University of Maine at Presque Isle softball squad in midst of solid bounce-back season

Sara Shaw took over the University of Maine at Presque Isle head coaching position in early December and has had to adjust to unfamiliar athletes along with her new role of collegiate head coach. The Owls have quickly rebounded to win more games than they did the entire 2014 season when they compiled a 6-21 record.
New recruits and a strong showing from the Owl holdovers has already produced several key wins in the early season, including an 8-3 victory over rival UM-Farmington March 14.
Shaw is excited by the potential of her Owl squad, which has a nice blend of experience and new blood.
“We’re starting to gel as a team and it has been fantastic to see the strides the girls have taken both as teammates and as softball players,” Shaw said.
First baseman Shannon Brown of Calais hit .367 with six extra base hits and nine RBI on the recent Easter break road trip and helped to lead the team to four wins during the stretch. That performance helped Brown to be named Association of Division 3 Independents Player of the Week.
Junior leftfielder Jessica Campbell of Lisbon hit .346 and had nine RBI on the trip as well, but as solid as Brown and Campbell were driving in runs, Katie Patenaude of Presque Isle trumped both of them, driving in 16 runs, including 10 in one game against Trinity.
The Owls will rely on the mound tandem of Sara Packard of St. Albans and Whitney Donovan of Ashland to carry the bulk of the pitching innings. Packard, a freshman, is a sinkerball pitcher who played at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport. She will count on the Owl infield to back her up and Donovan, a senior shortstop when not toeing the rubber, returns to take a more prominent role as pitcher this season. Junior Amanda Allen of Limestone will also see some action on the mound as well.
The infield personnel has been a constant, although the positions have been in flux with freshman Carly Bell of Presque Isle and classmate Nicole Marucci of Naples trading between third and second base. Both Bell and Marucci are “sparkplug” types offensively, with on-base percentages of .345 and .348, respectively. Donovan is a solid leader at short and Brown takes a majority of the throws at first. Senior Dani Smith has returned to the team at catcher and is leading the regulars with a .351 average at the plate.
Allen, an All-Great South Atlantic Conference centerfielder, is joined by Campbell and Patenaude, who moved to right field after a season in which she hit .345 and caught every inning for the Owls a year ago. Freshmen Ashley Dube of Caribou and Joslyn Beckwith of Cumberland add depth in the outfield and Dube has provided punch off the bench, going 5 for 7 (.714 batting average) with three RBI in a limited role.
“Mother Nature” has been as tough an opponent so far this season as anyone on the field, with a third of the season washed out because of inclement playing conditions.
Awaiting the Owls are road doubleheaders with Fisher College, Gordon College and Husson University before a scheduled home match against Thomas College of Waterville on Wednesday, April 22.
“We have a few more stretches of games, and we feel like we’ve prepared and we’ll be right there competing with them. Everything is coming together for us,” Shaw said.