USM Sweeps Rhode Island College 11-3, 6-1 in LEC Doubleheader

            GORHAM, Maine -- Behind strong starting pitching performances from junior southpaw Logan Carman (Newfields, N.H./Laurel Springs) and senior right-hander Ryan Yates (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills), the nationally ranked University of Southern Maine Huskies baseball team swept the Rhode Island College Anchormen 11-3 and 6-1 in a Little East Conference doubleheader at USM Baseball Stadium Saturday afternoon.

            The Huskies have now won 14 straight, and improve to 20-3 overall and 4-0 in the conference. The Anchormen have lost six straight and drop to 6-21 overall and 1-5 in conference play.

            Carman pitched a complete game in the opener giving up three runs on nine hits while striking out four and not surrendering a walk.  Carman improves to 6-0.  Yates went eight solid innings giving up one run on five hits with striking out five to earn his third win of the season against no losses.

            RIC senior right-hander Chris Mann (West Warwick, R.I.), who was touched with six runs — five earned — on seven hits while striking out four, was tagged with the loss in game one and drops to 2-2 on the season.  Senior right-hander David Hoey (Lincoln, R.I.) went seven innings giving up four runs on eight hits while striking out four to take the loss in game two. Hoey drops to 1-3.

            Senior Tucker White (Deerfield, N.H.) led Southern Maine at the plate going 4-for-8 on the day with an RBI, three runs scored, and five stolen bases.  Senior Nick Grady (Whitefield, Maine/Erskine Academy) was 3-for-8 with four runs scored and an RBI, and sophomore Jake Glauser (Goffstown, N.H.) was 4-for-4 in the second game with five RBI, a run scored and the Huskies' lone home run on the day.

            RIC senior Zach Hubbard (Kissimmee, FL/Osceola) led the Anchormen going a 4-for-8 in the two games.  Freshman Matt Foley (Seekonk, Mass.) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in game one, and sophomore Mario Albunia (Jersey City, N.J./Hudson Catholic) went 1-for-3 and scored the Anchormen's lone run in game two.

            The Anchormen took a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run home run off the bat of Foley and an RBI single from Ortega. The Huskies quickly answered with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.  Junior Forest Chadwick (Gardiner, Maine) started the inning with a single and scored the Huskies' first run on a triple by White.  White's triple was his sixth of the season, and extends his USM career-leading mark to 24.  Junior Chris Bernard (Scarborough, Maine) then walked, and White scored on a successfully executed double steal with Bernard. Bernard advanced to third and scored, both on wild pitches, to tie the score 3-3.

            Southern Maine added another run in the second on a sacrifice fly by freshman Sam Dexter (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee), and added two runs in the fifth before blowing the game open with a four-run seventh inning.

            The four-run seventh was highlighted by a two-run double from Dexter and an RBI single from Chadwick.  The Huskies added an insurance run in the in the eighth when Grady singled and later scored on an RBI double by Bernard to take the 11-3 lead.  Grady's single extended his hitting streak to 19 games.  

            After RIC scored its three runs in the first, Carman didn't allow a runner past second until the eighth, and escaped the fifth with a 1-6-3 double play after an error.

            Glauser had two singles and a triple in addition to his homer as he led Southern Maine at the plate.

            After two scoreless innings, RIC took a 1-0 lead in the third.  Albunia singled to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a single through the right side off the bat of Hubbard.  Senior Kevin Carey (Wakefield, R.I./South Kingstown) then hit a grounder to first that made Chadwick range to his right and make the play unassisted, allowing Albunia to score from third.

            Glauser tied the score, 1-1, in the fifth with a solo home run to left off Hoey.  Grady brought Chadwick around on an RBI single in the sixth, and two batters later, Glauser drove in two more runs on a single to left.  Grady's single extended his hitting streak to 20 games.  Glauser hit a two-run triple in the eighth to increase the Southern Maine lead to 6-1.

            After the Anchormen scored in the third, Yates did not face more than four batters in an inning. Yates was relieved by sophomore right-hander Andrew Richards (South Portland, Maine), who sat the Anchormen down in order in the ninth.

            The Huskies return to play on Tuesday (6:15 p.m.) when they travel to Brockton, Mass., to take on University of Massachusetts Boston in a LEC matchup at Campenelli Stadium.  The Anchormen host University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in an LEC matchup Tuesday (3:30 p.m.).