KISSIMMEE, Florida - The University of Maine at Farmington earned a split on Wednesday at THE Spring Games, dropping game one against UMass Dartmouth, 2-0, before topping Ursinus College, 5-2, in game two. The win for the Beavers marks the first of the season and the first for Co-Head Coaches Kiana Thompson and Callie Hammer.
Game One
Game one was a pitcher's duel, with Farmington's Emma DeBoer (Saint Leonard, Md.) and UMass-Dartmouth's Brielle Kenney keeping the opposing offenses at bay for most of the ballgame.
The Corsairs were staked to an early lead, however, as Raelynn Perregaux led off the game with a triple and then came in to score on an RBI groundout from Olivia Silva to make it 1-0 after one inning.
UMass-Dartmouth was able to double its lead in the bottom half of the second as Emma Talpey ripped an RBI triple to deep right-center field, bringing home Lena Tsonis, who led off the inning with a single. DeBoer did strike out the side in the inning, three of the eight she had in the game.
Following the Talpey RBI triple, both teams' offenses were kept relatively dormant, as neither team was able to get a runner to third base for the remainder of the game.
Farmington's best opportunity to score came in the top of the fifth when Angelina Ventullo (Salem, N.H.) drew a one-out walk, and then Ava Paglianite (Upper Black Eddy, Pa.) delivered a two-out single to put runners at first and second. Kenney got Melissa Mayo (Bridgton, Maine) to pop up to end the threat.
The Corsairs threatened to add to their lead in the bottom half of the fifth, as Perregaux singled and then Silva followed with a walk to put runners at first and second with just one out. DeBoer dug in, retiring the next batter she faced via a fielder's choice before striking out Bre Fontes for the third out.
Kenney worked around a walk in the sixth and another in the seventh to keep Farmington off the scoreboard and finish off the complete-game shutout. She gave up just two hits, walked five, and struck out five as she improved to 3-0 on the season.
Game Two
Similarly to game one, game two was a pitcher's duel through the first four innings of play. The two teams combined for just five hits during that span, as the two starters, Natalie Simpson (Bucksport, Maine) and Lucy Wolf, had things working in the circle.
After getting two quick outs to open the game, Simpson worked out of minor two-out trouble in the top of the first. A walk and a ground-rule double put two in scoring position, but Simpson induced a weak pop-up to second base to escape the jam.
Farmington looked to crack the scoreboard in the bottom of the third when Paglianite and Lisa Truchin (Torrance, Calif.) hit back-to-back one-out singles with the heart of the Beaver lineup due up. But Wolf beared down and got Jessica Dow (Saco, Maine) to hit into a fielder's choice and then Maddie Pike (Kennebunk, Maine) to line out to left to keep the game scoreless.
After keeping Ursinus scoreless for the first four innings, the Bears finally got to Simpson in the fifth, scoring a pair of unearned runs. Keelie Hancock led off the inning and reached base via an error. The next batter, Addison Hessler, bunted for a hit to put runners at first and second. Simpson struck out the next batter she faced, but Hancock and Hessler stole second and third to put two in scoring position with one away. A wild pitch allowed Hancock to score, and then an errant throw back to Simpson brought Hessler all the way in from second to make it 2-0.
Farmington's offense could not be kept quiet any longer, breaking out in a big way in the bottom of the fifth, sending nine hitters to the plate, pounding out six hits, and scoring four runs to take a 4-2 lead. Paglianite led off the inning with a double and was brought in by an RBI single from Truchin. After a fielder's choice recorded the first out of the inning, back-to-back hits from Pike and Ventullo loaded the bases for Kytana Williamson (Nobleboro, Maine). Williamson came through with a big hit to right-center field to tie the game at two.
The next batter was Bella Miller (Lewiston, Maine), who lofted a ball to short right-center that dropped between the second baseman, center fielder, and right fielder, bringing home Farmington's third run. However, Williamson, who was unable to get too far off first in case the ball was caught, was thrown out at second for the second out of the inning.
Reilly Russell (Windham, Maine) followed with an RBI single to make it 4-2 heading into the sixth.
Mayo took over in the circle in the top of the sixth for the Beavers and worked around a two-out double and a walk to toss a scoreless inning.
Farmington was able to tack on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as Pike singled home Truchin to make it 5-2.
Mayo worked a scoreless seventh to complete the save and put Farmington in the win column.
Farmington pounded out 12 hits, four of which came off the bat of Truchin, who was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI. Pike, Paglianite, and Russell all recorded two hits for the Beavers. Simpson earned her first collegiate win, going five innings and giving up two unearned runs on five hits while striking out two.
For the Bears, Christa Andrusiewicz and Maddie Rea each tallied two hits to lead the offense. Wolf was credited with the loss, going 4? innings, giving up four earned runs on nine hits while striking out six.
UP NEXT
Farmington will wrap up its week in Florida on Thursday, playing two games. Game one is set for 12:45 PM against Alverno College, while game two is set for 2:30 PM against Edgewood University.
