ORONO, Maine – In the final contest of a three-game set at Maine, the University of Hartford softball team fell to the Black Bears, 10-0, in five innings. With the loss, the Hawks (3-40), fall to 0-14 in the America East while Maine (19-17), which took a series sweep from Hartford, improves to 8-4 in league games.

Scoring her third win of the series, Alexis Bogdanovich gave up just one hit and struck out nine batters for Maine to improve to 13-5 on the season. Freshman left fielder Elizabeth Newkirk was the lone Hawk to get past the Black Bears' ace with a leadoff bunt single to start the third inning. Just two other Hartford batters reached base in the contest as sophomore Marisa Ferguson got on first on an error by Maine's catcher to leadoff the fifth inning before classmate Lexi Wilkerson reached first on a fielder's choice in the next at-bat.

The Black Bears lit up the scoreboard early, using four hits to produce four runs off Hawks' starting pitcher Kelsey Bird, a freshman. Left fielder EmJ Fogel got the afternoon going with a two RBI double before Janelle Bouchard followed suit in the next at-bat with a solo home run that made it a 3-0 contest. Third baseman Shelby Obert wrapped up the scoring in the frame with a one-run two-bagger with two outs recorded in the frame that scored Kristen Koslosky, who singled in the previous at-bat.

Jessica Burk added to Maine's lead in the next inning, going yard with one out to her team's advantage to 6-0. That long ball forced a pitching change by Hartford that saw Wilkerson take over the duties inside of the circle. After holding the Black Bears scoreless in the third, the home team got the bats going again in the bottom of the fourth. Burk collected her second RBI of the game on a base hit that plated Leonard, who led off the frame with a double. She would then go on to score two batters later as Fogel followed an Erika Lennon walk with a three-run shot that ballooned Maine's advantage to 10-0.

Hartford was unable to cut into Maine's 10-run advantage in its final at-bats in the top of the fifth, allowing the mercy rule to go into effect.

The Hawks conclude the 2015 campaign with a three-game set at Albany beginning on Friday, May 1. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1 p.m. before concluding the series on Sunday with a single game beginning at 12 noon.