BANGOR, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington softball team fell in a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) second-round matchup against top-seeded Husson University, 4-1, on day one of the NAC Tournament.
With the setback, the Beavers drop into the losers bracket of the double-elimination tournament, where they will face third-seeded SUNY Cobleskill at 9:00 a.m. Friday morning.
How it Happened:
Husson opened the scoring with a two-out rally in the bottom of the first. After Farmington starter Natalie Simpson (Bucksport, Maine) retired the first two batters she faced, an infield single from Morgan Tainter extended the inning, bringing cleanup hitter Lydia Rice to the plate. Rice took a 2-2 pitch over the wall in straightaway left to put the Eagles up 2-0.
Husson added another run in the bottom of the second to open up a 3-0 advantage. Back-to-back one-out walks to Tayler Watterson and Allie Casavant put a pair on in front of Sophia Lynch, who reached on an infield single to load the bases with the top of the lineup due up. The next batter was Camryn King, who lofted a SAC fly to left to plate Watterson. Simpson got the next batter she faced to fly out to right to end the inning and limit the damage.
The Beavers were quiet offensively against Husson starter Ana Lang. Lang was perfect through the first four innings, but a leadoff walk in the top of the fifth to Jessica Dow (Saco, Maine) put a runner on base for the Beavers for the first time. After a SAC bunt moved Dow to second, Simpson struck out swinging, but the ball got away from Tainter behind the plate. Simpson attempted to reach on the dropped third strike, and Tainter's throw sailed into right field, allowing Dow to come around and score to make it a 3-1 game.
Husson quickly got the run back in the bottom of the fifth as King smoked a line-drive home run over the center field wall to make it 4-1 and chase Simpson from the game. Lisa Truchin (Torrance, Calif.) came on in relief of Simpson and worked around single baserunners in the fifth and sixth innings to keep Husson off the scoreboard.
Lang did not allow a hit until Melissa Mayo (Bridgton, Maine) doubled with one out in the top of the sixth. Lang was then removed from the game, making way for Sierra Yates, who set down all five batters she faced to record the save.
Stat Leaders - Farmington
Melissa Mayo; 1-for-3, 2B
Jessica Dow; 0-for-2, 1 run, BB
Stat Leaders - Husson
Camryn King; 1-for-2, HR, 2 RBIs, 1 run
Lydia Rice; 1-for-2, HR, 2 RBIs, 1 run
Tayler Watterson; 1-for-2, 1 run, BB
Morgan Tainter; 1-for-3, 1 run
In the Circle - Farmington
Natalie Simpson (L, 5-6); 4.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Lisa Truchin; 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
In the Circle - Husson
Ana Lang (W, 21-3); 5.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Sierra Yates (S, 1); 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
