GORHAM, Maine – Securing the No. 2 seed the University of Southern Maine Huskies are preparing to compete at the 2022 Little East Conference Softball Tournament Championship May 4-7. 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. The top two seeds (Eastern Connecticut and Southern Maine) receive a first-round bye.
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 May 13 – May 15. Sixty-two teams will be selected for the championship field to compete in 15 regional sites. The NCAA will host an online selection show on May 9 (1:00 pm EST) announcing participating teams and regional sites.
THE BASICS
When: Wednesday, May 4 – Saturday, May 7, 2022
Where: Mansfield Sports Complex (Mansfield, Conn.) - Clyde Washburne Field – Eastern Connecticut State University
Participating Teams: Castleton University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Plymouth State University, UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth and University of Southern Maine
The History:
The 2022 LEC tournament will be the Huskies' sixth postseason appearance in the past seven seasons, and their first appearance as the No. 2 seed since 2001. USM has been the No. 2 seed in the tournament in 1999, 2000, and 2001.
As the 2021 LEC regular season champion, Southern Maine was the top seed in last year's tournament. The Huskies fell to No. 2 seed Eastern Connecticut State in the championship round.
Southern Maine has won the LEC tournament championship once (1998) and has finished as the tournament runner-up five times (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2021)
In 18 appearances in the Little East Conference Tournament Championship (1996-2021*), Southern Maine has played in 59 games and has a record of 26-33 (.440 winning percentage).
2022 Little East Conference Tournament Seeds:
- Eastern Connecticut 34-4 overall, 15-1 LEC
- Southern Maine 23-14 overall, 13-3 LEC
- UMass Dartmouth 30-8-1 overall, 13-3 LEC
- Castleton University 17-14 overall, 8-8 LEC
- UMass Boston 21-17 overall, 7-9 LEC
- Plymouth State 12-21 overall, 6-10 LEC
About the 2022 Huskies
The Huskies are 23-14 overall and 13-3 in the Little East Conference, and are riding a nine-game win streak against LEC opponents. The Huskies three in-conference losses are two Eastern Connecticut, UMass Dartmouth and UMass Boston. The Huskies 4-2 win over Eastern Connecticut is the Warriors lone LEC loss of the 2022 season.
As a team, USM is hitting .292 and are led by senior 3B
Kaitlyn Nelson (Guildhall, Vermont/White Mountains Regional). Nelson is hitting .425 with a team-leading 51 hits in 120 at-bats with 28 runs scored and 13 RBI. Senior RF
Lauren Miller (St. George, Maine/Camden Regional) and junior 2B
Lauren Leidemann-Smith (South Berwick, Maine/Marshwood) are hitting .357 and .322 respectively. Miller has 40 hits in 112 at bats and 25 runs scored. Leidemann-Smith leads the Huskies with 34 RBI. Sophomore
Madison Day (Otisfield, Maine/Oxford Hills) is hitting .298 with 15 RBI and 21 runs scored.
Sophomore pitchers
Lauren Merrill (Bethel, Maine/Oxford Hills) and
Belle Snyder (Epping, N.H.) lead the way in the circle for the Huskies. Merrill is 13-5 with four shutouts. Pitching a team-leading 119.1 innings, Merrill has a solid 2.17 ERA with 75 strikeouts. She has held her opponents to a .215 batting average. Snyder has 99 strikeouts in 103.2 innings pitched and is 9-5 overall with a 2.23 ERA. Merrill is 7-2 against LEC opponents, while Snyder is 6-1 with a pair of saves.
During the season, Southern Maine split with the Corsairs dropping a game 8-0 and winning the second 2-1. Snyder led USM to the win pitching eight innings, while Leidemann-Smith and Nelson each had RBI in the top of the eighth. USM swept Plymouth State 7-2 and 10-2. Leidemann-Smith was 5-for-8 over those two games for seven RBI, while Nelson was 6-for-8 with six runs scored.
About No. 3 UMass Dartmouth
UMass Dartmouth (30-8-1, 13-3 LEC) is enjoying a record-breaking season setting the program record for wins in a season. UMD is 10-3 at home, 12-4-1 on the road and 8-1 in neutral site games. Hitting .295 as a team, the Corsairs are led by Leah Major, Jill Richards and Lindsay Lubbuck who are all hitting over .350 at .355, .353 and .352 respectively. Richards leads UMD with 30 RBI ad has seven doubles and five home runs to her credit.
Richards is also one of the Corsairs top pitchers. At 15-4 this season, Richards has a 1.10 ERA in 127.1 innings pitched with 109 strikeouts. Kaitlyn Shirshac is 13-2 with a 2.46 ERA in 113.2 innings pitched. She has 106 strikeouts this season.
About No. 6 Plymouth State
Plymouth State (12-21, 6-10 LEC) is hitting .267 as a team. Mia Ly and Lauren Archambault lead the Panthers batting .350 and .329 respectively. Ly has a team-leading 16 RBI, and has nine doubles, three triples and two home runs among her 28 hits.
Nicole LeBrun leads PSU with 82.2 inning pitched and a 3.05 ERA with a 6-7 record. She has struck out 77 in 2022, and has held her opponents to a .297 batting average.
2022 Little East Conference Tournament Schedule
Wednesday – May 4, 2022
Game 1: No. 4 Castleton vs. No. 5 UMass Boston
Game 2: No. 3 UMass Dartmouth vs. No. 6 Plymouth State
Game 3: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
Thursday – May 5, 2022
Game 4: No. 1 Eastern Connecticut vs. Game 1 Winner
Game 5: No. 2 Southern Maine vs. Game 2 Winner
Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Loser
Friday – May 6, 2022
Game 7: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner
Game 8: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser
Game 9: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 7 Loser
Saturday – May 7, 2022
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner
Game 11: if necessary
Sunday – May 8, 2022
Rain date
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