The University of Maine softball team split a doubleheader with Binghamton on April 18 at the Pierre & Catherine Labat Softball Complex.
The games were part of America East conference play, impacting both teams’ standings as they near the end of the regular season.
In the first game, Maine jumped to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after Keira Inman hit a grand slam to left center. Binghamton responded with a three-run home run in the third and tied it up in the fourth. The Bearcats took control in the fifth inning with back-to-back two-run home runs, moving ahead 8-4. Maine’s offense was capped by Kaelyn Larkin’s two-run homer later in the game, but they ultimately fell short as Binghamton won 8-6. Larkin finished Game One going 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs scored, and two RBI. Inman went 1-for-3 with four RBI on her grand slam and also drew a walk.
In Game Two, Binghamton started strong again, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning through a home run and double. Maine answered back when Madison Hand hit a solo home run in the second inning. The Black Bears tied it up at three apiece after loading bases with singles and drawing consecutive walks late in the game. After Alysen Rieth pitched a scoreless seventh for Maine, Kennedy Burns reached base on a dropped third strike to start their half of that frame; Maggie Helms then drove in Burns for a walk-off win when her pop fly was dropped by an infielder.
Eviana Robles led offensively for Maine going 2-for-3 with one run scored and one walk earned while Larkin added three walks and an RBI; Neve Adams contributed one hit, two walks, and an RBI as well. Pitcher Ava Zettlemoyer threw over five innings without allowing any runs or more than three hits before Rieth closed out for the win.
With these results, Maine is now tied at 40 wins each against Binghamton all-time heading into their final regular season matchup scheduled for tomorrow.
