The University of Maine softball team will face the Albany Great Danes this weekend in a huge America East series in Albany, NY.
The Black Bears and Great Danes will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday with a single game scheduled for Sunday at 12 p.m.
Maine comes into the weekend at 18-15 overall and 6-2 in America East, which currently has them sitting in fourth place.
Maine has hit a collective. 315 at the plate this season with 16 homeruns and a total of 179 runs in their 33 games. Senior Janelle Bouchard leads the way batting .398 with two homers and 26 runs batted in. Rachel Harvey is hitting .371 with a pair of homeruns and 13 RBI while Rachel Carlson is hitting .333 with 13 RBI as well.
In the circle Molly Flowers is 8-8 with a 2.95 earned run average. Erin Bogdonavich is 5-4 with a 3.84 ERA, including two complete game wins over Binghamton last weekend while only allowing one run. Annie Kennedy also has five wins at 5-3 with a 2.40 ERA and one save.
Albany comes into the weekend with a 27-11 record overall and a 7-0 record good for first place in the America East. Albany has won six in a row and 14 of their last 17.
Albany is hitting .329 as a team with 30 homeruns and a total of 243 runs in their 38 games. Albany is led by Elizabeth Snow who is hitting a blistering .456 with eight homers and 37 runs batted in. Donna Conrad is hitting .390 with three homers and 25 RBI while Maggie Cocks is hitting. 369 with four homers and 37 knocked in.
In the circle the Great Danes are led by two pitchers who have thrown more than 100 innings each. Celeste Verdolivo is 13-4 with a 3.53 earned run average and one save while Devin Durando is 13-5 with a 3.82 ERA. Verdolivo and Durando have combined for 26 of the 27 wins for Albany.
Maine must pitch well and come up with timely hits if it wishes to have success on the weekend. Maine only has eight regular season games to go after this weekend, with six of them being in America East. Maine has a three game series at Hartford and then finishes the regular season with a three game home matchup with UMBC on May 6 and 7. Eastern Maine Sports will provide recaps from this weekends games with Albany.
