GORHAM, Maine  - Sophomore Belle Snyder (Epping, N.H.) picked up the win in the circle pitching seven full and allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three and junior Lauren Leidemann-Smith (South Berwick, Maine/Marshwood) drove in a pair of runs to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 4-2 win over No. 8 Eastern Connecticut State University in the second game of a Little East Conference softball doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Clyde Washburne Field. USM dropped the first game 8-1 to the Warriors.
 
Senior Kaitlyn Nelson (Guildhall, Vermont/White Mountains Regional) continued strong play at the plate going 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored and a walk as USM earned the split in both team's conference opening games pitting the 2021 LEC regular season champion Huskies against the 2021 LEC tournament champion Warriors.
 
 
THE BASICS:
Records:
Southern Maine (7-10, 1-1 LEC)
No. 8 Eastern Connecticut (16-4, 1-1 LEC) 
 
Pitching Game 1 – ECSU 8, USM 1
Winning Pitcher:  ECSU, Alexis Michon (8-1), 7.0 IP, 1 run, 3 hits, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts
Losing Pitcher:  SM, Lauren Merrill (3-4), 3.1 IP, 7 runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts
 
 
Pitching Game 2 – Southern Maine 4, ECSU 2
Winning Pitcher: SM, Belle Snyder (3-2), 7.0 IP, 2 runs, 5 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
Losing Pitcher:  ECSU, Carley Stoker (3-2), 4.1 IP, 4 runs, 7 hits, 1 walks, 6 strikeouts
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HOW IT HAPPENED GAME ONE: No. 8 ECSU 8, USM 1

• Alexis Michon threw a three-hit seven-inning complete game, striking out nine to lead ECSU to an 8-1 win over USM in game one.  Yielding just a single run on a solo home run from USM senior Samantha Hauck (Painted Post, N.Y./Corning Painted Post) in the third inning, Michon improved to 8-1 for the nationally-ranked Warriors.
•  ECSU Julia SanGiovanni led the Warriors eight-hit attack going 3-for-3 at the plate with four RBI and a run scored. SanGiovanni had a double and a home run for the Warriors, among her hits, and drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single in the first.
• ECSU led USM 2-0 after the first two innings before Hauck halved the deficit for the Huskies with her first home run of the season in the third inning. The Warriors responded in the home half of the third with two runs on SanGiovanni's double.
• The Warriors tacked on three more in the fourth, including an RBI single from Brooke Matyasovsky.  SanGiovanni scored the final run of the game with a solo home run to right in the sixth.

 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED GAME TWO: USM 4, No. 8 ECSU 2

• USM sophomore Belle Snyder (Epping, N.H.) picked up her third win of the season, limiting the Warriors to just five hits over seven innings. Snyder held the Warriors to just three singles and kept them off of the scoreboard until yielding a two-run triple in the fifth in a stellar performance. After the fifth, Snyder retired ECSU in order in the sixth and worked her way around a lead off single in the seventh to earn the win.
• Husky freshman Morgan Roast (Gorham, Maine) put USM on the board first, collecting the first home run of her intercollegiate career with a solo shot to left field in the second inning.
• USM used some clutch two-out hitting in the third to make it 2-0.  Nelson laced a double to center for her first hit of the game, before Leidemann-Smith connected with an RBI single.
• USM continued to lead the Warriors 2-0 before doubling its lead in the fifth.  Snyder led off the inning with a single to right and moved to second on a passed ball.  Snyder went to third on a bunt single from Nelson before Leidemann-Smith drove in her second run of the game with a double to right, plating Snyder. 
• In the bottom of the fifth, Snyder got the first two outs of the inning on an infield fly and a strikeout before letting up a pinch-hit single to Laura Zenk.  ECSU's Cassie Woods took first after being hit by a pitch before both she and Zenk came around to score on a triple to left from Taylor Darby.  Snyder then gave up a walk to Matyasovsky before getting the third out with a ground out from SanGiovanni to get out of a jam.
• Both teams went down in order in the sixth.  In the seventh, Snyder led off with a single to right and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and a ground out but ECSU snuffed out the threat with a strikeout. 
• USM remained in front 4-2 headed to the bottom of seven.  The Warriors led off the inning with a single but the Huskies cut down the lead runner with a fielder's choice ground out, before Snyder got back-to-back fly outs to secure the win.

 
UP NEXT:
Southern Maine hosts Rhode Island College in a Little East Conference doubleheader on Tuesday (3:00 pm).  The Huskies are back on the road on Saturday (12:00 pm) for another LEC doubleheader at Western Connecticut State.