Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Softball

USM Splits Little East Conference Doubleheader With UMass Dartmouth, 4-3 and 2-4

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
GORHAM, Maine  –  Freshman Erika Millett (Whitefield, N.H.) struck out five and earned her eighth win of the season while sophomore Allison Pillar (Hollis, Maine/Bonny Eagle) hit a clutch RBI single to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a split with the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs in a Little East Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon at the UMass Dartmouth Softball Field.

With the split, Southern Maine stands at 15-9 overall and remains even in the LEC at 3-3.  UMass Dartmouth is 4-9 and 1-2 in the Little East.  Southern Maine's 15 wins are the most in a season since 2008 when Southern Maine finished the season 16-21.

Game One:

Pillar's RBI infield single proved to be the difference as the Huskies' claimed the first game of the LEC doubleheader.  With the score tied at three runs each, sophomore Samantha Crosman (South Berwick, Maine/Marshwood) collected her first hit of the game when she stroked a one-out triple to right field to set up the Huskies' decisive scoring play. Crosman scored USM's game-winning run when Pillar sharply hit a ball to the shortstop for a single.  The RBI is Pillar's seventh of the season, while Crosman's triple is her third extra base hit of the season and her first triple of 2015.

Southern Maine led the Corsairs 3-0 after three innings were played but found itself locked at 3-3 entering the sixth inning.  The Huskies scored their first three runs of the game in the bottom of the third on four hits.  Freshman Taylor Lux (Arundel, Maine/Thornton Academy) and junior Mary Caron (Lewiston, Maine/St. Dominic's) had back-to-back singles to start the inning, before an infield grounder from Courtney Davis (Woburn, Mass.) moved the runners to second and third with one out.  Senior Kristen Duross (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) smacked her first triple of the season driving in both of Lux and Caron.  Duross scored the Huskies' final run of the inning. With two-outs Duross crossed home plate on a wild pitch.

UMD took one run back in the top of the fourth on an RBI single to right field from sophomore Abby Tremblay (New Bedford, Mass.), before scoring two runs in the top of the fifth to pull even with the Huskies.  UMD junior Rachel Carey (Holbrook, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) cranked out her team-leading third home run of the season, clearing the left field fence for a pair of RBI. 

 Huskies' rookie Erika Millett (Whitefield, N.H./White Mountains Regional) earned her eighth win of the season to improve to 8-4.  Millett fanned six batters in the win allowing two earned runs on five hits and a pair of walks.  UMass Dartmouth junior Shannon Orton (Swansea, Mass./Joseph Case) took the loss, pitching one inning of relief, allowing one earned run on two hits.  UMD starter freshman Hannah Smith (Cromwell, Conn./Vinal Tech) allowed three earned runs on four hits and four walks.  Smith struck out five over five innings in a non-decision.

Game Two:

UMD sophomore Marissa Spinuzzi (Fair Lawn, N.J.), Orton and Tremblay each had RBI to lead the Corsairs past the Huskies 4-2.  The Corsairs jumped on top of USM early plating two runs in the top of the first.  Following back-to-back singles from freshman Emily Colton (Kingston, Mass.) and Carey, Spinuzzi connected on an RBI double to center field to plate Colton.   One batter later, Orton had a RBI sacrifice ground out scoring Carey to make it 2-0 early. 

UMD doubled its lead to 4-0 in the top of the third as the Corsairs took advantage of two hits and one of four USM errors in the game.  Carey led off the inning with a single to through the left side and advanced to second on a walk to Spinuzzi.  With both Carey and Spinuzzi advancing on a stolen base attempt, Tremblay hit a two-out RBI single to score Spinuzzi, while Carey scored from second base on a Huskies' throwing error.

The score remained in favor of UMD through the top of the fifth before USM broke up the shut out with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Lux had an RBI ground out in the inning, while Duross added an RBI single to centerfield. 

The Huskies threatened for more runs in the bottom of the sixth with a runner on and one out, but the Corsairs Orton retired the next five batters in order to earn the win.  Orton finished the game allowing one earned run on five hits and a walk over seven innings.  USM freshman Amber Kelly (Berwick, Maine/Noble) took the loss allowing three earned runs on eight hits and a walk.  Kelly struck out nine in the defeat matching her season and career-high. 

Southern Maine returns to action on Sunday (1:00 p.m.) in a non-conference doubleheader at Husson University.  UMass Dartmouth hosts Keene State on Sunday (11:00 a.m.) in a Little East Conference doubleheader.

 

- cac - 

Print Friendly Version