When the University of New England and Colby College met in a softball clash at Claude Dubois Field in Biddeford last Wednesday, there was a decidedly local feel for the game, and not just because the Nor’easters are the local college team.
The Mules feature three players from York County: Wells native Meaghan Lewia, Lyman native Emily Schatz and Saco native Katherine Zafirson. The trio is playing a big part as Colby looks to make waves in the New England Small College Athletic Conference this season.
Schatz and Lewia are first and second on the team, respectively, in batting average for the 5-9 Mules, who beat UNE 3-2, while Zafirson is trying to find playing time as Colby’s designated player and is still looking for her first hit of the season.
Schatz is also first on the team with five doubles and third with five RBIs. She also impressed UNE head coach Dan Letellier with her glove at shortstop.
“She played a heck of a game for them. She made a lot of nice plays in the hole,” Letellier said of Schatz.
Lewia leads the Mules with 16 hits and three home runs, and is also second on the team with seven RBIs. She was named the NESCAC Player of the Week Monday after batting .462 with five RBIs, five stolen bases and the three home runs during a four-game week, which included the victory over UNE.
Lewia, Colby’s starting second baseman, and Schatz are “quite the middle infield combination” according to Colby interim head coach Robin Penoyer.
“They turn double plays like (Division-I) teams at a College World Series when they are on,” said Penoyer, who noted that both players are equally strong at the plate and in the field.
The Mules currently lead the NESCAC in team fielding percentage with a .963 mark.
Penoyer said she is working Zafirson into the lineup, and that she was “one of the deciding factors” in the win over UNE. Zafirson drove in the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth. It was her first RBI of the season.
Penoyer said she will miss the senior Lewia “for certain” next season. The Wells native is one hit shy of 100 for her career, and also sports a .298 career batting average and career marks of 22 doubles, 56 runs scored and 21 stolen bases.
— Sports Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.
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