Southern Maine Opens LEC Play Sweeping R.I. College

            PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Sophomore Tyler Leavitt (North Andover, Mass.) earned his second career shutout hurling a five-hitter in the first game as University of Southern Maine Huskies swept a Little East Conference doubleheader from the Rhode Island College Anchormen, 4-0 and 13-0 (seven innings), Saturday at Anchorman Field. 

            The sweep improved the Huskies overall mark to 12-4.  The Anchormen fell to 5-10 and have now lost three straight.  The doubleheader was the teams' conference opener.

            Leavitt went the distance in the opening game giving up five singles and two walks while striking out five.  In the second game, rookie Zack Bean (Westbrook, Maine) combined with two relievers to throw a four-hitter. 

Game One

            Senior Matt Verrier (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) staked Leavitt (3-1) to a 1-0 lead in the second inning with his third home run of the season.  Verrier would go on to finish the doubleheader with five hits to reach the 100-hit plateau for his career at USM.

            In the third inning, the Huskies added another run against RIC senior southpaw CJ Tsoumakas (Hope, R.I./La Salle Academy) as senior Chris Bernard (Scarborough, Maine) singled home sophomore Sam Dexter (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee).

            The Huskies added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth.  Bernard opened the inning with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on an infield error.  Senior John Carey (South Portland, Maine), who reached on the error, moved over the third on a Verrier single and scored on a balk by Tsoumakas.

            The Anchormen got a runner as far as third base against Leavitt in the first and fourth innings.  Two USM errors in the first put Leavitt in a jam, but he got out of the inning with a fly ball and a strikeout.  In the fourth, sophomore Matt Foley (Seekonk, Mass.) led off with a single and moved to third on a pair of groundball outs.  Leavitt stranded Foley by getting a fly ball to center.

            Verrier and Bernard led the Huskies' 10-hit attack with three hits apiece.  Dexter collected a pair of singles.

            Junior Dean Beshansky (Cumberland, R.I.) solved Leavitt for a pair of singles.  Tsoumakas (2-2) went six innings allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks while fanning five. 

Game Two

            The Huskies unleashed a 15-hit attack against four Anchormen pitchers to take the nightcap.  Dexter had a double and two singles and scored three times to pace the attack.  Rookie Paul McDonough (Wells, Maine), Verrier and senior Troy Thibodeau (Danvers, Mass./New Hampton) each had two hits.

            Bean went the first five innings on the hill allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out three.  Sophomore Ryan Browner (Georgetown, Mass.) and junior Dylan Morris (Bangor, Maine) each pitched a scoreless inning in relief.

            RIC junior right-hander Kyle Morvan (Smithfield, R.I.) suffered his first loss of the season after three wins.  Morvan surrendered seven runs (six earned) on eight hits and four walks in 3.1 innings.

            The Huskies walked out of the gate in the first inning scoring twice as Carey and Verrier both walked with the bases loaded to force home a run.

            USM sent 10 men to the plate in the fourth en route to scoring five times.  Verrier ignited the inning with a lead off double, and scored on Thibodeau's RBI single.

            The 10-run rule came into play as the Huskies scored twice in the sixth to up their lead to 9-0, and four more times in the seventh.  Senior Forrest Chadwick (Gardiner, Maine) drove in the first run in the sixth with a single, and sophomore Nick DiBiase (Portland, Maine) drove in Bernard for the second run.

            The Huskies loaded the bases in the seventh on a pair of walks and a hit batter before Bernard brought home the first run with a single.  Rookie Matt Bender (Walpole, Mass.) followed with a pinch-hit RBI single, and the third run score on an outfield error on the play.  The final run scored on a groundout. 

Next Up

            Southern Maine's next two scheduled games at Wheaton College on Sunday and the home opener with Bowdoin College on Tuesday have been postponed.  USM next game will be Wednesday (3:30 p.m.) at Salem State University.  Rhode Island College's next game will be Tuesday (3:30 p.m.) at Worcester State University.

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