GORHAM, Maine  –  Senior Ashley Tinsman (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) went 5-for-7 at the plate with four runs scored and six RBI to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a doubleheader sweep of the Castleton University Spartans in Little East Conference action Friday night at the USM Softball Stadium.  Southern Maine defeated Castleon 10-1 in the opener, and took game two 6-4.
           Tinsman's six RBI performance helped her secure USM's single-season RBI record.  The Huskies' senior catcher now has 44 RBI to her credit, breaking the 11-year-old former record of 41 RBI set by Katie Davis in 2010. Tinsman reached the milestone with a three-run home run in the fifth inning of game two. It was her sixth home run of the season, tying the Huskies' single-season record. 
 
The Records:
Castleton (14-10, 7-7 LEC)
Southern Maine (25-2-1, 11-1 LEC)

GAME ONE: Southern Maine 10, Castleton 1
Graduate student Kirsten Pelletier (West Gardiner, Maine/Messalonskee) picked up her 11^th win of the season improving to 11-0 scattering eight hits without yielding a walk and holding Castleton to a single late-inning run.  
            Tinsman, seniors Alexis Brown (Malden, Mass) and Samantha Hauck (Painted Post, N.Y./Corning Painted Post), and junior Brynn Hink (Porter, Maine/Sacopee) each had two RBI for the Huskies who connected for 14 hits against Castleton.
            Castleton starter freshman Katie Gallagher (Waxhaw, N.C./Cuthbertson) took the loss going 4.1 innings and allowed six runs (all earned) on nine hits.  Junior Olivia Bowen (Fair Haven, Vermont/Fair Haven Union) completed the final 2.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits and three walks.
            Batting first due to a change in schedule, USM led off the game 1-0 in the top of the first on an RBI sacrifice fly from Tinsman. USM led 3-0 after the third on an RBI single from and an RBI double down the left field line from Brown. 
            The Huskies doubled their lead in the fifth scoring three more runs on on Hink's pinch-hit two-run single up the middle and an RBI single from freshman Madison Day (Otisfield, Maine). Brown made it 7-0 in the sixth with an RBI single through the left side, before USM lead 10-0 in the top of the seventh. USM took advantage of a throwing error on a bunt single from Day and the speed of pinch runner freshman Belle Snyder (Epping, N.H.) to manufacture a run before Hauck smashed her fourth home run of the season for two RBI.
            Castleton freshman Allison Almond (Proctor, Vermont) helped the Spartans avoid the shutout with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh.
 
GAME TWO: Southern Maine 6, Castleton 4
            Trailing CU 2-1 after four innings, Tinsman roped a three-run home run over the center field fence to put her team in front for good en route to the 6-4 win.  Tinsman scored senior Erin Martin (Biddeford, Maine) and junior Kaitlyn Nelson (Guildhall, Vermont/White Mountains Regional) as Martin reached on a fielding error and Nelson connected on an infield single.
            USM added another run in the top of the sixth to make it 5-2 on an RBI single from Hauck but Castleton rallied for two runs in the home half of the inning to make it a 5-4 game.  Spartan juniors Kate LaPan (Hudson Falls, N.Y.) and Jamie Boyle (Pownal, Vermont) led off the inning with a back-to-back singles, and junior Machaila Arjavich (Meriden, Conn.) walked the bases loaded.  CU scored its first run on an RBI walk from sophomore Hannah Mosher (South Glens Falls, Vermont), and then made it a one-run game with a RBI sacrifice fly from Almond.
            Finally out of the sixth, USM tacked on an insurance run in the seventh on an RBI double from Day which scored Tinsman who led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Brown. 
            In the bottom of the seventh, Brown, the Huskies starter worked her way around a lead off walk to get to fly outs and a ground out securing her 10^th win of the season.  Brown, now 10-1, allowed four earned runs on seven hits and three walks (all issued in the sixth and seventh inning). She struck out three. 
            Joy, the CU starter, allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits in 5.2 innings.  Gallagher came on in relief for the final 1.1 innings, allowing a run on two hits. 
 
Inside the Stats:

• Tinsman is hitting .455 (46-for-101) for the season with 44 RBI. She has eight doubles, a triple and six home runs and a .733 slugging percentage.  Drawing 11 walks and striking out just nine times, she has a .500 on-base percentage.
• Nelson finished the doubleheader 5-for-7 with three runs scored. 
• Martin was 3-for-6  with a pair of doubles and five runs scored from her lead off spot in the lineup. 
• Brown, the game two winner in the circle, was had a pair of hits and drove in two runs. She is second on the team with RBI with 28.  Led by Tinsman's 44, four Huskies have at least 20 RBI: Brown (28), sophomore Rona Scott (Beverly, Mass.) (26), Hauck (22). 

Up Next:

• Southern Maine travels to Plymouth State for a LEC doubleheader tomorrow at 2 pm.  Fans can follow online at southernmainehuskies.com and littleeast.tv/southernmaine   USM will then prepare for the LEC tournament May 11-15. 
• Castleton awaits the LEC tournament.