College roundup: Olivia Jalbert named Little East Field Athlete of the Year

COLLEGE TRACK AND FIELD
AREA ATHLETES EARN LEC HONORS: Olivia Jalbert of Auburn was named Field Athlete of the Year by the Little East Conference after winning three individual events at the conference championship meet last week.

The former Edward Little standout won the javelin with a mark of 37.52 meters, the high jump by clearing 1.52 meters, and the long jump by jumping 5.27 meters. Jalbert’s mark in the javelin ranks fifth in the region this season.

Former Leavitt runner Lucy Knowlton earned first-team honors, while Gray-New Gloucester graduate Sarah Fecteau and Edward Little grad Ella Boucher each were named to the second team.

Another Edward Little graduate, Jacob Jackson, was among several University of Southern Maine men’s track and field athletes who earned all-conference recognition by the Little East Conference. Jackson earned first-team honors in the high jump.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE
UMF PLAYERS RECEIVE NAC HONORS: Junior Emily Stinson was named the North Atlantic Conference women’s lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year, and both Stinson and senior Kaya Backman were tabbed for all-conference honors on Friday.

Stinson is a first-team All-NAC honoree while Backman a second-team selection.

Stinson finished the 2022 season with 34 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers over the Beavers’ 13 games. Offensively, she tallied three goals and seven assists for 10 points. Stinson led a UMaine-Farmington defensive unit that recorded a .678 clear percentage over 13 games, with a .788 clear percentage in NAC games. Stinson is a repeat honoree after earning All-NAC honors in 2021.

Backman completed the 2022 campaign with a team-leading 21 goals, with a season-high of five goals in the Beavers’ 17-6 road win over SUNY Poly. She added six assists to finish with 27 points, second on the team in total points.

Lewiston’s Marissa Adams, a Husson senior, was named to the all-Sportsmanship team for the second consecutive year.

COLLEGE BASEBALL
CMCC FALLS IN TITLE GAME: The Mustangs beat New Hampshire Technical Institute in five innings in the Yankee Small College Conference semifinal then fell to Southern Maine Community College 5-1 in the conference championship later Friday night.

NHTI (23-11) scored first in the semifinal, but Central Maine Community College (32-17) found its offense in the third inning to the tune of eight runs en route to a 14-4 victory.

After taking an 8-1 lead in the third inning, the Mustangs were able to tack on five more runs in the fourth to answer the Lynx’s three runs in the top-half of the inning. CMCC added one more run in the fifth inning to end the game early by earning a 10-run lead in the fifth inning.

Hunter Warren earned the win on the bump, pitching 3 1/3 innings and striking out four batters. Shane Sullivan got the final five outs, all by strikeout, of the game for CMCC in relief.

At the plate, Stefan Lesco and Reid Cote each tallied a pair of hits and a pair of RBIs for the Mustangs.

In the title game, CMCC jumped out to 1-o lead in the first inning when Jimmy Reed stole third base and came home on an error at third.

The Mustangs held that 1-0 lead until fifth inning when SMCC got three runs after taking advantage of an error, a stolen base and Gabriel Rivera’s RBI double.

SMCC scored two more runs in the sixth inning when Derek Hoh ripped a two-run single to make it a 5-1 game. Kalim Marum got the win on the mound.

MAINE 5, UMASS-LOWELL 4: The Black Bears (24-14, 19-3 America East) took the lead with two runs in the fifth inning and held on to beat the River Hawks (19-25, 9-13) on Friday in Lowell, Massachusetts for their 14th consecutive win.

Jordan Schulefand scored on a sacrifice fly by Quinn McDaniel before Joe Bramanti was hit by a pitch and eventually scored on an error. Bramanti also had two of Maine’s five hits.

Trevor Labonte threw first five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking three and walking three, to pick up the victory for UMaine.

COLLEGE SOFTBALL
HARTFORD SWEEPS MAINE: Ally Beck’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the Hawks (15-30, 4-13 America East) a 7-6 win and a doubleheader sweep over the Black Bears (8-34, 4-11) in West Hartford, Connecticut.

Maine was held to five hits but tied the game with three runs in the sixth, aided by two errors.

Hartford won the opener, 7-4, despite three RBI by Kelby Drews.