GORHAM, Maine   –  Sophomore Lauren Merrill (Bethel, Maine/Oxford Hills) threw six scoreless innings in game one to help the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 7-0 shutout win over the Bates College Bobcats in a non-conference softball doubleheader Monday afternoon at the USM Softball Stadium. Bates won game two by the score of 4-2.
 
With the split, Southern Maine is 23-14 heading into the 2022 LEC Tournament.  Merrill scattered five hits over six innings in her game-one start and earned her 13^th win of the season for the Huskies. Sophomore Dory Kulis (Georgetown, Maine/Morse) pitched the final inning to close out the game, forcing three ground outs.
 
THE BASICS:
Records:
Bates College (9-17)
Southern Maine (23-14)
 
Pitching Game 1 – USM 7, Bates 0
Winning Pitcher: SM, Lauren Merrill (13-5), 6.0 IP, 0 runs, 5 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
Losing Pitcher:  B, Maggie Hillwig (2-11), 4.0 IP, 7 runs, 8 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout
 
Pitching Game 2 – Bates 4, Southern Maine 0
Winning Pitcher: B, Danielle Polirer (7-6), 7.0 IP, 2 runs, 5 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Losing Pitcher: SM, Belle Snyder (9-5), 5.0 IP, 4 runs, 6 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts
 
HOW IT HAPPENED GAME ONE: USM 7, Bates 0

• With the game scoreless after three and a half innings, Southern Maine erupted for six runs in the bottom of the fourth to run away with the game. Junior Lauren Leidemann-Smith (South Berwick, Maine/Marshwood) started the scoring with an RBI single to right.  Juniors Rona Scott (Beverly, Mass.) and Hannah Shields (Buckfield, Maine), and sophomores Kulis and Makena Mulcahy (Auburn, Mass.) each had an RBI in the inning.  Scott had an RBI single, while Sheilds doubled in a run.
• The Huskies made it 7-0 in the bottom of the fifth when Merrill drew a bases loaded walk for a run, and Merrill and Kulis kept Bates off the board over the next two innings for the final.
• Sophomore Madison Day (Otisfield, Maine/Oxford Hills) was 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored to lead USM's 10-hit attack. Leidemann-Smith and senior Kaitlyn Nelson (Guildhall, Vermont/White Mountains Regional) had two hits each.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED GAME TWO: Bates 4, Southern Maine 0

• Bates scored all four of its runs in the second.  Rachel Lazios led off the inning being hit by a pitch and then after an out the Bobcats strung together four consecutive hits to take the lead.
• Eliza McNulty had an RBI double down the left field line scoring Lazios to give Bates a 1-0 lead. Back-to-back single from Grace Householter and Aleah Pagan made it 2-0. Pagan's single to center scored McNulty. Another single, this time from Sarah Cooke to right made it 3-0 before Pagan scored on a wild pitch for the 4-0.
• With two runners on, Southern Maine's Snyder settled to get the final two outs via strikeout to end the inning.
• USM took two runs back in the bottom of the second. With one out, Scott doubled to center field to put herself in scoring position. After a drawn walk from Mulcahy, USM scored its first run on a double from freshman Morgan Roast (Gorham, Maine). The Huskies trailed 2-0 when senior Samantha Hauck (Painted Post, N.Y.) smacked an RBI single deep to shortstop in a pinch-hitting situation. However, it was the final runs of the game for USM.
• Bates pitcher Danielle Polirer allowed just two more hits off of the Husky bats in the final five innings of the game.  She retired the USM lineup in order in the sixth and seventh.

 
UP NEXT:
Southern Maine travels to  Mansfield, Connecticut for the 2022 Little East Conference Softball Championship hosted by no. 1 seed Eastern Connecticut State.  Southern Maine is the no. 2 seed.  Earning a first round bye, the Huskies begin their tournament play on Thursday, May 5 (3:30 pm).  Southern Maine will face the winner of the No. 3 UMass Dartmouth vs. No. 6 Plymouth State University game which will be played on Wednesday, May 4 (3:30 pm). 
 
The top six teams in the final regular season standings qualify for the LEC tournament.  It is a double-elimination six-team championship. The top two seeds receive a first round bye.