SALEM, Mass. -- The Salem State University Vikings struck for four runs in the first inning and never looked back to defeat the fifth-ranked University of Southern Maine Huskies, 6-4, in a non-conference baseball game Thursday afternoon at SSU's Central Campus Baseball Field.

            The win was the fifth straight for the Vikings, and their second in a week against a Top 25 team.  The Vikings, now 12-10, knocked off #24 Wheaton College a week ago.  The Huskies slip to 12-5 on the season.

            The Vikings batted around in the opening frame against the Huskies senior starter Chris Bernard (Scarborough, Maine) and junior reliever Alex Tobey (South Berwick/Berwick Academy) to score four times.  Bernard hit the first two batters before issuing a walk that ended his day on the hill.  Senior Brett Cahill (Gloucester, Mass.) greeted Tobey for a sacrifice fly that scored senior Ethan Trowt (Beverly, Mass.).  An infield error brought home the second run, and a fielder's choice by junior Ryan Beliveau (Lynn, Mass./St. Mary's) scored the third run.  Rookie Andrew Deloury (Andover, Mass.) brought in the final run with a double.

            USM cut the deficit in half in the third inning as rookie Paul McDonough (Wells, Maine) and sophomore Sam Dexter (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) had back-to-back RBI doubles.

            Senior Mike Lamothe (Beverly, Mass.) gave the Vikings a three-run cushion in the home half of the third with an RBI single.

            Senior Matt Verrier (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) hit a solo home run for the Huskies, his fourth of the season, in the fourth inning to make it 5-3.

            The game remained that way until the eighth when Salem State tallied an unearned run with two outs on an RBI single by senior Matt Burgess (Kingston, Mass.).

            The Huskies got one run in the top of the ninth on an RBI triple by senior Forrest Chadwick (Gardiner, Maine).  With the potential tying run at the plate, SSU reliever Mike Davis (Peabody, Mass.) got the final out to earn the save.

            Dexter was the lone USM hitter to have multiple hits getting a double and a single.  Senior John Carey (South Portland, Maine) had a double in the eighth inning to become the 25th player in school history, and the second this season, to reach 200 career hits.  Bernard was tagged with the loss and drops to 1-3.

            Sophomore Richard Fecteau (Newbury, Mass./Triton Regional) led the Vikings' nine-hit attack going 3 for 4 at the plate.  Burgess and Deloury had two hits apiece.  Sophomore Matt Burnham (Lynn, Mass.) picked up the win going five innings allowing three runs on six hits and one walk while fanning three.  Davis went the final four innings allowing one run on three hits and two walks.  He struck out two.

            Southern Maine is on the road tomorrow traveling to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth for a Little East Conference doubleheader starting at noon.  The games were moved up a day because of a poor weather forecast on Saturday.  Salem State will host MCLA for a MASCAC twinbill on Saturday (1:00 p.m.). 

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