By Sun Journal staff

NEWTON, Mass. – Kristi Cochin had four hits, including a three-run home run, and five RBIs as the University of Maine at Farmington softball team knocked out 23 hits in two games against Mt. Ida, notching 9-0 and 11-1 victories to begin the season Friday.

Lauren Stacey pitched a complete-game shutout in the opener, scattering six hits. Cochin hit a two-run double, and Sara Martin had a pair of RBI singles.

The Beavers (2-0) went on to score 11 runs through the first three innings of the nightcap, with Cochin and Mary Berry each going 3-for-3 in the game. Meagan Carman allowed only three hits and one run to pick up the victory on the mound for UMF.

USM splits

FORT MEYERS, Fla. – Freshman catcher Sabrina Mills had the only two RBIs of the day for the University of Southern Maine as the Huskie softball team dropped an 8-1 decision to Lawrence University before ekeing out a 1-0 victory over Middlebury in a doubleheader Friday.

In the first game, the Vikings (4-3) scored five runs in the second inning to erase an early Huskies’ 1-0 lead. Carrie Van Groll hit a home run to lead off the inning and knot the score at 1-1, and Molly Bouressa scored on a single by Becca Reason to take the lead for good. The Vikings went on to add three more runs in the frame, and tacked on three more in the sixth. Mills had the lone RBI of the game for Southern Maine.

It was another RBI single by Mills in the fifth inning of second game that clinched the win for the Huskies (2-2), a shot to right field that scored pinch-runner Megan Stanley from third. Freshman pitcher Bre Loon scattered four hits in seven shutout innings for her second win of the season.

Lacrosse

UNE 16, Regis 1

WESTON, Mass. – The University of New England women’s lacrosse team scored early and often against Regis College on Friday, netting 12 goals in the first half en route to a 16-1 victory.

UNE outshot the Pride 41-5 in the game.

Ashley MacDonald notched two goals and three assists for the Nor’Easters (4-3), while Megan Trusselle, Ashley Pellerin, Kaitlyn Hall, and Amanda Chase each scored a pair of goals. Trusselle also chipped in with a pair of assists.

Jevon Biffinger scored for Regis (0-2).

Amy Williams turned aside four shots in the Nor’Easter goal. Kate Daley had 25 saves in net for the Pride.

Baseball

Thomas sweeps

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Thomas College took the first game of a doubleheader with Calvin College, 3-1, but fell 16-8 in the nightcap in college baseball Friday.

Tim Mercier went 3-for-4 with a double and a home run to plate a pair of RBIs in the win, while Jordan Stebbins had three hits and a stolen base. Senior pitcher Ryan Rulman struck out five batters and pitched all seven innings, giving up only five hits in the victory. The Knights struck back in the second game, smacking 19 hits off Stebbins on the Terrier mound. Winning pitcher Kyle Snoeyink helped his own cause with a 3-for-4, three-RBI performance at the plate, including a home run. Aaron Bouyea had two hits, including a homer, and two RBIs in for Thomas (2-2).

USM, Allegheny split

GORHAM – Ryan Bourque and Eddie Skeffington each had three hits to save a split for the the University of Southern Maine baseball team in a doubleheader against Allegheny College on Friday.

The Gators (3-6) took the first game 4-3 behind the pitching of Craig Mislewicz and Drew Scibetta. The two combined to allow the Huskies only six hits. Zack Oblak took the lead on a bases-loaded walk from USM pitcher Peter Bergeron.

Southern Maine roared back against sophomore Craig Veihdorfer in the second game to pick up a 12-1 victory. Bourque smacked three singles in four at-bats for three RBIs in the win, and Skeffington added a pair of doubles and a single with an RBI.

Adam Ross held Allegheny to six hits and struck out six batters to pick up his first win on the season.