The hottest bat in Maine Division III baseball over the last week belongs to Mike Chamard.

Chamard, a junior outfielder from Livermore Falls, is setting a blistering pace for Thomas College of Waterville. During a six-game stretch that began with the second half of an April 6 doubleheader against Becker and concluded with a Sunday twinbill at Husson, Chamard connected at a 14-for-27 (.518) clip.

Husson’s Mahaney Diamond complex became somewhat of a second home to Chamard in that surge.

Thomas and the University of Maine at Farmington moved their April 9 games to Bangor due to a snow-covered field in Farmington. Chamard christened the afternoon with four hits in five appearances, plus two RBIs and three stolen bases in a 10-2 victory. In the nightcap, Chamard clubbed an RBI triple and swiped another base in the Terriers’ 6-0 triumph.

Overall, Chamard leads the team with five triples. He’s second on the club with a .349 average and third with 12 RBIs.

Payton Austin of Lisbon has made an impact on the Thomas pitching staff in his sophomore campaign. In two starts and three relief appearances, Austin has notched a save while spinning a 2.70 ERA.

On the softball side, seven local players are in the mix for the Terriers. Leading the way is sophomore Trista Morin of Monmouth at first base, topping the squad with a .395 average and 10 RBIs. Jana Fetterhoff of Jay and Lindsay Sierra of Turner (Leavitt) each check in at .333, while Kim Denbow of Readfield (Maranacook) has knocked in nine runs.

Double trouble for Huskies

If Andrew Stacy and Mike Eaton aren’t creating problems for University of Southern Maine baseball opponents with the bat, they’re mystifying them on the mound.

Stacy, a junior from Denmark (Fryeburg Academy), delivered three hits and three RBIs Tuesday in a 12-1 rout of Bowdoin. He and freshman Eaton (Sabattus/Oak Hill) also were two of four Southern Maine relief pitchers to contribute one scoreless inning apiece to the victory.

Despite missing five games early in the season, Stacy has emerged as one of the leaders in the lineup with a .389 average and 15 RBIs for USM. The Huskies are 12-3 in their last 15 games and 16-7 overall.

Stacy is 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA in six pitching appearances.

Eaton’s first season is off to a quick start at the plate (.308, 8 RBIs) and on the hill (1-0, 0.96, nine strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings).

Southern Maine evened its softball record at 11-11 on Tuesday with a healthy boost from an area athlete. Sophomore Larissa O’Connor of Farmington (Mt. Blue) registered her second win of the season, scattering four hits and allowing two runs over three innings.

Meghan Ford of Mechanic Falls (Poland) and Tiffany Jordan of Bryant Pond (Telstar) have strengthened the lineup for the Huskies. Ford, a junior outfielder, has seven RBIs on the spring, while sophomore Jordan is batting .250 in 10 starts at second base.

Jump and run

It has been a productive start to the spring track and field season for top collegiate locals.

Emily Poliquin of Lisbon Falls was USM’s lone event winner in the George Davis Invitational at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, capturing the triple jump with a 33-4 1/2. It was an open meet featuring athletes from all three NCAA divisions. Poliquin also topped the long jump in a stop during the Huskies’s trip to Florida on March 27.

Southern Maine’s men visited Colby over the weekend, with Tyler Jasud of Rumford (Mountain Valley) picking up second in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:06.16.

The University of Maine women competed at the University of New Hampshire each of the last two weekends. Allyson Thomas of Auburn (Edward Little) logged third place in the pole vault, with Stephanie Jette of Lovell (Fryeburg) also third in the 1,500.

Bates College’s two indoor track stars haven’t slowed down since leaving the field house, either. NCAA Division III indoor weight throw champion Noah Gauthier is an automatic qualifier for the outdoor nationals after his hammer throw at Saturday’s Colby meet. In the same competition, Vantiel Elizabeth Duncan of Topsham qualified provisionally for the women’s NCAA meet with personal records in the hammer throw and shot put.