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Lucas Francis
James Liebowitz
Lucas Francis
8
Winner Southern Me. SOUTHERN 11-18
5
Saint Joseph's (Me.) SAINT JO 7-22
Winner
Southern Me. SOUTHERN
11-18
8
Final
5
Saint Joseph's (Me.) SAINT JO
7-22
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Southern Me. SOUTHERN 0 5 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 8 14 4
Saint Joseph's (Me.) SAINT JO 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 5 7 2

W: Skolfield, Kyle (1-0) L: M. Thibault (1-2) S: Burnett, Matt (1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Christina Cracolici, Director of Athletic Communications

Southern Maine Downs Saint Joseph’s 8-5

STANDISH, Maine   –   Senior Lucas Francis (Lisbon, Maine/Lisbon Falls) went 4-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored and four RBI to lead a 14-hit attack as the University of Southern Maine defeated in-state rival Saint Joseph's College Monks 8-5 in a non-conference baseball game Monday afternoon at Mahaney Field.
 
Francis was one of two Husky hitters to collect four hits off of the Monks. Sophomore Kyle Douin (Augusta, Maine/Cony) also went 4-for-5 and added three RBI.
 
USM starter senior Dylan Miner (East Baldwin, Maine/Sacopee Valley) threw 4.0 solid innings allowing three earned runs on five hits and four walks, and exited the game with the Huskies ahead 7-5, but did not pitch enough innings to earn the win.  Reliever sophomore Kyle Skolfield (Gorham, Maine) earned the win pitching two strong innings of relief allowing a pair of hits and striking out two.  Miner and Skolfield were two of five USM pitchers that combined to hold the Monks to seven hits and six walks.
 
Series History:
Today's game marked the 88th meeting in the series between Southern Maine and Saint Joseph's College.  The Huskies lead the overall series 71-17, and are 8-3 in the last 11 games. The Huskies defeated SJC 15-8 in their 2023 meeting in Gorham. 
 
Team Records:
Southern Maine (11-18)        050  210  000    8-14-4
Saint Joseph's (7-23)            020  300  000    5-7-2
 
Pitching Record:
WP:  Kyle Skolfield (1-0), 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
LP:   Matt Thibault (1-2) 4.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
SV:  Matt Burnett (Sv, 1), 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:  Southern Maine 8, Saint Joseph's College 5
  • After a quiet first inning, Francis and Douin hit for power to put the Huskies ahead 5-0 in the top of the second.  Scoring all five runs on two outs, senior Jack LeBlond (Lewiston, Maine/Bridgton Academy) started the rally with a single down the right field line.  Senior Cam Seymour (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) drew the two-out walk to put runners on first and second for the Huskies setting up Francis.  In his first at-bat of the game, Francis cleaned up the runners with a three-run home run and a 3-0 Husky advantage. 
  • Freshman John Poole (South Portland, Maine) extended the inning with a single to center field, and then stole second to put himself in scoring position. Sophomore Hunter Brissette (Lisbon, Maine/Lisbon Falls) put runners on the corners with an infield single before Douin brought both Poole and Brissette home with a two-run double to right for a 5-0 lead.
  • SJC countered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second cutting its deficit to 5-2. Luke Stephens had an RBI fielder's choice grounder, while Alex Moore had an RBI sacrifice fly to right field. Both runs were unearned as USM committed an infield throwing error in the inning.
  • In the top of four, the Huskies tacked on two more runs to grow its lead to 7-2 on four hits.  Douin had an RBI single up the middle, while junior Anthony Poole (South Portland, Maine) added an RBI single to left field to account for the runs.  Francis and Brissette each had singles in the inning.
  • The Monks scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it a two-run game, 7-5. With two outs and a runner at first, SJC used a walk and a triple from Moore to score its first two runs making it a 7-4 game.  Moore then scored the Monks' fifth run of the game on an RBI single down the left field line from Jared Wilhelm.
  • USM scored the final run of the game to get some breathing room in the top of five. Sophomore Chris Quigley (Halifax, Mass./Silver Lake Regional) reached after being hit by a pitch and then moved himself into scoring position with a stolen base. After the Monks earned the second out of the inning, Francis came through for the Huskies once again knocking an RBI single down the right field line to score Quigley and give USM an 8-5 cushion.
  • From there Skolfield kept the Monks off the scoreboard in the fifth and sixth inning. In the fifth, Skolfield worked around a lead off infield single and an error with a strikeout and a double-play ball, and in the sixth he again worked around a single and an error, ending the inning with a foul out to third base.
  • Sophomore Jack Bruno (Upton, Mass./Nipmuc Regional) threw a clean seventh and freshman Colin McDonald (Gorham, Maine) did the same in the eighth.  In the ninth, Burnett got the first two outs on a ground out and a strikeout before yielding a walk and a single, but was able to close the door with another strikeout to end the game.
 
INSIDE THE STATS
  • in batting average. He has five doubles, two home runs and 16 RBI.
 
Up Next:
Southern Maine returns to Little East Conference action but remains on the road for its next contest at Plymouth State University on Tuesday (7:00 pm) at Robbie Mills Field. The Huskies return home on Saturday, April 27 (12:00 pm) for a LEC doubleheader against VTSU-Castleton. Prior to game one, USM Athletics will honor head coach Ed Flaherty for his upcoming retirement at the conclusion of the 2024 season. In between games, Southern Maine will honor Little East Conference Hall of Fame inductee Tucker White '13. 
 
 
-cac-
 
 
 
 
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