HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Southern Maine baseball team's season ended Monday afternoon as Wheaton College, behind the pitching of senior Gavin Reily (Bridgewater, Mass.) and two relievers, defeated the Huskies 2-1 in Game 11 of the 2021 NCAA Division III Baseball Hartford Regional Tournament at DiBenedetto Stadium on the campus of Trinity College.
            The Huskies finished the season 34-11 overall.  Wheaton heads to the NCAA Division III College World Series in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with a 20-5 mark.  The Lyons defeated Salve Regina University 7-4 in Game 10 earlier in the day to advance to the championship game against the Huskies.
            Reily allowed just one run on four hits over seven-plus innings.  He walked two and struck out three to improve his record to 6-2.  Junior Zach Clesas (Johnston, R.I.) came on in the eighth after Reily was nicked for a solo home run by USM rookie Cam Seymour (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) and a walk.  Clesas stranded a runner at first getting three straight batters.  Junior Griffin Young (Dover, N.H.) came on in the ninth to get his second  save of the season.
            Wheaton scored single runs in the first and second innings and made them stand up.  In the opening frame, junior Jacob Studley (Barrington, R.I.) tripled with two outs and scored when junior Zach DeMattio (North Attleboro, Mass.) followed with a single.
            In the second, junior Andrew Spirito (Cranston, R.I.) drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from classmate Stephen Quigley (Halifax, Mass./Silver Lake).  After a ground out for the second out, an untimely error allowed Quigley to score an unearned run.
            Studley had another triple with one out in the third, but was left stranded as USM junior Joshua Joy (Smithfield, Maine/Messalonskee) got out of trouble with two ground ball outs.
            Reily kept the Huskies bats in check, allowing only one hit, a two-out first-inning double to senior Andrew Hillier (Bangor, Maine), through the first four innings.  He did not give up a run until the eighth when Seymour led off with his 14th home run of the season to right field.  After Reily walked Hillier to end his day, Clesas came on to retire three straight batters.
            The Huskies had one last shot in the bottom of the ninth as sophomore Arlo Pike (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) beat out a chop off home plate for a single.  The Lyons then turned a game-ending double play to secure the win and the regional title.  Griffin also got defensive help from senior center fielder Brody Ashley (Strafford, N.H.) who tracked down a drive into the right-center gap from senior Dylan Hapworth (Winslow, Maine) before sliding into the fence for the first out.
            Studley was the lone repeat hitter in the game with his two triples.  Three of USM's five hits were for extra bases as rookie Janek Luksza (South Paris, Maine/Oxford Hills) had a double in the sixth.
            Joy, 4-4 on the season, went four-plus innings allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk.  He struck out two.  Senior Ben Lambert (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) came on to pitch five scoreless innings in relief, allowing two hits and one walk while fanning five.