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Softball Drops Opener of America East Tournament to Boston University
May 11, 2006
ORONO, Maine - The top-seeded University of Maine softball team dropped its opener in the America East Tournament on Thursday, as Boston University pulled out an 11-1 win in a shortened six-inning affair at Kessock Field. BU evened its record at 27-27, while Maine dropped its second straight and fell to 35-18. The back-to-back losses for Maine marked the first time since March 17-18 that the Black Bears dropped two straight. The six-inning affair lasted two hours and 53 minutes as a 20-minute rain delay halted the game in the fourth inning. Maine took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Dana Grimm (Coopersville, Mich.) scored on a wild pitch by Terrier pitcher Cassidi Hardy. Grimm was the only Maine batter to reach base twice in the contest as she drew a pair of walks. BU came to bat in the top of the fourth and put runners on second and third with one out before the rain halted play. Following the delay, the Terriers pushed a run across to knot the score at 1-1. They exploded for 10 combined runs during the next two innings to set the eight-run rule into effect. Kristie Hawkins (Portland, Maine) had Maine's lone hit on the day, which was a single. Starting pitcher Jenna Balent (Conifer, Colo.) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs -- two earned -- on seven hits in 4.1 innings of work. The two earned runs allowed by Balent were her first ones in her last seven appearances. She struck out seven, but walked five batters. Those five walks were the first ones allowed by Balent in her last four starts. She has combined to strike out 31 in her last four starts on the rubber.
Maine returns to action Friday at 1:30 p.m., when it takes on UMBC. The third-seeded Retrievers dropped an 8-0 decision to second-seeded Albany earlier in the afternoon on Thursday at Kessock Field. The Black Bears took 2-of-3 from UMBC last weekend at Kessock to clinch the America East regular season crown. Albany and BU will open the day of action on Friday at 11 a.m. The Black Bears' battle with UMBC can be heard on WZON-AM 620 or on the internet at www.zoneradio.com(.)
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