BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The University of Southern Maine baseball team extended its winning streak to four games Saturday sweeping a non-conference doubleheader at Bridgewater State University.  The Huskies took the opener 9-6 on the strength of a 13-hit attack, then completed the sweep behind the pitching of southpaws Logan Carman (Newfields, N.H.) and Nick Douglass (Poland, Maine) 2-1.

            The sweep improved the Huskies overall record to 5-1.  The Bears fall to 6-5 on the season.

            In the first game, junior Brett Barrett (Keene, N.H.) led the Huskies with two hits and three RBI.  Junior Nick Grady (Whitefield, Maine/Erskine) had three hits, including a double and a triple, and two RBI.  Junior Tucker White (Deerfield, N.H./Coe-Brown Northwood) had two hits, including a two-run home run that put the Huskies in the lead for good.

            Senior Ben Ives (Portland, Maine/Deering) picked up his third win of the season on the hill.  Ives survived a shaky second inning to go eight innings, allowing eight hits and one walk while striking out nine.  Douglass earned a save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

            The Huskies jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning bunching together four straight hits and a pair of ground balls.  Barrett plated the first two runs with the first of his three singles.

            Bridgewater responded against Ives scoring five times in the home half of the inning.  Junior Keane Costa (Fairhaven, Mass.) sparked the rally with a two-run double.  Junior Tory Buck (Shelburne Falls, Mass./Mohawk Trail) plated the third run with a double.  The fourth run scored on an infield error, and final run came across on junior Sean Riley's (Fairhaven, Mass.) sacrifice fly.

            White restored the Huskies' lead in the fifth hitting a two-run shot, his first homer of the season.  Grady added an RBI triple that chased home sophomore John Carey (South Portland, Maine).  Grady later scored on Barrett's single to make it 8-5.

            Riley closed the gap with an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth.  Grady restored the Huskies' three-run margin with an RBI single in the sixth to account for all the scoring.

            In the nightcap, the game was pitchers duel between Carman and BSU senior Jim Balboni (Townsend, Mass./St. Bernard's).  Both would pitch into the ninth inning.  Carman allowed only four hits and two walks while fanning four in 8.1 innings.  Balboni (1-2) surrendered seven hits and four walks and struck out four in 8.1 innings.

            The Bears took a 1-0 lead in the second taking advantage of a Huskies miscue.  Senior Corey Batista (Fall River, Mass./Bishop Connolly) brought classmate Ian Williams (Taunton, Mass.) home with an infield single.

            The Huskies tied the game in the third on senior David Ricker's (Winthrop, Maine) sacrifice fly that scored freshman Dylan Morris (Bangor, Maine).  The Huskies scored the decisive run in the sixth on doubles by sophomore Forrest Chadwick (Gardiner, Maine) and White.

            Douglass came on for Carman in the ninth with one out and runners on first and second.  His wild pitch moved the runners up.  After intentionally passing Batista to load the bases, he got the final two outs via strikeouts to earn his third save of the season.

            Southern Maine heads south to Florida for an eight-game road trip starting Thursday (12:00 p.m.) with a doubleheader against Worcester State University.  Bridgewater State hosts Husson University for a non-conference doubleheader tomorrow.

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