Owls begin spring play

    The University of Maine at Presque Isle softball and baseball teams began the Sunrise Conference portion of their schedules with mixed results.
    The Owl softball team went a perfect 4-0 in doubleheaders played Saturday and Sunday, April 9-10 in Lynn, Mass. against Fisher College, while the Owl baseball team lost all four of its contests to the Falcons played over the same stretch.
    In softball, UMPI rolled past Fisher in Saturday’s opener, 13-0, before sneaking away with a 2-1 victory in the second game of the day. On Sunday, the Owls prevailed by scores of 11-2 and 8-0.
    Brittany Humphrey had three hits in the first game of the series, while Krista Coffin, Carolynn Tuck, Desiree Smith and Lainey Herring all had two hits. UMPI exploded for seven runs in the first inning, spearheaded by Tuck’s run-scoring triple. Coffin allowed three hits in the five-inning shutout on the mound. She struck out four batters and walked two.
    In game two Saturday, UMPI scored two runs in the top of the second and held on for the win. Emily Moore was effective on the mound, going all seven innings and striking out eight while not surrendering a single walk. She gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the second.
    Tuck had another RBI triple and scored on a single by Smith to account for UMPI’s offense.
    Smith, Tuck and Danielle Humphrey all posted two hits in the 11-2 win Sunday. Humphrey drove in four runs while Smith scored three times. Coffin gave up just three hits and fanned six batters to pick up her second pitching win of the weekend.
    Danielle Humphrey had another strong offensive game in  game two, banging out three hits and driving in a pair. Emily Staples had two hits and scored two runs and Tuck had two hits and an RBI for UMPI in the shutout triumph. Moore pitched a shutout for the winners.
    On Monday, UMPI dropped two non-conference games to UM-Farmington at Kents Hill School by scores of 10-1 and 8-7. The losses dropped the Owls’ overall record to 8-9.
    Herring was the Owls’ only repeat hitter in the opener with two hits, while Coffin suffered the pitching loss, giving up eight runs (seven of them unearned) in 2-1/3 innings of work.
    In the second game, UMPI bolted to a 5-0 lead after half an inning and took a 7-6 advantage into the bottom of the seventh, but the host Beavers came back for the win.
    Coffin pitched all seven innings for UMPI. Brittany Humphrey had a single and a double and scored twice, while Coffin and Kathleen Higgins both had two singles. Higgins collected two RBIs.
Owl baseball swept
by Fisher, beat Lesley
    The UMPI baseball team was beaten in both ends of doubleheaders played Saturday and Sunday against Fisher College.
    The Owls lost Saturday’s games, 10-6 and 11-0, before also dropping two on Sunday, 9-1 and 6-2. The team now stands at 3-18 overall.
    Ted Walker went 3 for 3 and Matt Nadeau and Corey Harding both had two hits for UMPI in the first game of the series. The Owls trailed by six runs in the late going, but rallied for three runs in the sixth and two in the seventh to come up just short.
    Jake Fillebrown suffered the pitching loss, allowing just three earned runs in 4-1/3 innings of work.
    UMPI failed to score a run in game two of the day, but Carlos Villoria and Alex Csiernik both went 2 for 2. Jordan Perry took the pitching loss, allowing seven earned runs in the first inning as Fisher jumped out to the 9-0 lead.
    On Sunday, the Owls fell in the opener, but Walker had two hits and the lone RBI. Shane Smith and Nadeau also had two hits. Andrew Carter was the losing pitcher.
    UMPI had its best effort of the weekend in Sunday’s nightcap, but still couldn’t avoid the sweep in the 6-2 loss. Villoria, Csiernik, Walker, Stephen Thorne, Smith and Harding had a hit apiece for the Owls. Harding went 5-1/3 innings on the hill and was tagged with the loss.
    The Owls gained just their second win of the season Friday, beating Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., 5-0, behind a four-hit shutout by Dylan Worster. The Owls scored four times in the fourth and added a single run in the fifth to come out on top. Walker had two hits and Fillebrown connected for an RBI double to pace UMPI at the plate.
    Earlier on Friday, UMPI lost to Daniel Webster College of Nashua, N.H., 13-3. Anthony Batchelder was the losing pitcher. Thorne, Walker and Justin Bergeron all knocked in runs for the Owls.