
Game 12 | Maine at Norfolk State
Friday, Feb. 20 | 3:00 p.m. | Norfolk, Va.
 
Game 13 | Maine vs Saint Francis
Saturday, Feb. 21 | 12:00 p.m. | Hampton, Va.
 
Game 14 | Maine at Hampton University
Saturday, Feb. 21 | 2:30 p.m. | Hampton, Va.
 
Game 15 | Maine at Hampton University
Sunday, Feb. 22 | 1:00 p.m. | Deland, Fla.
 
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS…

• Stony Brook will enter Friday's game with an overall record of 0-10 … Elena Gonzalez is hitting a team-high .346 and is one of four batters with a .300-or-better average at the plage … the Seawolves went 25-25 a season ago.
• Norfolk State, one of the hosts of the Battle at the Bay, went 3-1 on its opening weekend last week … the Spartans were 22-23 overall in the 2025 season.
• Saint Francis sits at 0-10 on the season … Aliya Garroway (.458), Morgan Pasternak (.407) and Sofia Zielinski (.400) give the Red Flash three batters hitting .400 or better.
• Hampton, the other Battle at the Bay host, is 2-3 on the year after going 15-34 a season ago … the Pirates have six batters hitting above .300 while five starts have an on-base percentage of .500 or better.

AFTER TWO…

• Maine has played two tournaments so far in the 2026 season, going 1-9 in 10 games.
• Eviana Robles leads Maine with her .296 batting average, recording eight hits – including two doubles – and four runs and four RBI.
• Francesca Guerrera has a .281 average and a team-leading nine hits … Guerrera has scored five runs, knocked two doubles and driven in four runs.
• In the circle, Alysen Rieth has thrown a team-head 26.1 innings, including two complete games, while Ava Zettlemoyer has thrown 15.0 innings.

 
WHAT'S BACK FOR THE BLACK BEARS…

• Francesca Guerrera, a member of the 2025 America East All-Rookie Team is back after starting all 49 contests at second base last year … she second on the team with 37 hits,13 runs scored and 24 RBI.
• Alysen Rieth returns in the circle … last year, tied for fourth in the America East with a career-high 121 strikeouts and had at least five strikeouts in 10 games … Rieth was third with a team-leading 143.1 innings pitched and tied for fourth in the conference with a career-high 11 complete games.
• Behind the plate, Morgan Pool is back after throwing out a nation-leading 25 runners on base … Pool was also fifth in the America East with a .992 fielding percentage, making just two errors in 242 chances.
• Last season, Madison Simmerman ranked second among America East rookies with her six wins (6-13) and led all rookies with her 111.2 innings pitched.

 
BLACK BEARS BUILDING UP…

• Maine went 12-37 overall and 3-17 in America East play in the 2025 season in the first year of head coach Kimberly Stiles … the Black Bears 12 wins marked a seven-game improvement from 2024.
• With a series win over Merrimack in March, Maine earned its first three-or-more game series win since going 3-1 against Binghamton in a four-game set in April 2021 … in April, Maine took a weekend series against UMass Lowell in April for its first America East series win since that April 2021 series.
• On March 8, 2025, the Black Bears had a 9-0 win over Sacred Heart and a 3-0 win over Yale to earn Maine's first back-to-back shutouts since April 2018.

 
UP NEXT…

• Maine will be off next week before heading to Pocatello, Idaho for the Idaho State Tournament.
• The Black Bears will face Southern Utah twice and host-Idaho State three times from March 6 to 8.