GORHAM, Maine  – Junior Brooke Cross (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) went 3-for-3 with a double and a home run with three RBI, and sophomore Alexis Brown (Malden, Mass.) pitched six innings of scoreless relief to earn the win as the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated the Bowdoin College Polar Bears 10-4 in the second game of a non-conference softball doubleheader to earn the split.  Southern Maine dropped the first game to Bowdoin 5-2. 

            With the split, Southern Maine remains one game above .500 at 13-12.  The Huskies are 6-2 in the last eight games.  Bowdoin is 19-7 with the split. 

GAME ONE: Bowdoin 5, Southern Maine 2

            Bowdoin hurlers Samantha Roy and Kate Hoadley combined to hold Southern Maine to four hits and two runs (one earned) over seven innings to pace the Polar Bears to the game one win.  Roy earned the win, pitching four innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and four walks, while striking out three.  Hoadley replaced Roy on the mound for the final three innings yielding a single hit and a walk.  

            With Roy and Hoadley limiting the USM bats, Caroline Rice provided most of the Polar Bear offense.  Rice was 2-for-3 with four RBIs.  Both of Rice's hits were two-run doubles in the bottom of the first and the second, respectively, as Bowdoin jumped on top of the Huskies 4-0 early. 

            USM cut the lead in half in the top of the third with an RBI triple from freshman Hannah Kenney (Oxford, Maine/Oxford Hills). Kenney collected the RBI driving in junior Brittany Plowman (Scarborough, Maine), who reached safely on a single, and then came around to score on an error.  The score remained 4-2 until the bottom of the sixth when Bowdoin tacked on an insurance run with an RBI single from Ruby Siltanen for the 5-2 final. 

            Southern Maine starter Amber Kelly (Berwick, Maine/Noble) took the loss, allowing four earned runs on six hits and a walk in two innings of work.  Sophomore Rebecca Ackerson (Whitefield, Maine/Hall Dale) pitched well in relief, allowing one earned run on two hits and a walk over four innings. 

GAME TWO: Southern Maine 10, Bowdoin 4 

             Trailing 1-0 after the bottom of the first, Southern Maine's bats came alive in the top of the second collecting seven runs on five hits and three walks to snag a 7-2 lead.  Cross led off the inning with a single for the first of her three hits in the game and then was followed by a bunt single from senior Taylor Lux (Arundel, Maine/Thornton Academy).  With runners on first and second and no outs, Bowdoin looked to be on its way out of a jam cutting down the next two USM batters, before the Huskies scored seven runs with a two-out rally. 

            Brown doubled down the left field line to score both Cross and Lux for a 2-1 USM lead.  A walk to sophomore Erin Martin (Biddeford, Maine) and a Plowman single loaded the bases for the Huskies, setting up senior Courtney Davis (Woburn, Mass.) for a two-run single up the middle for a 4-1 USM advantage. A walk to Kenney loaded the bases and brought Cross to the plate for the second time in the inning, leading to an RBI walk for the junior, scoring Plowman. Up 5-1 a Lux grounder led to a Bowdoin fielding error and two more runs crossed the plate for a 7-1 Huskies' lead. 

            Bowdoin responded in the home half of the second, however, to make it 7-4 headed into the third.  A lead off walk to Maddie Rouhana, and a single by Ali Miller set the stage for a three-run home run from Samantha Valdivia that chased USM starter Madison Greene (Moultonborough, N.H.) from the game in favor of Brown.  With the bases clear, Brown worked her way around a pair of singles to get out of the inning and keep the Huskies in front. 

            After a scoreless third, Cross put USM up 8-4 with an RBI double to left field.  Plowman earned her second hit of the game with a bunt single to lead off the inning. Advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt, Cross' RBI double ensured another two-out run for the Huskies.  

            Neither team threatened for runs over the next couple of innings until Bowdoin's at-bats in the sixth.  After retiring the first two batters via the strikeout, Brown allowed a single and back-to-back walks to load the bases.  With the potential tying run at the plate, Brown was able to get the final out of the inning with a fly out to right field, keeping the score 8-4 in favor of USM. 

            USM tacked on a couple of more runs in the top of the seventh.  Cross led off the inning with a solo home run, her fourth of the season and eighth of her career, for a 9-4 USM lead.  Lux followed with a triple to the left field gap, and then came home on an RBI single from Kelly for a 10-4 advantage headed into Bowdoin's final at bats. 

            Bowdoin threatened for a big inning again, hitting back-to-back singles, and another one-out single to load the bases, but Brown settled and got the next two outs on a strikeout and a pop up to short for the win. 

            Plowman finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Lux went 2-for-4 with two runs scored to join Cross with a multiple hit game.  Davis and Brown each had two RBI.  

            Southern Maine remains on the road for its next games, traveling to Rhode Island College on Saturday (1:00 p.m.) for a Little East Conference doubleheader. 

NOTES:  Courtney Davis is now fourth in career hits (172) and fourth in career RBIs (95).  Taylor Lux is now tied for ninth in career runs scored (86).  Brooke Cross is now eighth in career home runs (8). 

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