GORHAM, Maine – Five members of the University of Southern Maine Huskies softball team have been named to the team's 2021 Leadership Group.  Head Coach Sarah Jamo made the announcement as the Huskies' prepare for its season-opening games at Colby College this weekend. 
            Sophomore Rona Scott (Beverly, Mass.), junior Kaitlyn Nelson (Guildhall, Vermont/White Mountain Regional), seniors Ashley Tinsman (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and Alexis Brown (Malden, Mass.) and graduate student Erin Martin (Biddeford, Maine) will share leadership responsibilities as the Huskies take the field for the first time since 2019.
            "Each of these student-athletes have displayed the character, discipline and positive attitude to make a strong leadership group for our program," said Jamo, now in her ninth season with the Huskies.   "Their actions on and off of the field are consistent with what we want for team culture, and they are outstanding role models for their peers."
            Nelson, Tinsman, Brown and Martin are all veterans to the squad and are 2019 All-Little East Conference selections.  Scott, a sophomore, has yet to see action in a Husky uniform due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Each of the five student-athletes is a William B. Wise Scholar Athlete. 
            Scott, a Biology Education major, will feature as a pitcher and first baseman for the Huskies.  A former three-sport student-athlete at Beverly HS (Beverly, Mass.), Scott was a four-year varsity letter winner in softball.  In her senior season with Beverly, Scott earned Salem News All-Star honors.
            During her rookie season in 2019, Nelson earned first team All-LEC honors as the Huskies' third baseman.  Nelson hit .330 over the season and improved her production to .349 against conference opponents, collecting 37 hits in 112 at-bats with 23 runs scored and 13 RBI.  Batting second in the lineup for a majority of the season, Nelson had 13 sacrifice hits, drawing 21 walks and compiling a .440 on-base percentage.  In the field, Nelson had 50 putouts and 56 assists.  She is an Exercise Science major.
            In her first season with the Huskies after transferring from UMaine, Tinsman earned second team honors as the Huskies' catcher.  Playing in 39 games, Tinsman also played shortstop. She hit .276, and jumped her average to .317 against LEC opponents.  Collecting 29 hits in 105 at bats with six doubles, a triple and a homerun, Tinsman drove in 25 runs.  Solid defensively, Tinsman threw out five runners, and had a .973 fielding percentage.  She is an Exercise Science major. 
            A two-time All-Conference second team pick, Brown earned the honor as a first baseman in 2019 and as a pitcher in 2018, and returns to the Huskies' lineup to fulfill both roles.  In 2019, Brown his .333 with 41 hits in 123 at bats, adding 24 RBI and 15 runs scored.  Against LEC opponents, Brown hit .389 (21-for-54) with 10 RBI and five doubles.  When not in the circle for the Huskies, Brown had a solid .988 fielding percentage at first base, helping USM turn a  pair of double plays, and had 140 putouts and 18 assists.  In the circle, Brown fired 110 innings, including the Huskies first seven-inning no-hitter since the 2006 season in a 4-0 win over UMass Dartmouth during the 2019 LEC tournament.  Brown was 11-7 during the 2019 season with a .305 ERA, averaging 5.22 strikeouts per game, and 6.04 per game in LEC games.  Brown is a Business major.
            Also a two-time LEC second team pick, Martin returns to her role in the Huskies' outfield.  In 2019, Martin hit a team-leading .385 finishing the season 52-for-135 at the plate with 34 runs scored, 12 doubles, two triples and a team-high five home runs, while driving in 25 runs.  Martin had 17 games with at least two hits during the season.  Patrolling right field, Martin had 27 putouts.  In the LEC circuit, Martin finished 2019 ranked first in at bats (135), hits (52), and total bases (83).  She was second in runs (34), doubles (12), sixth in home runs (5), seventh in triples (2) and eighth in RBI (25).  Marin is a Health Sciences major. 
            The Huskies are scheduled to start their 2021 season on the road at Colby College on Sunday, March 21.  Southern Maine will face the Mules in a doubleheader starting at 1 pm.