WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- Relief pitchers Matt Powers (Portland, Maine/Deering) and Dustin Stanton (Cornish, Maine/Sacopee Valley) combined to hurl 6.1 innings of shutout baseball and the University of Southern Maine rallied from a two-run deficit to defeat M.I.T., 7-4, Wednesday morning at Chain-O-Lakes Stadium in Winter Haven, Fla.

            The win improved the Huskies overall mark to 6-4 (3-3 on their 10-game Florida trip).  The Engineers had their nine-game winning streak snapped and slip to 9-2 overall.

            Powers, a freshman, came on in relief of sophomore starter Brennan Perry (Hampden, Maine) in the third inning to pitch 4.2 innings.  Powers allowed just three hits and no walks while striking out six to earn his first collegiate victory.  Stanton went the final 1.2 innings to earn his second save of the season.

            Coming into a two-out, bases-loaded jam, Powers surrendered a triple to sophomore Ricardo Perez (Vienna, Va.) that put the Engineers ahead 4-2 before getting out of the inning.  After giving up a leadoff single to freshman Sean Karson (Winter Park, Fla.) in the fourth, Powers retired 13 consecutive batters until sophomore James McKinney (Wakefield, R.I.) reached him for a one-out single in the eighth.  That brought on Stanton who allowed two hits and struck out three over the final 1.2 innings.

            The Huskies rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the home half of the fifth inning.  Sophomore Tucker White (Deerfield, N.H.) stroked a two-run double to tie the score, and later combined with senior Jordan Berthiaume (Berlin, Conn.) to score on a double steal that gave the Huskies a 5-4 lead.

            Southern Maine added an insurance run in the sixth inning on an RBI single by senior Josh Mackey (Danvers, Mass.), and in the seventh on an RBI single from freshman Forrest Chadwick (Gardiner, Maine).  Chadwick also had a first-inning solo home run and a double in the sixth inning before scoring on Mackey's single.

            Senior Mike Eaton (Sabattus, Maine/Oak Hill) produced the Huskies other run with a solo home run in the third.

            Southern Maine will play the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Thursday (11:00 a.m.) at Lake Myrtle Field in Auburndale, Fla.  M.I.T. returns to New England and will travel to Babson College on Friday (3:30 p.m.).

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