MANSFIELD, Conn. -- Senior right-hander Ben Lambert (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) went the distance to earn his fourth win of the season as the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors 5-2 in the first game of the teams Little East Conference doubleheader Friday at Eastern Stadium.
            In the nightcap, the Warriors squandered a 6-0 lead before rallying to take a 10-9 victory in 10 innings to salvage a split.
            The split leaves the 22nd-ranked Huskies at 15-7 overall and 7-4 in conference.  The Warriors, ranked 23rd in this week's d3baseball.com poll, move to 20-3 overall and 10-1 in league play.  The two teams will play a non-conference doubleheader at USM on Saturday.
 
Game One
            Lambert survived a shaky start, giving up two runs in the first inning before shutting down the Warriors over the next eight innings.  Lambert allowed just five hits and four walks while striking out five.
            Eastern grabbed its 2-0 lead in the home half of the first on a two-run triple senior Holden White (Wallingford, Conn./Kingswood Oxford).
            Freshman Cam Seymour (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) got the Huskies even in the fourth inning with his eighth home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field.
            The game remained tied until the Huskies struck for a pair of runs in the eighth inning and added three insurance runs in the ninth.  Junior Sam Troiano (South Portland, Maine) delivered a bases loaded single drive home sophomore Tom Vesosky (Colchester, Vt.) with the tie-breaking run.  Senior Andrew Hillier (Bangor, Maine) drew a two-out walk to force home another run.
            In the ninth, freshman Janek Luksza (South Paris, Maine/Oxford Hills) drove in one run with a single, and senior Andrew Olszak (Danvers, Mass.) plated two with a double.
            Eastern starting pitcher, senior Josh Vincent (New London, Conn.), pitched eight innings, allowing four runs on four hits and four walks while striking out 10 to absorb his first loss against four wins.
 
Game Two
            Eastern jumped out to a quick lead in the nightcap as senior Luke Broadhurst (Stafford, Conn.) highlighted the six-run, first-inning uprising with a grand slam home run.  Junior Noah Plantamuro (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Central) also had a two-run single in the inning.
            The Huskies picked up an unearned run in the third to get on the board.  Troiano hit a solo homer in the fifth, and a two-run shot in the sixth to pull the Huskies within one at 6-5.  Troiano's two round trippers give him seven on the season.
            Seymour gave the Huskies the lead in the eighth with a two-run single, and a third run came across on a wild pitch to make it 8-6.
            Eastern tied the game in the home half with a pair of unearned runs, taking advantage of a passed ball and a throwing error.
            Southern Maine retook the lead with an unearned run in the ninth, but Eastern responded with a run on a Broadhurst double, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from White.  White delivered the game-winning run in the 10th with a two-out single.
            Vesosky led the Huskies' 11-hit attack with three hits.  Troiano, Olszak and Luksza had two hits apiece.  Seymour, who came on to pitch in the eighth, was tagged with his first loss.
            Broadhurst led the Warriors going 3 for 4 with four RBI.  Senior Bryan Albee (Killingly, Conn.) picked up his second win of the season working the final 2.2 innings.