The University of Maine softball team announced on May 3 that it will host the 2026 America East Softball Championship at the Pierre & Catherine Labat Softball Complex from May 6-9.
This event brings together top teams in the conference for a double-elimination tournament. The Black Bears, seeded fifth, are set to open play against second-seeded Binghamton on Wednesday, May 6 at 1:30 p.m. Maine played Binghamton five times during the regular season and finished with two wins and three losses.
All games of the championship will be streamed live on ESPN+. Fans can also follow live statistics through GoBlackBears.com/2026AESB. The Black Bears have an all-time record of 41-40 against Binghamton, while their records against other potential opponents include a mark of 20-24 versus UMass Lowell, 8-18 versus Bryant, and 13-52 versus UAlbany this season.
Several players have reached career-highs as Maine enters postseason play. Keira Inman has set personal bests in hits (31), doubles (5), home runs (6), and runs batted in (26). Madison Hand has also achieved career-highs with 17 hits, three home runs, and seventeen RBI. Maggie Helms recorded her first career home run along with single-season highs in hits (20), doubles (4), and RBI (9). Eviana Robles posted bests in hits (34), doubles (10), RBI (16) and hit her first home run. Morgan Pool marked new highs for herself as well.
Maine finished second among conference teams in home runs during America East play with thirteen homers—matching its highest total since hitting thirteen in conference games back in 2019—and tied for second place with twenty-three doubles. Kaelyn Larkin is batting .367 overall this year, ranking eighth among all conference players; her .375 average within conference games places her ninth. Francesca Guerrera’s seventy-two hits over two seasons are the most by a Maine player since Alyssa Derrick’s eighty-six from the combined years of 2016–2017 and Meghan Royle’s seventy-nine from those same years. Inman is tied for most triples within the league this season with three while leading Maine—and placing sixth overall—in runs batted in.
