NEWTON, Mass. - The University of Maine at Farmington softball team headed to Lasell University this afternoon to take on the Lasers in the Beavers 1st set of games in New England this season. The Lasers put together a big inning in each game leading to victories in both games. The Lasers took game one 10-1, and game two 12-4. 

Game One

Both teams threatened to score in the 1st innings but Abigail Fortin for the Lasers and Carleigh Schievink (Charlestown, Mass.) for the Beavers worked out of trouble to keep the game scoreless. 

The Beavers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the 3rd inning. Katie Hammer (Ellsworth, Maine) led off the inning with a walk and moved up to 2nd on a Bella Miller (Lewiston, Maine) sacrifice bunt. Maddie Pike (Kennebunk, Maine), fresh off being named the North Atlantic Conference Rookie of the Week, gave the Beavers the lead with an RBI single to right field, scoring Hammer from 2nd. 

After being shutdown by Schievink for the 1st three innings, the Lasers got hot in the bottom of the 4th inning, scoring 10 runs on nine hits. Angelena Piers recorded a two-RBI single, Ally Kirck delivered a big two-run double, and Grace Stephenson closed the inning with a big two-run home run to left field.

The Beavers were unable to score any runs in the top of the 5th to extend the game. 

Pike led the Beavers at the plate, going 2-2 with the RBI single. All nine of the hitters in the lineup for the Lasers recorded a hit, Brianna Gendreau and Matara Tamzarian each had two. 

Game Two

The Beavers got things rolling early in the 2nd game. The 2nd batter of the game, Kiley Merritt (Lisbon Falls, Maine) was hit by a pitch to give the Beavers a baserunner with one out. The next batter was Pike who ripped a single to center. The Laser center fielder misplayed the ball which allowed Merritt to come all the way around to score and give the Beavers a 1-0 lead.

The Lasers responded in the bottom half of the 1st inning with a two-out rally to tie the game. Mackenzie Still drew a two-out walk and moved up to 2nd on a wild pitch. Eryn Sheeley followed with a walk and Alyssa Bland drove in Still with an RBI single to center.

Lasell grabbed their 1st lead of the game in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Still led off the inning with a single to left. Sheeley followed with a double to give the Lasers 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. Freshman starting pitcher Brianna Benson (Woodstock, Maine) got the next hitter, Bland to fly out to center. The next hitter was Emily Mestas who grounded out to Benson for the 2nd out, but Still came in to score on the play. Benson then got Piers to ground out to 3rd to end the inning and strand Sheeley in scoring position. 

The Beavers re-tied the game in the top of the 4th. Olivia Paradis (Saco, Maine) led off the inning with a single, moved up to 2nd on a groundout, and took 3rd on a wild pitch. Hammer wrapped a double to left field with two outs to score Paradis and knot the game at two. 

The Beavers took the lead in the top of the 5th inning. Pike hit a one-out double and Grace Martin (Marblehead, Mass.) followed with a double to give Farmington 2nd and 3rd with just one out. Megan Wilson (Belgrade, Maine) drew a walk to load the bases for Paradis. Paradis came through clutch knocking a double to left that scored Pike and Martin and give the Beavers a 4-2 lead.

Similarly to the 1st game, the Lasers had a 10-run inning to retake the lead and eventually end it due to mercy rule. Piers, Kirck, and Still all had two-RBI doubles in the inning to pace the Lasers. 

Pike and Paradis led the Beavers at the plate, each going 2-3. Benson pitched the 1st three innings, giving up two earned on three hits while striking out a pair. For the Lasers, they were led by Still who was 2-2 with two RBIs and four runs scored.

UP NEXT

The Beavers head back to Massachusetts on Sunday to take on Suffolk University in a doubleheader. Game one starts at 12 pm.