ORONO, Maine — After playing 30 games outside the state, the University of Maine softball team will finally play its home openers this weekend against Stony Brook.
Maine, 15-15 overall and 4-2 in America East, hosts the Seawolves (19-12, 5-1), for a doubleheader at noon Saturday and a single game at 11 a.m. Sunday.
The Black Bears then close out their home schedule the following weekend with three vs. Hartford on Seniors Weekend.
“We have one weekend to get ready for Seniors Weekend,” said Maine coach Lynn Coutts.
“It’s crazy. It’s kind of weird not to play a lot of home games, but it has made us tougher. We’ve become road warriors a little bit,” said senior left fielder EmJ Fogel of Vienna, Virginia. “But it’s really exciting to play at home. I have a lot of family coming up. Hopefully, the weather will stay nice.”
“Playing on our home field will definitely keep our energy up a little more. We’re really pumped to play,” said senior pitcher Alexis Bogdanovich of South Portland.
The Black Bears have won three straight, while Stony Brook has a six-game winning streak.
One of the catalysts for the Black Bears has been freshman outfielder Erika Leonard of Rocky Hill, Connecticut. She is hitting .330 and shares the team lead in home runs with three.
She has driven in 16 runs, scored 17 times and leads the team in stolen bases with 14, which is third-best in America East. She has only been caught once.
“I was definitely safe on that,” she insisted with a big grin.
“When I recruited her, her speed was something that drew attention to her. But she has some power, too,” said Coutts. “She has a great attitude and likes to compete.”
Leonard is fast, but she credits a lot of her stolen base success to her slide.
“Even if the ball gets to the base before I do, I have a pretty good slide which allows my body to swing out the way of the ball,” she said.
Leonard considers herself a team player, which is the emphasis at Maine. She also takes a positive approach.
“You have to have confidence. You have to go up to the plate knowing you’re going to get a hit or, when you’re on the bases, know you’re going to make it [on a steal attempt],” said Leonard.
Shortstop Felicia Lennon (.337, 2 HR, 14 RBIs, 10 SBs), Fogel (.333-0-18, seven doubles) and 1B Nikki Byron (.295-3-10) are been the other offensive catalysts. Bogdanovich (9-4, 1.87 earned run average) is the ace of the staff.
Stony Brook has the league’s top hitter in Bria Green (.433-15-40) and fellow senior Shayla Giosia (.370-8-26) has complemented her nicely. Lefty Jane Sallen (12-7, 2.34) headlines the pitching staff.
“I’m going to try to make her chase a little bit and get ahead in the count,” Bogdanovich said of Green.
Stony Brook is 9-2-1 in its last 12 games against Maine.