With the University of Maine 9 or 10 games into their regular season of non-conference Southern games, the baseball and softball teams from Husson University are about to do the same this upcoming weekend in Florida to open up the 2019 campaign.
The Husson baseball team, coming off a 14-22 season in 2018 where they also went 9-13 in the North Atlantic Conference, begin their run to try to reach that conference tournament which they missed last year when they face Worcester Polytechnic Institute for a doubleheader Saturday, and Keene State for a single game Sunday in Auburndale, Florida.
Manager Jason Harvey (12th season) will return key infielders Mike Wong, Alex Chapman, Ryan Hoogterp, Nick Guerrette, and Nick Whitten. Sam Huston returns at catcher as Tyler Young will be his backup again this season. The Eagles outfield consists of key returning players Conor McGuire and Luke Covey. Also seeing time in the outfield will be Chapman, Jonah Martin, Stefan Strachan, Matt Graciano, Brandon Smith, and Ethan Daigneault. Key returning starters on the pitching staff include Jesse Colford, Austin Smith, Cody Collins, Cam Graham, Tommy Burns, and Ryan Allender. In relief expect Nolan Dousa, Jacob Gauvin, and Dustin Smith to do a bulk of the work, while Matt Smith and Ben Bernier will also be contributors.
The top three key offensive threats for the 2018 Eagles was Huston, Chapman and Guerrette. Huston batted .278 with a pair of homers and 15 RBI, while Chapman also drove in 15 and hit .252. Guerrette led Husson with a .311 average and added 10 RBI. The Eagles must improve in 2019 as the team only batted .219 collectively. The pitching staff had a combined ERA of 4.30, issuing 105 walks and striking out 183 in 265.2 innings. Burns and Collins led the team with three pitching wins each, with Dousa leading in saved games with two. Burns only started three games, winning all three he started and led in ERA with only 20 innings pitched at 1.35. Husson will play 11 games in Florida, before returning East to face Newbury and Mitchell on the road the weekend of March 23-24. The Eagles then play St Josephs College of Maine in another non-conference matchup at Winkin Complex in Bangor on March 27, then will open up NAC play at home the weekend of March 30-31 against UMaine-Farmington.
The Husson softball team hopes to make another run at an NAC title and NCAA Division III Tournament appearance when they open up the 2019 slate of games against the Colleges of Sage, Washington & Jefferson, Kean, and Marietta this weekend in four different Florida locations starting in Minneola, FL Saturday against Sage College. The Eagles welcome in first year head coach Diann Ramsey, who played for the team from 2009-2011 and was also a two year defender in 2009-2010 on the Husson field hockey team. Most recently Ramsey was the JV Field Hockey head coach and assistant varsity coach for the Bangor Rams. Ramsey takes over for Terren Allen, who in her four seasons led the team to a pair of NAC Tournament postseason titles and NCAA appearances in 2015 and 2018.
Husson went 23-15 in 2018, 6-2 in NAC play, defeating New England College twice on the final day of the NAC Tournament on O’Keefe Field in Bangor to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles went on to drop games to #12 Williams and to Western New England in the NCAA double elimination regionals, ending their season. Husson returns key infielders Bri Brochu, Morgan Coleman, Tamara Aunchman, Kylie Kennedy, Chloe Gorey, and Shelby Burge. Senior Kylie Cunningham will catch, while Kendra Wilson backs her up at the catching position. Keys players in the outfield include Olivia Smith, Caitlin Bean, Madelyn Fowler, and Arika Brochu. Brochu returns for her senior season after taking a year off from the team to study abroad. Jen Jones also will not only pitch but also find time at first base and the outfield, while Brochu will also pitch. The pitching staff is small but very good, and includes Jones, Smith, Aunchman, and now Brochu that will see a majority of the time. Newcomers looking for playing time include freshmen OF/P Lexi Cunningham, OF/P Louisa Colucci, OF/3B Whitney Bess, P Alyssa Prest, SS/2B Katie Windsor, C Meagan Gosselin, P Jillian Blake, OF/3B Katie Walker, SS Brooklynn Scott, and C Emma Thacher.
Smith led the Husson offense in 2018, batting an outstanding .483, with five homers and 33 RBI. She had 57 hits, 21 extra base hits as well in 118 at bats. Fowler hit .379, three homers, and 23 RBI. Coleman hit .318/5/27, B. Brochu .344 with eight RBI, Aunchman .330/3/23, Gorey also came in at .279 with 12 driven in. Collectively, Husson batted .317 as a team with 17 home runs, 67 doubles, and nine triples. The pitching staff was solid for the Eagles, with a team ERA of 3.28. Jones led in wins with 16 in 22 starts, and an ERA of 2.52. She also pitched 178.2 innings out of a total of 250 for the season. Jones had 168 strikeouts in those 178.2 innings, while only walking 46. Husson starts with 12 Florida games before they play an exhibition doubleheader at home on March 23 against Southern Maine Community College. The Eagles then go to Colby and Newbury for non-conference doubleheaders, before they open up the NAC schedule at home on April 6 against Suny-Canton.
