GORHAM, Maine – Senior Ben Lambert (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) survived a ninth-inning scare to pitch a complete game as the second-seeded University of Southern Maine Huskies held off the third-seeded Rhode Island College Anchormen, 2-1, in the first day of play in the Little East Conference Baseball Tournament Thursday afternoon at Ed Flaherty Field.
            In the earlier game, Rhode Island College sent 10 men to the plate in the sixth inning to score six times and went on to defeat sixth seeded Castleton University 8-3.
            Lambert picked up his sixth win of the season allowing the Anchormen an unearned run on five hits and three walks while striking out six.  He had to survive the ninth inning as the first three Anchormen reached base on an infield error, a walk and an RBI single by freshman Cal Parrillo (Greenville, R.I.) that made it 2-1.
            After getting two outs, a passed ball moved the runners to second and third.  Sophomore Joey Coro (North Providence, R.I.) was issued an intentional pass to load the bases before Lambert got a ground out to end the game.
            Southern Maine nicked RIC senior starter Tyler Shemick (Foster, R.I./La Salle Academy) for two runs in the second inning.  Senior Andrew Olszak (Danvers, Mass.) led off the frame with a single, and later stole second.  Rookie Janek Luksza (South Paris, Maine/Oxford Hills) doubled to left field to score Olszak.  Luksza moved to third on a ground out and scored what proved to be the decisive run on a two-out bunt down the third base line by junior Jason Komulainen (Gorham, Maine).
            With Lambert and Shemick hooked up in a fast-paced pitchers' duel, runs were hard to come by.  Southern Maine threatened in the fifth putting runners at the corners with no outs, but Shemick retired the next three batters.  RIC had runners at the corners with one out in the second, but Lambert escaped with a strikeout and a fly out.  In the sixth, the Anchormen had two on with one out before Parrillo lined out into an inning-ending double play.
            Shemick also went the distance allowing the two runs on six hits and one walk.  He struck out five.
            Luksza was the lone Husky to have two hits off of Shemick.
 
Up Next
            The same three teams will gather at USM on Saturday (1 p.m.).  Castleton and Rhode Island College face off in an elimination game.  The winner will take on Southern Maine in the second game (approximately 4:00 p.m.).  The "if-necessary game," if needed, will be played on Monday.
            The winner of the USM bracket will play the winner of the other three-team bracket being played at top seeded Eastern Connecticut State University.  The highest remaining seed will be the host for the best of three series to determine the conference champion.
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