BRUNSWICK, Maine –  Sophomore Lexus McIntosh (Lancaster, N.H./White Mountains Regional) had a career-high 10 strikeouts to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 3-1 win over the Bowdoin College Polar Bears in the second game of a non-conference softball doubleheader Thursday night at Pickard Field.  With the game two win, Southern Maine earned a split with Bowdoin.  The Huskies fell in game one 6-3.
 
McIntosh earned her ninth win of the season going the full seven innings. Allowing just one walk and scattering five hits (all singles), McIntosh did not yield an earned run in the contest.  Junior Abby Miner (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) was 4-for-6 with a pair of doubles over the two games, while sophomore Olivia Levasseur was 4-for-8 with a run and an RBI. Senior Hannah Shields (Buckfield, Maine) had two RBI in game two.
 
Series Record:
Today's doubleheader marked the 65^th and 66^th meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Bowdoin College Polar Bears.  Bowdoin leads the overall series 36-29-1; however, Southern Maine has won three of the last five.  The Huskies split with Bowdoin in 2023 (W, 1-0; L, 5-2). 
 
Records:
GM 1 – Bowdoin 6, Southern Maine 3
Southern Maine  (16-4)         100  001 1    3-10-2                                  
Bowdoin (18-7)                     131  001 x    6-9-1
 
Game 1 - Pitching Record:
WP:  Maddie Current (2-0), 7.0 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
LP:   Belle Snyder (5-3), 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
 
 
GM 2 – Southern Maine
Southern Maine  (17-5)         000  201 0   3-7-1
Bowdoin (18-8)                     001  000 0   1-5-0
 
 
Game 2 - Pitching Record:
WP:  Lexus McIntosh (9-2), 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
LP:   Ava Biasotti (0-1), 7.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 5 K
 
 
How It Happened: Game One – Bowdoin 6, Southern Maine 3

• Both Southern Maine and Bowdoin scored a run in the first inning. Senior Rona Scott (Beverly, Mass.) had an RBI single up the middle to put USM ahead 1-0 early before Bowdoin's Chloe Garcia evened the score with a sacrifice fly RBI in the bottom of the inning.
• The Polar Bears surged ahead with three runs in the bottom of the second to take a 4-1 lead. The Polar Bears used three hits, a walk and a pair of Husky fielding errors to account for the runs.  Liv Barrett had an RBI double, while Garcia had an RBI single.
• A single and three walks made it 5-1 in favor of Bowdoin in the bottom of the third. Anika Ewert drew the RBI walk for the Bowdoin run, scoring Penelope Fong-Picariello who led off the inning with a single.
• The Huskies had runners in scoring position in the top of the fourth and fifth inning but were unable to push a run across.  Miner drew a two-out walk in the fifth, and moved to second on a single from Levasseur, but Bowdoin hurler Maddie Current was able to get a strikeout to end the threat.
• USM used strong defense in the bottom of the fifth to keep the game 5-1.  Senior Hannah Shields (Buckfield, Maine) earned a double play with a relay from center field to Scott, and Levesseur and Scott cut down a runner attempting to stretch a single into a double to end the inning.
• The Huskies made it a 5-2 game in the top of the sixth as senior Madi Day (Otisfield, Maine/Oxford Hills) led off the inning with a double and came around to score on an RBI single to the gap in right from sophomore Kendall Migliorini (Salem, N.H.). However, Bowdoin answered in the bottom of the sixth with to make it 6-2.
• The Huskies rallied in the seventh with four hits, but mustered just one run.  Miner earned a one-out single up the middle, and Southern Maine loaded the bases on a single from Levasseur, and Scott.  Day drove in a run with a single down the left field line, keeping the bases loaded and moving the score to 6-3.  However, Current came up big with a foul out and a line out to end the threat and the win.

 
 
How It Happened: Game Two – Southern Maine 3, Bowdoin `

• Trailing 1-0 after the bottom of the third, Southern Maine scored twice in the top of the fourth and added an insurance run in the top of the seventh to pick up the 3-1 win in game two. 
• McIntosh threw a strong game and worked her way out of a jam early in the bottom of the first.  After giving up a lead off single, and a walk, and conceding a passed ball, McIntosh faced runners on second and third with just one out early.  However, the sophomore came-back strong picking up her first and second strikeout of the game to keep Bowdoin off the board.
• The Huskies had a runner in scoring position in the top of the second and third but did not convert. Migliorini had a lead off single in the second, moving to second on a passed ball. And in the third, Miner and Day drew back-to-back walks.
• Bowdoin took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third. Ewert had her second infield single of the game, and moved up to third on a pair of stolen bases before scoring on an RBI fielder's choice from Elise Siciliano. Down 1-0 with one out and runners on second and first, McIntosh again ended the inning with back-to-back strikeouts.
•  Facing a one-run deficit, Southern Maine pushed two runs across in the top of the fourth on three hits and a walk. Migliorini led off the inning with a walk, and the Huskies loaded the bases with back-to-back bunt singles from junior Meaghan Dufresne (Mattapoisett, Mass./Old Rochester) and sophomore Ella Bezanson (Amesbury, Mass.). Shields drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Migliorini.  USM went ahead 2-1 on a two-out RBI single from Levesseaur.
• Staked a lead, McIntosh worked around a pair of infield singles in the fourth, and retired Bowdoin in order in the fifth. In the sixth, USM gave McIntosh another run to cushion her outstanding performance. Dufresne drew a lead off walk, stole second and moved up to third on a sacrifice bunt from Bezanson before Shields hit an RBI double to right for a 3-1 Husky lead.
• McIntosh continued to pitch strong yielding a two-out single in the sixth, and then retiring Bowdoin in order in the seventh.  Her career-high 10^th strikeout came on the final out of the game.

 
 
Inside the Stats

• Miner's two doubles give her 12 on the season. The Huskies' single-season record for doubles is 19 set by Katie Davis in 2010.  Miner is in a six-way tie for 12^th.  Miner's .892 slugging percentage leads the Little East Conference, and is currently ranked 20^th in NCAA Division III.
• Shields' two RBI give her 64 in her career. She is now tied for 17^th in the USM career-record books with Darci Holland '04 (2001-2004)

 
Up Next:
Southern Maine returns home on Saturday, April 20 (1:00 pm) against Rhode Island College in LEC action, and then takes on Salem State on Sunday (1:00 pm) in a non-conference doubleheader.
 
 
 
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