UMPI softball takes 3 of 4 from Fisher
The University of Maine at Presque Isle softball team began Sunrise Conference play in style, winning three of four games over Fisher College in games played in Lynn, Mass. Saturday and Sunday.
League play continues this weekend with doubleheaders scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday at Vermont Technical College.
Against Fisher, the Owls earned a 9-3 victory in Saturday’s opener, as senior captain Nicole Russell of Newcastle tossed a complete-game seven-hitter. She did not walk a single batter.
Russell helped her own cause at the plate by going 3 for 4, while teammates Desiree Smith of Thomaston and Lainey Herring of Houlton also had three hits each.
UMPI lost game two on Saturday, 20-4, as Fisher plated 14 runs in the fourth inning to blow the game open. Danielle Humphrey of New Gloucester had two hits to lead the Owls.
UMPI won a pair of low-scoring games Sunday, 3-0 and 3-2. Russell went the distance on the mound in both contests, giving up a total of just 10 hits while striking out eight batters and surrendering just two bases on balls.
Junior captain Brittany Humphrey of New Gloucester went 2 for 4 with a triple in the opener, while Kellie Peers of Caswell went 2 for 3.
In game two, Kathleen Higgins of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia was the Owls’ lone repeat hitter with two singles.
The Owls played several other non-conference games over the past two weeks. The latest were road losses at UM-Farmington Monday by scores of 5-2 and 10-7.
The opener saw Herring single and double to pace the Owl offense, which did not plate a run until the seventh inning. Russell handled the pitching duties for UMPI.
In the game two defeat, the Owls led 4-2 in the second inning and 7-4 in the third, but could not hold on against the host Beavers.
Emily Staples of Trenton had thee singles to lead UMPI. Herring added a two-run double and Cassie Green of Truro, Nova Scotia chipped in with two hits. Herring got the start on the mound and suffered the complete-game loss.
In their other contests, UMPI was swept by Thomas College in games played at the Mahaney Dome at the University of Maine at Orono April 2. The scores were 2-1 and 10-2. On April 7, the Owls dropped two games at Husson University, 10-2 and 8-0.
The Owls are now 6-18 overall heading into this weekend’s four-game series.
