|
Softball Set to Host America East Tournament this Weekend at Kessock Field
May 9, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format Maine Set To Host America East Championship; Will Take On Boston University In Opening Round The top-seeded and America East regular season champion University of Maine softball team will play host to No. 4-seed Boston University in the opening round of the 2006 America East Tournament on Thursday at Kessock Field in Orono. The Black Bears took 2-of-3 from the Terriers this season, including a split of a doubleheader in Boston on April 12 and coming from behind to grab a win in Orono on April 26. Maine is hosting the America East Tournament for the second time in the last thee years. The Black Bears last hosted in 2004 and went on to win the tournament and earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Black Bears and Terriers will be meeting in the conference tournament for the third-consecutive season. The teams met twice in 2004 with BU winning the first game 3-2, but Maine rebounding to win the final by a 2-1 count. The Terriers blanked Maine 1-0 in the first round of the 2005 tournament. Maine vs. Boston University This Season Maine took 2-of-3 from Boston University this season. The teams split a doubleheader on April 12 in Boston with BU pulling out a 2-1 win in game one, while the Black Bears responded with a 4-2 victory in the second game. The Black Bears pulled out a 6-4 come-from-behind win in Orono back on April 26, as they scored four times in the sixth inning to cap the comeback. Maine is 22-33 all-time against BU. Meagan Ramos batted .500 (2-for-4) with two RBI in all three games against the Terriers. Brittany Cheney registered a .429 clip (3-for-7) with an RBI in two games, while Erin Provost and Ashley Waters produced .375 and .364 averages, respectively. Provost homered and drove in a pair of runs in all three games versus BU. Jenna Balent logged a 0.00 earned run average in two appearances against Boston U. She went 1-1 in 7.1 innings of work and yielded zero earned runs -- two unearned -- on nine hits. Sarah Bennis was 1-0 against BU, as she worked 12.2 innings in two appearances. She yielded six runs -- five earned -- on 16 hits. Maine Captures Program's Second America East Regular Season Championship With last Friday's doubleheader sweep over UMBC, the Black Bears won the America East regular season championship for the second time in program history and the first since 1994. The 2006 regular season title is the third conference championship in school history. In addition to the two regular season titles, Maine won the 2004 America East Tournament championship at Kessock Field in Orono. The 1994 team which won the regular season title had to play the conference tournament at Boston University. The road trip didn't phaze the Black Bears as they won the tournament and advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the first time in school history. 2006 Black Bears Set School Record For Wins In A Single Season The 2006 University of Maine softball team has already set the school record for wins in a single season with 35. The old mark was 32 set by the 1994 team. Those are the only two teams in the program's history to top 30 wins in a season. This season's team set the mark with its 33rd win during a doubleheader sweep of Binghamton back on April 29 at Kessock Field. The following is a list of the top-five seasons in terms of wins in program history: Year...Wins 1. 2006...35 2. 1994...32 3. 1987...29 4. 2004...28 5. 2000...27 Black Bears Perfect In Regular Season Series Wins Over Conference Foes Maine won all seven regular season series against conference opponents this season. It marked the second time in program history and the first since 1994 the Black Bears won all of their regular season series against America East foes. Dating back to the 2005 season, Maine has won 11 of its last 14 regular season series against conference foes. Jenna Balent Turning In Sensational Rookie Season On The Rubber For The Black Bears Redshirt freshman pitcher Jenna Balent has turned in a sensational rookie season for the University of Maine softball program. The following is a list of some of the accomplishments she has earned this season. **Has pitched 19 complete games. **Named the America East Pitcher of the Week on April 3 after pitching back-to-back complete-game two-hit shutouts against Stony Brook. **Has not allowed an earned run in her last six appearances, including three starts. **Has allowed just three earned runs in her last 14 appearances, including nine starts. **Has allowed one earned run or less in 20 appearances, including 13 starts. **Has struck out 24 and issued ZERO walks in her last three starts. **Has won nine of her last 11 decisions. **Leads America East with three saves. **Leads America East with a 1.25 earned run average. **Has struck out at least seven batters in nine appearances. **Has issued one walk or less in 14 appearances, including nine starts. **Has yielded only 22 extra-base hits in 162.0 innings of work. **Did not allow a hit in five innings of work in Maine's 2-1 win over Lafayette on March 15 at the Rebel Games in Orlando. **Has pitched four complete-game two-hit shutout victories. **Ranks in the top 40 nationally in earned run average. **Registererd a 0.28 earned run average in regular season America East contests. Sarah Bennis Ties School Record For Wins In A Season By A Pithcher; Needs One More To Set The Mark Senior pitcher Sarah Bennis' victory in the first game of last Friday's doubleheader against UMBC ran her record to 19-6 on the season and moved into a tie for first place in school history for wins in a season. She is tied with Deb Smith and Cindy Harrington, who set the marks in 1994 and 1995, respectively. Bennis is already the school-record holder for strikeouts in a career with 478. She broke the record in just three seasons when she accumulated 320. Cheney Closing In On Three School Batting Records Senior shortstop Brittany Cheney is closing in on three school batting records. The following list is where she stands in relation to either tying or breaking the school record in that specific category. CATEGORY...CURRENT MARK...CHENEY'S TOTAL...# TO TIE...# TO BREAK Hits In A Season...62 (Two with that mark)...61...1...2 Hits In A Career...205 (Jess Brady, 2002-05)...198...7...8 At-Bats In A Career...608 (Jess Brady, 2002-05)...595...13...14 Maine Honored With Four Conference Weekly Awards This Season Maine was honored with four conference weekly awards this season. Sarah Bennis was named the America East Pitcher of the Week twice (March 13 and April 10), Jenna Balent garnered the pitcher award on April 3 and Ashley Waters was named the league's rookie of the week on Monday. Black Bears Secure Winning Season In 2006 Maine's 35-17 regular season record in 2006 secured the program's 14th winning season in 28 seasons overall. Miscellaneous Situational Statistics **Brittany Cheney is batting .443 (35-for-79) with runners on base. **Kristie Hawkins is batting .500 (2-for-4) with the bases loaded. **Molly McKinney has posted a .433 on-base percentage when leading off an inning (13-for-30 in opportunities). **Brittany Cheney is batting .429 (21-for-49) with seven RBI with runners in scoring position. **Erin Provost is batting .378 (17-for-45) with five RBI with runners in scoring position. **Amy Kuhl has driven in 17 runs with two outs, while Erin Provost has driven in 16 in similar situations. **Sarah Bennis is limiting the opposition to a .189 batting average with runners on base. **Jenna Balent is allowing an average of just 4.93 runs per game. **Jenna Balent is allowing an average of 0.13 home runs per game, while Sarah Bennis is allowing an average of just 0.25 a contest. **Sarah Bennis averaging 6.68 strikeouts per game, while Jenna Balent is averaging 6.14. Softball Program Produces High-Quality Student-Athletes Fourteen (14) University of Maine softball players were honored as Maine Scholar-Athletes in February. A Maine Scholar-Athlete recognition is given to any student-athlete at the University who achieves a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. The list included Sarah Bennis, Brittany Cheney (Dean Smith Award Winner for top female student-athlete), Dana Grimm, Molly McKinney, Erin Provost, Elizabeth Foltz, Amy Kuhl, Meagan Ramos, Jenna Balent, Kate Joseph, Alexis Pullen, Rebecca Smith, Marguerite Soule and Ashley Waters. Head Coaches In Maine Softball History And Winning In The First Season
With Maine securing a winning record in 2006, Stacey Sullivan became the third head coach in four in program history to post a winning mark in their first seasons in Orono.
|
