Box Score WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- Sophomore Sam Dexter (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) and senior Matt Verrier (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) combined for nine hits, five runs scored and five RBI as the University of Southern Maine Huskies outslugged the Amherst College Lord Jeffs for a 17-12 non-conference baseball victory Saturday afternoon at Chain O Lakes Park.
The Huskies won their second straight to improve to 9-3 overall. The Huskies finished their 10-game Florida swing with a 7-3 mark. The Lord Jeffs had their four-game winning streak stopped and fell to 7-3 overall.
Dexter had a career-high five hits as he went 5 for 5 with three runs scored and one RBI, and Verrier had a career-high four hits going 4 for 5 with two runs scored and four RBI to lead the Huskies 19-hit attack. Seniors John Carey (South Portland, Maine), Forrest Chadwick (Gardiner, Maine) and Troy Thibodeau (Danvers, Mass./New Hampton) and junior Jake Glauser (Goffstown, N.H.) had two hits apiece.
Junior Andrew Richards (South Portland, Maine) picked up the win on the hill going 5.2 innings in relief. Richards gave up five runs (four earned) on nine hits and no walks while striking out six.
Sophomore Mike Odenwaeldredh (Goshen, Conn.) led the Lords Jeffs' 16-hit attack going 4 for 5 with three RBI. Classmate Connor Gunn (Kingsport, Tenn.) had three hits and two RBI. Each hit a home run.
Junior starter John Cook (Winnetka, Ill.) took the loss on the mound. Cook went three-plus innings giving up 11 hits and 11 runs (six earned) while striking out three. The Lord Jeffs' defense committed four errors that resulted in 11 unearned runs.
USM jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the first two innings. Chadwick had a two-run double and Verrier contributed a two-run single in a six-run first inning outburst. In the second, Bernard had an RBI double and Verrier had another RBI single to highlight a three-run inning.
Amherst closed the gap to 9-7 with a six-run rally in the fourth inning. Odenwaeldredh ignited the outburst with a two-run home run off USM freshman starter Zack Bean (Westbrook, Maine). The Huskies committed four errors in the inning leading to three unearned runs.
The Huskies responded in the home half of the inning sending 13 men to the plate to score eight runs. The Lord Jeffs committed three errors in the first four hitters. Verrier picked up his fourth RBI with a single, and Carey had a two-run single later in the inning.
Amherst pecked away at the deficit with a single run in the fifth; three more in the sixth, including Gunn's two-run homer; and a single run in the eighth to account for the 17-12 final.
Southern Maine returns home and opens the New England portion of its schedule on Wednesday (3:30 p.m.) at Endicott College. Amherst will finish its Florida trip on Sunday (11:30 a.m.) playing a doubleheader against the University of Chicago.
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