BANGOR, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington (7-14, 4-3) softball team was unable to get its bats going on Saturday afternoon, dropping a pair of North Atlantic Conference (NAC) contests against the conference-leading and No. 21 team in the country, Husson University (23-4, 6-0). Farmington dropped game one by a score of 7-1 and game two, 5-0.
Game One; Husson 7, Farmington 1
The Beavers jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning. Maddie Pike (Kennebunk, Maine) got things started with a two-out single up the middle in front of cleanup hitter Jessica Dow (Saco, Maine). Dow drove the first pitch she saw off the base of the wall in straightaway left field to chase Pike home and make it 1-0 after just a half inning of play.
The Beavers got a strong start from first-year Natalie Simpson, who was able to keep them in the game against Husson's ace, Ana Lang. Simpson worked around a one-out single in the bottom half of the first to put up a zero after Farmington had taken an early lead.
After Lang struck out the side in order in the top of the second, Husson was able to knot the game at one in the bottom half of the inning. Jetta Shook ripped a one-out double to the gap in left-center and was driven home on a double off the bat of Allie Casavant.
The Beavers threatened to score in the top of the third. Melissa Mayo (Bridgton, Maine) ripped a one-out single, and then Emily Collins (Moscow, Maine) followed with a walk to put runners on first and second. After Pike reached base on a fielder's choice, there were runners at the corners for Dow. Dow hit a hard ground ball right at the Husson shortstop, who threw across the diamond to cut her down and record the third out of the inning.
Following the Beavers' threat in the top of the third, neither team had much going offensively until Husson broke the game open with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. The Eagles used small ball to start their rally. Camryn King led off the inning with a bunt single and immediately stole second. Morgan Curtis followed with her own bunt single, allowing King to move to third and putting runners at the corners. Curtis promptly stole second. The next batter, Morgan Tainter, singled to left to bring home King and make it a 2-1 ballgame.
Later in the inning, Tayler Watterson lofted a fly ball to left that was deep enough to bring home Curtis. Shook followed the sacrifice fly by singling home Tainter, and suddenly it was 4-1.
Sophomore Lisa Truchin came on in relief of Simpson in the bottom of the sixth. The Eagles' offense continued to hit the ball well in the inning off Truchin, scoring three more times to open up a 7-1 advantage. Lydia Rice recorded a two-run single, and Shook picked up her second RBI knock of the inning for the Eagles.
Lang gave up just one hit over her final four innings of work to pick up her 12th win of the season.
Stat Leaders - Farmington
Jessica Dow; 1-for-3, 2B, 1 RBI
Maddie Pike; 1-for-3, 1 run
Emily Collins; 1-for-2, BB
Melissa Mayo; 1-for-3
Stat Leaders - Husson
Jetta Shook; 3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs, 1 run
Lydia Rice; 2-for-4, 2 RBIs
Camryn King; 2-for-4, 2 runs, SB
Morgan Curtis; 2-for-3, 1 run
Allie Casavant; 1-for-2, 2B, 1 RBI, 1 run, BB
On the Mound - Farmington
Natalie Simpson (L, 3-4); 5.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Lisa Truchin; 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
On the Mound - Husson
Ana Lang (W, 12-3); 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
Game Two; Husson 5 - Farmington 0
The Eagles jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after scoring a pair in the bottom half of the first. King was hit by a pitch to lead off the game and immediately stole second to put a runner in scoring position. After she moved to third on a wild pitch, Tainter drew a walk and stole second to put two in scoring position for Rice. Rice delivered with an RBI single to score King and make it 1-0. The Eagles then executed a perfect double steal, with Rice stealing second and Tainter stealing home on the throw down, to push across the second run of the inning.
Husson took advantage of a pair of Farmington errors in the bottom half of the second, scoring two more runs to make it a 4-0 game. Farmington starter Emma DeBoer (Saint Leonard, Md.) struck out the first batter of the inning, but the next two batters reached via error, putting runners at first and second. King and Tainter made Farmington pay, as each drove in a run with an RBI single.
Offensively, the Beavers were held hitless until the top of the fourth. First-year Ava Paglianite (Upper Black Eddy, Pa.) and Dow each ripped one-out singles to put runners at first and second. Husson starting pitcher Sierra Yates settled in and struck out the next two batters she faced to retire the side.
King continued to wreak havoc on the Beavers in the bottom of the fourth. After Casavant led off the inning with a single, King brought her home with an RBI double to right to help the Eagles open up a 5-0 advantage.
Farmington once again threatened in the top of the seventh but was unable to push across a run. Dow led off the inning with a walk, and Pike followed with a single to put two on with nobody out. The next batter was Reilly Russell (Windham, Maine), who looked to drop down a sacrifice bunt. Her bunt attempt popped up in the air, and Pike was doubled off first, taking the wind out of Farmington's sails.
Stat Leaders - Farmington
Jessica Dow; 1-for-2, BB
Ava Paglianite; 1-for-3
Maddie Pike; 1-for-3
Stat Leaders - Husson
Camryn King; 2-for-2, 2B, 2 RBIs, 1 run, 2 SBs, HBP
Morgan Tainter; 1-for-2, 1 RBI, 1 run, BB, 2 SBs
Allie Casavant; 1-for-2, 2 runs
Lydia Rice; 1-for-3, 1 RBI, SB
On the Mound - Farmington
Emma DeBoer (L, 1-5); 6.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
On the Mound - Husson
Sierra Yates (W, 6-1); 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
UP NEXT
The Beavers will return home for a NAC doubleheader with UMPI. Game one is set for 2:00 PM.
