ORONO – The University of Maine swept a pair of games from Stony Brook University, 1-0 and 6-2, in softball Saturday.

Jess Brady led off the bottom of the first inning of Game 1 with a triple to right field, setting the stage for Brittany Cheney’s RBI single to center. Jenna Merchant pitched her 12th complete game of the season, striking out four and allowing just four hits in notching the shutout.

The Black Bears (13-13) scored the first run of the nightcap in the second inning when Sarah Bennis plated Amy Kuhl on a ground out to second base. Maine added three runs in the bottom of the third to take a comfortable 4-0 lead before the Seawolves (14-20) scored their first run on a solo shot over the left field fence by Stephanie McCarthy.

Merchant worked two innings of relief and earned her second save of the season for the Black Bears.

USM takes two

GORHAM – Freshman pitcher Katie Mainville spun a two-hit shutout for a 6-0 win in the opener, and Southern Maine invoked the eight-run rule for a 10-0 victory in the second triumph over the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.

The Huskies (15-5) fashioned four runs on four hits in the bottom of the first inning of Game 1. Freshman Kristi Steward delivered a big two-run double, while senior Renee Heath of Brunswick and senior Sarah McLean notched an RBI double and single, respectively.

Mainville protected the lead by retiring the first 11 Corsairs (1-15) she faced and tallying 12 strikeouts in the contest.

The Huskies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning of the second contest, added a single run in the second, and broke the game wide open with six more in the fifth. Junior Darci Holland led the offensive flurry with a pair of hits to plate two runs, while sophomore Tasha Jackson collected a two-run double.

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