GORHAM, Maine  - Sophomores Lauren Merrill (Bethel, Maine/Oxford Hills) and Belle Snyder (Epping, N.H.) each threw outstanding games in the circle as the University of Southern Maine Huskies swept the Rhode Islnd College Anchormen 3-0, 8-0 (5 inning) in a Little East Conference doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at th e USM Softball Stadium.
 
Merrill earned her fourth win of the season scattering three hits and a walk over seven innings while striking out three for the shutout. Snyder also earned her fourth win of the season, keeping the RIC bats silent over five innings with a walk and seven strikeouts. Snyder's no-hitter is the 10^th in program history and most recent since Alexis Brown '21 threw a seven-inning ho-hitter against UMass Darmouth on May 3, 2019.  Amber Kelly '17 has the Huskies most recent five-inning no-hitter, accomplishing the feat against Husson University on April 6, 2016.
 
The Huskies have won three straight and six of their last eight games.
 
 
THE BASICS:
Records:
Rhode Island College (6-6, 2-2 LEC)
Southern Maine (9-10, 3-1 LEC)
 
Pitching Game 1 – USM 3, RIC 0
Winning Pitcher:  SM, Lauren Merrill (4-4), 7.0 IP, 0 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Losing Pitcher:  RIC, Abby Kidd (3-4), 6.0 IP, 3 runs, 11 hits, 1 walks, 3 strikeouts
 
 
Pitching Game 2 – Southern Maine 8, Rhode Island College 0 (5 inn.)
Winning Pitcher: SM, Belle Snyder (4-2), 5.0 IP, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts
Losing Pitcher:  RIC, Tatiana Burcy (3-2), 3.1 IP, 5 runs (4 earned), 10 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
 
HOW IT HAPPENED GAME ONE: USM 3, RIC 0

• Merrill held the Anchormen to three singles over seven inning and the Huskies rapped out 11 hits, including three for extra bases to pick up the 3-0 game one shut out victory.

• Southern Maine took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first and never looked back.  Husky sophomore Madison Day (Otisfield, Maine/Oxford Hills) drove in the first run of the day with a well-placed bunt single for the RBI.  USM senior Lauren Miller (St. George, Maine/Camden Hills) led off the inning with a walk, and classmate Kaitlyn Nelson (Guildhall, Vermont/White Mountains Regional) had an infield single deep to shortstop to put the first two runners on. Nelson and Miller used their speed to steal second and third respectively, setting up day for the RBI.

• With Merrill in control the Huskies 1-0 lead stood strong. Merrill retired the side in order in the third on three consecutive ground outs, and worked her way around two walks in the fourth.  In the bottom of the fourth, the Huskies' added two more runs to give Merrill some breathing room.  With one out, junior Rona Scott (Beverly, Mass.) reached on a double to left center and came around to score as Merrill followed with an RBI double to the right field gap.  Up 2-0, Miller used a sacrifice bunt to put Merrill on third and Nelson connected on a clutch RBI single up the middle for a 3-0 lead.
• After giving up a lead off single to RIC junior Alexis LeBelle (Warwick, R.I.) to start the fifth, Merrill came back with three consecutive ground outs.  Merrill repeated the performance in the sixth and seventh after allowing lead off singles to freshman Sarah Mickelson (New Milford, Conn.) and junior Alexis Boyce (Wolcott, Conn.) respectively to close the win.
• USM's Nelson was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, while Day was also perfect from the plate at 3-for-3, including a double and an RBI.  Scott was the other repeat hitter for the Huskies, going 2-for-3 with a run scored.   

 
HOW IT HAPPENED GAME TWO: USM 8, RIC 0 (5 inn)

• Snyder had three strikeouts in the top of the first to set the tone in game two and USM collected 15 hits off of the RIC pitchers en route to the 8-0 shutout win in game two.  With the win, Snyder has earned a victory in each of her last three starts.
• The Huskies again took the lead in the bottom of the first.  With two outs, Day became the Huskies' first base runner of the game with a single up the middle, moving up to third on a single from junior Lauren Leidemann-Smith (South Berwick, Maine/Marshwood) and passed ball.  Day came across home plate on an RBI single from Merrill for the 1-0 lead.
• Snyder retired the next six batters in order, including three via strikeout, to keep USM in front 1-0 before the Huskies added three more runs in the bottom of the third for a 4-0 lead.  Day drove in the first run with an RBI fielder's choice, while junior Hannah Shields (Buckfield, Maine) made it 3-0 with an RBI double. Shields then made it 4-0 crossing home on an RBI double from Scott.
• Snyder continued to deal from the circle retiring RIC in order in the fourth, including her seventh strikeout of the game, and USM made it 5-0 with another run in the home half of the inning – this time on a RBI sacrifice fly from Shields.
• Another three consecutive outs in the fifth from Snyder and the Huskies were quickly up at bat in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three more runs to invoke the eight-run rule.  Snyder led off the inning with a single before stealing second and third and coming home on an errant throw on her third-base steal. Up 6-0 after Snyder's quick baserunning, Miller reached on a single and Nelson and Day went back-to-back for singles to load the bases.  Leidemann-Smith closed the game, driving in a pair of runs with a double for the 8-0 final. 
• Snyder's no-hitter is the 10^th in program history and first since Alexis Brown '21 threw a seven-inning no-hitter on May 3, 2019 against UMass Dartmouth.  Amber Kelly '17 had the Huskies' most recent five-inning no-hitter against Husson University on April 6, 2016. 

 
UP NEXT:
Southern Maine remains in Little East Conference action and travels to Western Connecticut State on Saturday (12:00 pm) for a doubleheader.