GORHAM, Maine -- The eighth-ranked University of Southern Maine baseball team improved its record to 7-1 on the season by sweeping a non-conference doubleheader from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth at Ed Flaherty Field on Saturday.
            The Huskies came from a run down in the seventh inning to take the opener 5-3, then return to pull away in the nightcap for an 11-2 victory.  The two teams, members of the Little East Conference, split their Little East Conference doubleheader played at UMD on Thursday.
 
Game One
            Senior Gage Feeney (Cutler, Maine/Washington Academy) and rookie Bryce Afthim (Windham, Maine) combined on the mound to limit the Corsairs to seven hits and two walks while striking out 10.  Afthim would get credit for the win going the final four innings.
            After UMD took a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh on a two-run double by rookie Matthew Klett (Barnstable, Mass.), USM responded in the home half with a pair of unearned runs.  Senior Andrew Olszak (Danvers, Mass.) scored the first run on a wild pitch, and sophomore Jonathan Wilson (East Granby, Conn.) brought in the go-ahead run with a single.
            The Huskies added an insurance run in the eighth inning on senior Andrew Hillier's (Bangor, Maine) RBI double.
            Junior Sam Troiano (South Portland, Maine) hit his third home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth, to give USM a 2-1 lead at the time.
            Rookie Cam Seymour (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) and sophomore Tom Vesosky (Colchester, Vt.) led the Huskies' 11-hit attack with a pair of hits.  Graduate student Mitch Baker (Braintree, Mass.) went 3 for 3 with two runs scored for the Corsairs.  Senior Logan Maitland (Tiverton, R.I.) was tagged with the loss.
 
Game Two
            Southern Maine snapped a 2-2 tie with four runs in the sixth, and put the game away with five more in the eighth.  Junior James Sinclair (Portland, Maine/Deering) picked up the win on the hill going 6.2 innings allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk while fanning eight.  Graduate student Gavin Arsenault (Dixfield, Maine/Dirigo) earned his second save going the final 2.1 innings.
            Olszak led the Huskies offense going 3 for 5 with a run scored and two RBI.  Seymour continued his hot hitting with a pair of hits.  Rookie Janek Luksza (South Paris, Maine/Oxford Hills) had the key hit in the sixth inning, a three-run double down the right field line.
            Baker extended his perfect day at the plate going 4 for 4 for the Corsairs.  Junior reliever Chase Stafford (Somerset, Mass.) was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs in the sixth, three that were unearned.
            Tied at 2-2 in the sixth, the Huskies loaded the bases on two walks and an infield error.  Seymour, who led off with a walk, scored on a wild pitch to put USM up 3-2.  Just when it looked like Stafford might escape without further damage, Vesosky walked with two outs to reload the bases, and Luksza dropped a double down the right field line to chase home all three runners.
            Southern Maine put the game away with five runs in the eighth.  Olszak and Seymour had RBI singles, and Troiano had a two-run single, in the inning.
 
Up Next
            Southern Maine is scheduled to host the University of Maine at Farmington for a single, non-conference game on Thursday (4:00 p.m.).  Due to Covid-19 restrictions, no spectators will be allowed.  UMass Dartmouth is off until Friday (April 2) when it hosts Eastern Connecticut State University for a Little East Conference doubleheader.