Box Score Southern Maine Advances to Finals, Downs UMass Dartmouth 9-2
GORHAM, Maine -- Freshman Devin Warren (Smithfield, Maine/Messalonskee) went 3 for 5 with three RBI and scored two runs as the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Corsairs 9-2 in a winner's bracket game of the Little East Conference Baseball Championship Tournament Friday morning at the USM Baseball Stadium.
The win moves the top-seeded Huskies into tomorrow's championship round against an opponent to be determined by the outcomes of other games Friday afternoon. The Huskies have won their last four games and improved their record to 30-12 overall. UMass Dartmouth dropped to 25-16 and will play the winner of the game between Eastern Connecticut State University and the University of Massachusetts Boston in the late game.
Warren had a two-run single in the fourth inning, singled and scored in the fifth, and had an RBI triple and scored in the ninth inning. He also made a key defensive play in the eighth inning with a diving catch in the outfield that resulted in an inning-ending double play.
Senior right-hander Andrew Richards (South Portland, Maine) picked up his 10th win of the season working six innings of relief. Richards gave up one run on two hits and one intentional walk while striking out four. Richards came on in the fourth inning with runners at second and third and no outs. He struck out the first batter, issued an intentional walk to load the bases before getting a 1-6-3 double play to get the Huskies out of the jam and preserve the 3-1 lead.
The Huskies collected 12 hits in the game. Juniors Nick DiBiase (Portland, Maine/Deering) and Sam Dexter (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee), along with sophomore Paul McDonough (Wells, Maine), had two hits apiece. McDonough had a pair of doubles and scored twice. DiBiase and Dexter each had a double and a single.
Freshman Alberto Vasquez (Roxbury, Mass.) was the lone repeat hitter and drove in both runs for the Corsairs. Junior starting pitcher George Bent (Barnstable, Mass.) was tagged with the loss after going 4 1/3 innings giving up seven runs on 10 hits and one walk. Bent had four strikeouts.
Southern Maine grabbed a quick 1-0 lead as DiBiase and Dexter led off the game with back-to-back doubles.
Warren's two-run single in the third pushed the lead to 3-0 before UMD chipped away at USM sophomore starting pitcher Nick George (Peabody, Mass./Malden Catholic) for a run on Vasquez's RBI single through the right side.
After Richards bailed the Huskies out a jam in the fourth, the Huskies blew the game open with four runs in the fifth. Senior Brendon Joyce (Standish, Maine/Gorham) drove in two runs with a single. DiBiase knocked in the third run with a fielder's choice, and the fourth run came in on a wild pitch.
UMD got a run off Richards in the eighth when senior Cory DeMedeiros (Fall River, Mass.) led off the inning with a triple and scored on a single by Vasquez. Richards got a pop out for the first out, and Warren turned in the defensive play of the game making a diving catch on a line drive off the bat on senior Brian Monteiro (Swansea, Mass.) and easily doubling up Vasquez who was running on the pitch.
Warren was responsible for the final two runs with an RBI triple, and scoring on Joyce's ground out.
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