KISSIMMEE, Florida - The University of Maine at Farmington softball team was unable to get their bats going, dropping both games on Sunday on day two at THE Spring Games. Farmington was shut out in game one, dropping the contest 12-0 to Trinity College before falling in game two, 2-1 to Keuka College. Both games ended in the sixth inning. Game one ended due to the mercy rule while the second game was shortened due to weather.
Game One
Junior pitcher Melissa Mayo (Bridgton, Maine) got the start in the circle for the Beavers and pitched very well through four innings. Mayo retired the first three hitters she faced in order to open the game.
Trinity got their offense going in the top of the second when Makenna True blasted a double to the fence in deep left-center field to bring home Emily Goddard, who had been hit by a pitch in the at-bat before.
Trinity continued to swing the bats well in the top half of the third. Annika Haley doubled to open the inning and was quickly chased home on the very next pitch as Abby Alper ripped a double to the wall in straightaway left to make it a 2-0 game. Mayo struck out the next batter she faced and induced an infield popup to record the second out of the inning. After a walk put runners on first and second, Mayo needed just one more out to escape the jam. She appeared to get it as she got Goddard to lift a popup into foul territory along the first-base line. The ball ended up being dropped and Goddard was given new life. Goddard made the most of the opportunity, rocketing the next pitch she saw over the wall in straightaway center field to help the Bantams open up a 5-0 lead.
Trinity extended their lead to six in the fourth, taking advantage of another Farmington error when Heather Roth came in to score after being hit by a pitch to lead off the inning.
Sophomore Lisa Truchin (Torrance, Calif.) relieved Mayo in the top of the fifth and threw a scoreless inning before running into trouble in the sixth. The first four batters of the inning reached base for Trinity and Alper singled home a pair as the Bantams jumped out to an 8-0 advantage. Isabella Calagna, Goddard, and True all recorded RBI knocks while Roth added a SAC fly as the lead quickly swelled to 12-0.
Offensively, Farmington was unable to solve Trinity starter Erin Connor. Connor walked Ava Paglianite (Upper Black Eddy, Pa.) to open the bottom half of the first and again in the fourth but did not allow a hit through five and a third innings pitched. Senior outfielder Emily Collins (Moscow, Maine) singled over the head of the shortstop to put Farmington in the hit column for the first and only time of the game.
Connor pitched all six innings, giving up just the one hit and two walks while striking out two. Mayo was charged with the loss, giving up six runs (five earned) in four innings.
Alper, Goddard, and True all recorded two hits to lead the offense for the Bantams. Alper and Goddard combined for seven RBIs and four runs scored.
Game Two
The second game of the afternoon was a cleanly played, low-scoring affair. Truchin started in the circle for the Beavers and kept the Keuka offense at bay through the first three innings. She got some help from her defense in the bottom of the third. Olivia Flynn doubled to lead off the inning for the Wolves and quickly moved over to third on a Katie Landers single. Landers stole second on the first pitch, putting two runners in scoring position with nobody out.
Truchin got Hailey Jasinski to fly out to left on a ball that sent Mayo over near the foul line. Mayo made the catch on the run and quickly fired a dart home to gun down Flynn at the plate and keep the game scoreless. Truchin then got the next batter to fly out to right to escape the inning unscathed.
Farmington got on the scoreboard first in the top half of the fourth. Junior outfielder Jessica Dow (Saco, Maine) led off the inning with a single up the middle. The next batter was Maddie Pike (Kennebunk, Maine), who hit a ground ball into the hole between short and third. Jasinski made a nice play at short, backhanding the ball and then throwing to second in an attempt to cut down Dow. Dow's hustle and headfirst dive into second was enough to beat the throw and put runners on first and second with nobody out. Skye Chandler (New Gloucester, Maine) followed with a SAC bunt and then Kytana Williamson lofted a SAC fly to left to score Dow and put Farmington ahead 1-0.
Keuka responded in the bottom half of the fourth. Grace Eagen doubled down the line in left and Lindsay Stuck followed with a single to put runners at the corners with nobody out. The next batter was Giana Mruczek, who perfectly executed a safety squeeze to tie the game at one. Alexis Kopetchny followed with a single up the middle to score Stuck from second base, putting the Wolves ahead 2-1 and chasing Truchin from the game.
Junior Emma DeBoer (Saint Leonard, Md.) took over in the circle for Truchin and got the final two outs of the inning to keep it 2-1 heading into the fifth.
The Beavers drew a pair of walks, putting runners at first and second with two outs, but Flynn was able to strike out Bella Miller (Lewiston, Maine) to escape the jam.
DeBoer worked a 1-2-3 fifth as the game moved into the sixth with the Wolves still holding a 2-1 advantage. Pike hit a one-out single and then, two batters later, the game was called due to lightning.
Flynn took the win, pitching 5? innings, giving up one earned run on three hits while striking out six. Truchin took the loss, pitching 3? innings and giving up two runs on eight hits while striking out two. Eagen, Landers, and Kopetchny all finished with two hits to lead the way for Keuka.
UP NEXT
The Beavers will be back in action on Monday, taking on William Paterson at 12:30 and SUNY Morrisville at 2:45 PM.
