At River View Field in Lowell, Massachusetts Saturday afternoon, the Maine softball team split an America East doubleheader dropping the first game 9-4 and bouncing back for a 5-4 win in game two against UMass-Lowell.
In game one, the host Riverhawks scored five runs in the first inning and banged out nine hits to take the five run win. Maria Moccio and Jennifer Lee had two RBI a piece for UMass-Lowell. Emma Larke had two hits and two RBI for Maine, while Grace McGouldrick also added two hits. Izzy Nieblas chipped in with a solo homerun. Emily Reid (0-1) only lasted 1/3 of an inning to take the loss in the circle allowing four earned runs on two hits with three walks.
In the second game, Maine scored four second inning runs and held on for the one run win. Larke and Jasmine Gray had two hits each, and Shanna Scribner had a two run homer. Kyleigh O’Donnell (4-2) allowed four runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts for the victory in the complete 7.0 inning effort. The Black Bears are now 4-11, 2-1 in America East and are scheduled to play a non-conference doubleheader at Bryant on Tuesday. UMass-Lowell is now 8-9, 4-2 in AE.
At Mahaney Diamond in Orono, the Binghamton Bearcats took a doubleheader sweep and three of four games on the weekend with a 5-0 and a 3-2 win in 10 innings over the Maine Black Bears in America East baseball action.
In game one (7 innings), Jack Collins allowed no runs on three hits in a complete game effort on the mound as Binghamton breezed to the five run win. Alex Baratta had a first inning fielders choice RBI and that is all the Bearcats needed. Scout Knotts, Colin Plante, and Sean Lawlor had the Maine hits. Alex McKenney (2-2) took the loss on the hill for the Black Bears allowing two earned runs on five hits with four walks and six strikeouts in 5.0 innings.
In game two, the Bearcats took an early 2-0 lead on an error and an RBI single by Baratta in the second inning, before the Black Bears rallied to tie it only to fall in the 10th inning. Plante had an RBI single to put Maine on the scoreboard in the fourth inning. The score stayed the same until the bottom of the eighth. Connor Goodman would loop a two out double down the right field line, and Lawlor followed with an RBI single to even things. Binghamton got the game winner in the top of the 10th when TJ Wegmann hit a two out RBI single. Lawlor had three hits and Goodman had two to lead the hosts. Tyler Nielsen (0-1) took the pitching loss in relief of starter Matt Pushard allowing one run (none earned) on two hits in 2.2 innings. Maine is now 8-7, 3-4 in America East. Binghamton goes to 4-5, 4-5 in AE. The Black Bears are at New Jersey Institute of Technology next Saturday and Sunday for another four game conference series.
