GORHAM, Maine  – Sophomore Erin Martin (Biddeford, Maine) hit a two-run single to the right side in the top of the seventh inning to lift the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 3-2 win over the Plymouth State University Panthers in the second game of a Little East Conference softball doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at D&M Park.  Southern Maine dropped the first game of the series 3-2 to take the split with the Panthers. 

Handing the Panthers their first loss in six games, Southern Maine improves to 20-17 overall and 7-5 in the Little East.  PSU secured the 2018 regular season conference title with its game one win and is now 22-12 overall and 10-2 in the LEC.  

GAME ONE: Plymouth State 3, Southern Maine 2

PSU sophomore Caitlyn Miller (Lee, N.H.) struck out six and did not give up an earned run over seven innings as the Panthers tipped Southern Maine 3-2 in the opener.  Miller gave up just three singles and two walks in the win.  

PSU took an early 1-0 lead in the first as Hannah Seider (Pembroke, N.H.) led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. With one down, Ashley Deyo (Dover, N.H.) rapped an infield single to shortstop and was able to draw out a run down to allow Seider to score.  

USM came back for two runs in the top of the second to go ahead 2-1. Junior Brooke Cross (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) and senior Amber Kelly (Berwick, Maine/Noble) each drew walks before a fielder's choice ground out left USM with Cross at third and freshman Hannah Kenney (Oxford, Maine/Oxford Hills) at first and third with two outs.  Working a delayed steal, Kenney and Cross were each able to cross home plate after a pair of Panther errors on the play. 

PSU regained its lead however in the bottom of the third scoring a pair of runs on four hits.  Seider again led off the inning with a single, and advanced to third on a stolen base and a ground out, before Abrie Davis (Amherst, N.H.) singled her home for a tie game.  A single from Cassidy Emerson (Concord, N.H.) put the runner in scoring position, and Mel Goss (Templeton, Mass.) drove in the go-ahead run on a single to the left field gap.  Emerson, who advanced to second on the relay, was cut down attempting to take third on heads up play from USM catcher Katie Favaloro (Rockport, Mass.) and third baseman Courtney Davis (Woburn, Mass.).  

After the third, Kelly kept the Huskies in the game down a run, pitching a solid fourth, fifth and sixth inning.  In the fourth Kelly gave up a single and was helped by Favaloro cutting down an attempted stolen base, and in the fifth Kelly retired the side in order. In the sixth, Kelly bounced back from a lead off double, to retire the next three batters she faced.  However, Miller was just as dominant in the win giving up just a pair of singles over the next four innings, and did not allow a runner to advance to second.  In the second, Miller cruised to the win picking up two of her six strikeouts before ending the game with a ground out.  

Kelly took the loss allowing three earned runs on nine hits. Striking out two, Kelly did not give up a walk.

GAME TWO: Southern Maine 3, Plymouth State 2

With two down and sophomore Tabitha Hirsch on first after a single to center field, sophomores Kayleigh Bohan (Beford, N.H.) and Martin each laced clutch singles through the right side and Husky pinch runners Sarah Howe and Kathleen Rattazzi (Tuxedo, N.Y./Immaculate Heart Academy) hustled around the bases for the game-tying and go-ahead runs as USM rallied for the win. 

USM led early on an RBI single from junior Brittany Plowman (Scarborough, Maine) in the third.  Plowman's soft liner into left scored Martin who had led off the inning with her team-leading fifth triple of the season.  The lead was short-lived, however, as PSU tied the score up in the home half of the inning on an RBI single from Nora Butler (Tewksbury, Mass.) capitalized on a USM fielding error.  

The Panthers seemed on their way to the sweep of the Huskies when they went ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth. PSU had a first and third situation with one out on a walk to Seidner, a sacrifice bunt, and a single from Deyo. Deyo's stolen base gave the Panthers two runners in scoring position on second and third before a wild pitch allowed Seider to score.  Threatening for another run with just one out and Deyo at third, USM was able to escape the inning with a pair of infield pop outs.  

Hirsch's one-out single in the seventh keyed the Huskies' rally. Replaced by Howe as a pinch runner, Bohan's two-out seeing-eye single through the right side kept USM alive with runners at first and third.  With Bohan replaced by Rattazzi, Martin connected for her team-leading 47th hit of the season with her single through the right side.  

Husky sophomore Alexis Brown (Malden, Mass.) was able to secure the win of the Huskies in the circle with a strong seventh inning performance. Getting a ground out to start the inning, Brown bounced back from a single to get the second out of the inning with her third strikeout of the game before Davis sealed the win throwing out the PSU base runner attempting to steal second for the third and final out. 

Brown improved to 8-2 on the season, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and a pair of walks.  She struck out three.  PSU's Allison Moylan (Methuen, Mass.) took the loss allowing three earned runs on five hits and a walk.  

Southern Maine hosts UMass Dartmouth in a Little East Conference doubleheader on Saturday (1:00 p.m.).  In between the two games, University of Southern Maine Athletics will honor and recognize the Huskies' 1983 softball team on its 35th anniversary of its trip to the NAIA National Championships.  The first women's intercollegiate team to compete for a national championship, the 1983 Huskies captured the NAIA District 5 and Bi-District Championships and defeated the University of Maine 6-2 for the Maine Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (MAIAW) title.  Ten of the 12 members of the team will be on hand for the ceremony. 

 -cac-