GORHAM, Maine – Claiming the 2021 Little East Conference regular season title for the first time since 1998, USM softball has earned the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament championship and will host the No. 4 seed UMass-Dartmouth and the No. 5 seed Castleton. This year's tournament will be played in two pods at the sites of the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. USM will act as host for the first five games of the tournament in one pod, which will take place on May 11 and 13. The Huskies secured the No. 1 seed in the tournament with a win over Plymouth State on Saturday.

The History: This tournament will be the Huskies' fifth postseason appearance in the past six years and their first appearance as the No. 1 seed since 1998. In the most recent LEC tournament, the No. 4 seed Huskies were eliminated on day two of the three-day tournament with a loss to Plymouth State. During the 2019 season, the Huskies went 22-18 overall and 8-8 in the conference.

The Team: Coming into the LEC tournament, the Huskies own an astonishing 28-2-1 record and are 15-1 in conference play. This year's effort has been paced by strong pitching performances from graduate student Kirsten Pelletier (West Gardiner, Maine/Messalonskee) and senior Alexis Brown (Malden, Mass./Malden). Pelletier is 12-0 on the season with a 1.94 ERA while Brown is 11-1 with a 1.82 ERA. The two have combined for 136 strikeouts and have held opponents to a combined .234 batting average. 

The Huskies' offense has supported Pelletier and Brown throughout the season with a conference-leading 340 hits. Senior Ashley Tinsman (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth) leads the team with a .464 batting average. She also has a team-best six home runs and 48 RBI, a new single-season record. Also hitting above .300 for the Huskies are freshmen Lauren Leidemann-Smith (South Berwick, Maine/Marshwood) and Madison Day (Otisfield, Maine/Oxford Hills), sophomore Hannah Shields (Buckfield, Maine/Buckfield), junior Kaitlyn Nelson (Guildhall, Vermont/White Mountains Regional), and seniors Erin Martin (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) and Brown. Junior Samantha Hauck (Painted Post, N.Y./Corning Painted Post) is second on the team in home runs with five on the season.

The Matchup: The Huskies will play the winner of UMass-Dartmouth and Castleton in their first game of the double-elimination tournament. In regular season play the Huskies went 3-0-1 against UMass Dartmouth grabbing 3-2, 5-1, and 5-4 wins and a 2-2 tie, and 2-0 against Castleton with 10-1 and 6-4 wins.. Castleton went 3-1 against UMass Dartmouth this season, earning 6-3, 4-3, and 4-1 wins and conceding a 1-0 loss.

UMass Dartmouth Players to Watch: Batting .354 on the year, senior Kylie Fletcher is a top hitter for the Corsairs and is second in the LEC with four triples on the season. In the season opener against UMass-Dartmouth, the Huskies held Fletcher to just two hits in eight at bats and zero RBI. Joining Fletcher as an offensive force for the Corsairs is senior Leah Major who leads the team with 14 RBI and is batting .333 on the season. The Corsair's pitching staff is paced by the efforts of senior Jill Richards and freshman Kaitlyn Shirshac, who have ERAs of 2.85 and 4.20, respectively. Richards is also a dominant hitter for the Corsairs, leading the team with a .359 batting average. 

Castleton Players to Watch: Junior Makenna Thorne leads the Spartan's offense with a .390 batting average, including six doubles and four triples. Thorne is 1-for-4 at the plate against the Huskies this season and 2-for-7 against UMass Dartmouth. Juniors Jamie Boyle and Machaila Arjavich follow closely behind Thorne, each with a .338 batting average on the season. Freshman Katie Gallagher and Sophomore Olivia Joy are the one-two pitchers for the Spartans. Gallagher owns a 2.82 ERA, while Joy has an ERA of 4.20. Gallagher gave up 11 hits in her two appearances against the Huskies and Joy scattered nine.

Tournament Schedule (Double Elimination)
May 11
Game 1: No. 5 Castleton vs. No. 4 UMass Dartmouth, 1:00 pm
Game 2: Winner Game 1 vs. No. 1 Southern Maine, 3:30 pm
Game 3: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 6 pm 

May 13
Game 4: Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner, 2 pm
Game 5: If necessary, 4 pm