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Softball Sets School Record with Sweep Over Binghamton
April 29, 2006
ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine softball team made school history Saturday with a doubleheader sweep over Binghamton at Kessock Field. The Black Bears set the school record for wins in a single season with 33, as they downed the Bearcats 1-0 in game one and pulled out a thrilling 5-3 come-from-behind win in game two. Maine ran its win streak to seven games and nine in the last 10 contests. The Black Bears improved to 33-15 overall and sit atop the America East standings with a 14-3 record. Maine also improved to 15-4 in the month of April and are a perfect 9-0 at home this season. With the doubleheader sweep on Saturday, Maine also secured its sixth series win in six tries over conference foes this season. Dating back to 2005 season, the Black Bears have won 10 of their last 13 conference series. The 33 wins for the 2006 squad topped the previous mark of 32 set by the 1994 team. The Black Bears that season went 32-17, won the America East championship and qualified for the NCAA Regionals for the first time in program history. The second game of the day proved to be the most exciting. Maine staked Binghamton to a 3-0 lead on a three-run homer by Meghan Quinn in fourth inning. However, Maine starting pitcher Sarah Bennis (Pownal, Maine) settled down and would not allow a run the rest of the contest. In addition to Bennis settling down, the Black Bear offense picked up the intensity and pushed across five runs over the next two frames.
Maine scored twice in the bottom of the fourth to get within a run at 3-2. Brittany Cheney (Abington, Mass.) led off the frame with a triple and scored a batter later when Molly McKinney (Byron Center, Mich.) doubled to the wall in left-center field. McKinney scored later in the inning when Marguerite Soule (Pepperell, Mass.) executed a perfect sacrifice bunt.
The Black Bears completed the come-from-behind win by plating three runs in the fifth inning with two outs. Erin Provost (Peru, N.Y.), who singled earlier in the inning, scored on a Cheney bloop single to left field to knot the game at 3-3. McKinney followed Cheney and drove her home for the eventual winning run on another RBI double. McKinney scored her second run of the game later in the frame when Amy Kuhl (Phoenix, Ariz.) single to left field. The Bearcats tried to mount a rally in the sixth inning by putting runners on second and third with nobody out. However, Bennis retired the next three batters to end the threat. She pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to nail down her 18th win (18-5) of the season. In the day's first game, a Tara Vilardo (Ticonderoga, N.Y.) RBI single was all Maine needed to pull out the win. The rest was up to starting pitcher Jenna Balent (Conifer, Colo.), who pitched a complete game two-hit shutout. Balent fanned nine and issued no walks during the outing. At one point in the game, she retired 10-straight batters with five of those coming via strikeouts. She also struck out the side in the fourth inning. With the win, Balent improved her record to 13-9. Maine returns to action Sunday when it plays host to Binghamton in a single game beginning at a new start time of 11 a.m. The game will be played at Kessock Field and admission is free. |
