MANSFIELD, Conn.  – Billy Oldham fired a complete game shutout, striking out 12, and Ryan Bagdasarian had two RBI to lead top-seed and nationally-ranked Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors to a 5-0 win over the fourth-seed University of Southern Maine Huskies in game five of the 2022 Little East Conference (LEC) Baseball Championship Thursday afternoon at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.
 
Winners of 11 straight and 25 of their last 26 games, the Warriors are ranked no. 1 in both the latest College Baseball Newspaper Division III Poll and D3baseball.com Poll. 
 
THE BASICS:
Records:
Eastern Connecticut (37-3)
Southern Maine (23-19)
 
Score: 
No. 4 Eastern Connecticut 5, No. 4 Southern Maine 0
 
Pitching: ECSU 5, USM 0
Winning Pitcher:  ECSU, Billy Oldham (9-2), 9.0 IP, 0 runs, 6 hits, 1 walk, 12 strikeouts
Losing Pitcher:  SM, Bryce Afthim (4-3), 6.0 IP, 5 runs (3 earned), 8 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts
Save: None
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: Eastern Connecticut 5, Southern Maine 0

• ECSU got on the board in the top of the third, taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI single from Zach Donahue. The Warriors had two hits in the inning, including a lead-off double to center from Josh Tower.
• After a scoreless fourth, the Warriors tacked on two more runs to lead 3-9 in the top of the fifth.  Back-to-back singles from Jason Claiborn and Donahue gave the Warriors to base runners without an out. A sacrifice bunt moved up both runners, before the Huskies loaded the bases with an intentional walk.  Husky starter Bryce Afthim (Windham, Maine) got the second out with a strikeout before Bagdasarian singled in two runs with a hit to left.  
• The Warriors scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the sixth to complete the scoring. Brent Cosculluela had an RBI infield single to highlight the innings.
• ECSU's Oldham limited the Huskies to six hits and retired the final six batters he faced in order en route to the win. 
• Husky junior Jonathan Wilson (East Granby, Conn.) led the USM offense going 3-for-4 at the plate.  Juniors tom Vesosky (Colchester, Vermont) and Arlo Pike (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) and freshman Zach Mooers (Winchester, N.H./Keene) each collected a single for the Huskies. Wilson hit .500 (4-for-8) over the two LEC tourney games for USM.

 
UP NEXT:
Southern Maine concludes its run in the 2022 Little East Conference Baseball Championship. 
 
Hosted by No. 1 seed Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors, the 2022 LEC Regular Season Champions, the top six teams in the final regular season standing qualify for the double-elimination championship tournament. With losses to UMass Boston (7-0) and Eastern Connecticut (5-0), USM is eliminated.
 
The 2022 Little East Conference Champion will receive the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament, beginning with Regional Championships starting May 20. Sixty teams will be selected for the championship field. The NCAA will host an online selection show on May 16 (12:00 pm EST) announcing participating teams and regional sites.
 
2022 Little East Conference Baseball Championship Bracket
Game times will be Noon, 3:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. each day
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Game 1: No. 1 Eastern Connecticut vs. No. 6 Plymouth State – ECSU 6-0
Game 2:  No. 2 Rhode Island College vs. No. 5 UMass Dartmouth – RIC, 8-6
Game 3: No. 3 UMass Boston vs. No. 4 Southern Maine – UMB, 7-0
 
Thursday, May 12, 2022
Game 4: No. 6 Plymouth State vs. No. 5 UMass Dartmouth -  UMD, 13-4
Game 5: No. 1 Eastern Connecticut vs. No. 4 Southern Maine – ECSU, 5-0
Game 6: No. 2  Rhode Island College vs. No. 3 UMass Boston, 7:00
 
If four teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed:
 
Friday, May 13, 2022
Game 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 6
Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8
 
Saturday, May 14, 2022
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9
Game 11: If Necessary: Same teams as in Game 10
 
If five teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed:
 
Friday, May 13, 2022
Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 Game 9: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7
 
If two teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed:
 
Saturday, May 14, 2022
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9
Game 11: If Necessary: Same teams as Game 10
 
If three teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed:
 
Saturday, May 14, 2022
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9
Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10