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Box Score 2 McDonough Hits Walk-off 2-Run HR in 10th to Win Game One
AUBURNDALE, Fla. -- Sophomore Paul McDonough (Wells, Maine) hit a two-run walk-off home run in the 10th inning to give the 8th-ranked University of Southern Maine Huskies a 3-1 victory over the Roger Williams University Hawks in the first game of a doubleheader Thursday at Lake Myrtle Field.
In the second game, the Huskies scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning to erase a two-run deficit and take a 6-2 victory over the Hawks to complete the sweep. The sweep gives the Huskies (4-0) a four-game winning streak to start the season while the Hawks dropped to 1-7.
Game One
Sophomore Zack Bean (Westbrook, Maine) and RWU sophomore George Lund (West Hartford, Conn.) hooked up in pitchers dual in the opening game that went three extra frames. Bean worked 6.1 innings allowing one run on four hits and a walk while striking out five. Lund went eight innings giving up six hits and one walk while fanning six. Neither would be involved in the decision.
The Hawks struck first for a run in the fifth inning to take the lead. Senior Reid Nelson (Wallingford, Conn.) opened the frame with a double, and rookie Sean Gaffney (Simsbury, Conn.) pinch ran. Senior Chris Travers (East Freetown, Mass./Apponequet) advanced Gaffney to third with a fielder's choice that put runners at the corners with no outs. Bean induced a double play that scored Gaffney before getting a fly out to limit the damage.
USM tied the game in the sixth when junior Sam Dexter (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) hit a one-out solo home run. Dexter also had a pair of singles in the game.
Senior reliever Andrew Richards (South Portland, Maine) came on in the seventh for the Huskies after the Hawks got a runner to second and put the fire out with a strikeout and a ground out. Richards would go on to pitch 3.2 innings of one-hit, scoreless relief to earn his first win of the season.
In the 10th, senior Brendon Joyce (Standish, Maine/Gorham, Maine) led off with a single. Senior Dylan Morris (Bangor, Maine) came on to pinch run, and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by rookie Devin Warren (Smithfield, Maine/Messalonskee). Roger Williams brought on senior Brendan Telfer (Avon, Conn.) to face McDonough who hit his first homer of the season.
Game Two
Down 2-0 going into their final at bat, the Huskies sent 11 men to the plate to score six times. With one out and two aboard, McDonough doubled home rookie Brandon Martins (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) with the first run.
A ground out kept the runners stationery and brought Dexter to the plate. The junior was issued an intentional walk to load the bases. Sophomore Matt Bender (Walpole, Mass.) worked losing hurler Tyler Campo (Wrentham, Mass.) for another walk to force home the tying run. Freshman Anthony Capuano (Bangor, Maine) then stroked a two-run single that gave the Huskies a 4-2 lead.
Joyce walked to reload the bases and end Campo's stint on the hill. Warren greeted junior reliever Tyler Winters (Plainfield, Conn.) for a two-run single to add two insurance runs before Winters was able to get the final out.
Junior Ryan Browner (Georgetown, Mass.), who came on in relief of sophomore Nick George (Peabody, Mass.) in the sixth inning, picked up the win with 1.1 innings of work. Campo, who held the Huskies in check on four hits over the first six innings, was saddled with his second loss of the season.
Up Next
The Huskies will take on Rhodes College in a single game on Friday (11:00 a.m.) at Pat Thomas Stadium in Leesburg, Fla. Roger Williams will play Suffolk University in a doubleheader on Friday (9:00 a.m.) at Myrtle Park Field in Auburndale, Fla.
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