Another team from the University of Maine has earned an invitation into the NCAA tournament.

The Black Bears softball team captured the America East championship last weekend by defeating Boston University 2-1 in the finals to claim the conference’s automatic bid. They were the first No. 4 seed to win the conference crown.

Maine (28-21) is making just its second appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Seeded eighth in the eight-team regional in Lincoln, Neb., Maine faces California (46-11) in Thursday’s opening-round game at 6:30 p.m.

The Golden Bears, the second-ranked team in the country, qualified for the tournament for the 19th consecutive season. California won the 2002 national crown and was the runner-up last spring.

Former Greely standout Sarah Bennis and Jennifer Merchant of Utah have shared pitching duties for Maine, while Jessica Brady, who played at Class D Forest Hills, leads the offense with a .382 average. The lone local player on the squad is junior outfielder Christina Belmonte of Livermore Falls.

Other teams in the double-elimination bracket in Lincoln are Florida Atlantic, Creighton, Lehigh, Nebraska, Mississippi State and Iowa. The winner will advance to the college world series in Oklahoma City. California has reached the world series seven times.

Keeping track

While Maine’s track teams came up empty last weekend at the ECAC and IC4A championships, several area athletes enjoyed stellar performances the weekend before at the New England championships when the women placed third and the men 22nd.

Leading the local contingent was Stephanie McCusker, a sophomore from Lisbon, who won the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 1 inch. She also took third in the triple jump at 38-1.

EL graduate Sarah Crispin, who competes for Tufts, was 13th in the 800.

On the men’s side, Andre Dubois of Lewiston placed ninth in the discus and 12th in the shot, while EL’s Jeff Caron was 11th in 5,000.

At last weekend’s ECAC Div. III meet, Southern Maine’s Trey Gadbois set two school records – triple jump (46-6) and 400 hurdles (54.08). He missed a third school mark by .01 seconds when he covered the 110 high hurdles in 14.64. Auburn’s Rob Ligouri narrowly missed the 100-meter final with a time of 11.08.

Kim Brewer set a new USM women’s standard in the heptathlon in 4,351.

Quick hits

Eric Cavers, a catcher for Franklin Pierce was named Northeast 10 player of the year. The Otisfield and Oxford Hills product led the league in batting (.390), on-base percentage (.473), slugging percentage (.626), runs (51) and hits (73). Garrett Olson, another Oxford Hills graduate, was honored as NE-10’s freshman of the week when he batted .500 during the league playoffs … Colby’s Eric Roy of Lisbon was named a NESCAC second-team all-star. The Mules catcher batted .327. … Maine hockey junior Dustin Penner signed a three-year contract with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The 6-4, 230-pound forward had 11 goals and 12 assists for the Black Bears. He scored the game-winning goal against Boston College in the NCAA semifinal.

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