BRUNSWICK, Maine   –   Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the 10^th inning, the University of Southern Maine Huskies score twice to earn a 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Plymouth State University Panthers in a Little East Conference baseball game Tuesday morning at Pickard Baseball Diamond on the campus of Bowdoin College.  Southern Maine hosted PSU at Bowdoin due to unplayable field conditions in Gorham.
 
Sophomore Hunter Brissette (Lisbon, Maine/Lisbon Falls) drove in the game-tying run, while senior Christian Siciliano (Shrewsbury, Mass./St. John's) had the walk-off RBI single for the late inning heroics.
 
 
Series History:
Today's games marked the 126^th meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Plymouth State University Panthers.  With today's win, Southern Maine leads the overall series 86-39-2, and have won the last 11 consecutively over the Panthers. USM swept the 2023 series with PSU, defeating the Panthers 13-2 (7 innings) on the road on April 18, 2023, and 8-7 at home on May 1, 2023.  
 
Team Records:
Plymouth State (3-9, 0-3 LEC)
Southern Maine (7-14, 3-4 LEC)            
 
Pitching Record:
WP:  Matt Burnett (2-4), 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 Ks
LP:   Eoin Hamell-Kelleher (0-2), 3.2 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 Ks
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:  Southern Maine 5, Plymouth State 4 – 10 innings

• Plymouth State struck early taking a 1-0 lead in the opening inning on an RBI triple from Brendan Flynn, and road the arm of Panther starter Adam Siravo through six scoreless innings. Siravo left the game after the sixth inning up 1-0, and held the Huskies to just three hits and three walks while striking out nine. 
• Husky starter freshman Carson Black (Porter, Maine/Sacopee Valley) was equally as strong in his start.  Carson held the Panthers to three runs on five hits in seven innings pitched. In the top of the sixth, Carson worked his way out of a jam with runners on first and second and one out, getting back-to-back strikeouts.
• In the home half of the sixth, USM threatened with the bases loaded following a lead-off double from sophomore Kyle Douin (Augusta, Maine/Cony) and back-to-back walks.  But Siravo ended the threat with back-to-back striekouts of his own.
• Still up 1-0, PSU struck for a run in the top of the seventh. Jackson Curtis had an RBI single to score Tyler Hicks, who reached safely after being hit by a pitch. PSU nearly had two runs in the inning off of Curtis' single, but Brissette gunned down the second runner trying to reach home with a throw to the plate to keep it a 2-0 game.
• Facing a 2-0 deficit, Southern Maine surged ahead of the Panther with three runs in the bottom of the seventh.  After USM's first two batters reached, Brissette singled up the middle to drive in the first run of the game for the Huskies, while Douin and junior Anthony Poole (South Portland, Maine) each had RBI singles to right field for a 3-2 Husky advantage.  The Huskies threated for more as Siciliano's single to left loaded the bases with one out, but PSU reliever Eoin Hamell-Kelleher closed the inning with a strikeout and a ground out.
• After Black allowed a walk to PSU's Luke Sokolski, giving the Panthers a lead off runner, senior Matt Burnett (Ellsworth, Maine) entered the game.  After a walk, and a strikeout, Sam Malgeri singled in game-tying run for the Panthers, scoring Sokolski. Burnett bounced back, however, getting the next two outs, but the score was knotted up at 4-4.
• USM threatened with runners on first and third in the eighth, but were unable to generate a run.  In the top of the ninth, Burnett forced the Panthers into three ground outs keeping the score level headed to the bottom of nine. Senior Jack LeBlond (Lewiston, Maine/Bridgton Academy) worked a two-out double in the ninth to give Southern Maine some life, but Hamell-Kelleher got the ground out on the next play.
• In extra innings, Sokolski led off the 10^th with a single, and Flynn made it runners on first and second after being hit by a pitch.  USM was able to cut down the lead runner, Sokolski, on a fielder's choice bunt attempt to get the first out.  PSU nearly hit into a double-play, but a throwing error on the play allowed for a PSU unearned run, and a 4-3 lead, with two outs.  With a runner on first and third with two outs, Burnett ended the inning for the Huskies with a strikeout. 
• Sophomore Chris Quigley (Halifax, Mass./Silver Lake Regional) led off the bottom of the 10^th with a double to left to give USM the tying run in scoring position in its potential final at bat. With Quigley moving up to third on a ground out, Brissette launched an RBI sacrifice fly to center field to tie the game.  The Huskies then received back-to-back singles from Douin and Poole for runners on first and second with one out.  USM loaded the bases on an infield error by the Panthers, before Siciliano laced a single down the left field line for the 5-4 walk off victory.

 
INSIDE THE STATS

• Douin finished the game 4-fo-r5 with an RBI, including a double.  He was one of three Huskies, joining Quigley and LeBlond, with doubles in today's game.
• Quigley was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while Siciliano and LeBlond each had two hits.
• Black finished the game with 7.0 innings pitched, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and three walks. He had eight strikeouts in the start. 

 
Up Next:
Southern Maine returns to action on Wednesday (4:00 pm) at Colby College. Originally scheduled to be played at Ed Flaherty Field in Gorham, the game has been moved to Waterville due to field conditions. The Huskies are slated to host Babson College on Thursday (3:30 pm). USM returns to Little East Conference action on Saturday, April 13 hosting Eastern Connecticut in a doubleheader (12:00 & 3:00 pm).
 
 
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