GORHAM, Maine – Securing the no. 4 seed, the University of Southern Maine Huskies are preparing to compete at the 2024 Little East Conference Baseball Tournament Championship, May 8-11. Hosted by the No. 1 seed UMass Boston Beacons, the top six teams in the final regular season standings qualify for the double-elimination championship tournament. Southern Maine will face No. 3 seed UMass Dartmouth Corsairs on Wednesday (7:00 pm).
The 2024 Little East Conference Champion will receive the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament, beginning with Regional Championships starting May 19. Sixty teams will be selected for the championship field. The NCAA will host an online selection show on May 13 (12:00 pm EST) announcing participating teams and regional sites.
THE BASICS
When: Wednesday, May 8 – Saturday, May 11, 2024
Where: Monan Park, UMass Boston
Participating Teams: Eastern Connecticut, Keene State, Rhode Island College, UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth, Southern Maine.
The History:
Southern Maine has won the LEC tournament championship six times (1997, 1999, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2021) and has finished as the tournament runner-up seven times (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2014). The tournament championship was first sponsored by the Little East Conference in 1997.
In 27 appearances in the Little East Conference Tournament Championship (1997-2023* - no tourney in 2020), Southern Maine has played in 103 games and has a record of 62-41 (.601 winning percentage).
2024 Little East Conference Tournament Seeds
- UMass Boston 24-13 (13-3)
- Eastern Connecticut 27-11 (13-3)
- UMass Dartmouth 20-18-1 (12-4)
- Southern Maine 17-19 (9-7)
- Keene State 20-20 (8-8)
- Rhode Island College 16-17 (6-10)
2024 LEC Championship Format
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Game 1: No. 1 UMass Boston vs. No. 6 Rhode Island College | 12:00 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Eastern Connecticut vs. No. 5 Keene State | 3:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 3 UMass Dartmouth vs. No. 4 Southern Maine | 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 9, 2024
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser 2 | 12:00 p.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3 | 3:30 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3 | 7:00 p.m.
If four teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed:
Friday, May 10, 2024
Game 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 | 12:00 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 6 | 3:30 p.m.
Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 | 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9 | 12:00 p.m.
Game 11: If Necessary: Same teams as in Game 10 | 3:30 p.m.
If five teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed:
Friday, May 10, 2024
Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 | 12:00 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 Game | 3:30 p.m.
9: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7 | 7:00 p.m.
If two teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed:
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9 | 12:00 p.m.
Game 11: If Necessary: Same teams as Game 10 | 3:30 p.m.
If three teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed:
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9 | 12:00 p.m.
Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 | 3:30 p.m.
About the 2024 Huskies
Playing a challenging out of conference schedule, the Huskies are 17-19 overall and 9-7 in the Little East. The Huskies had conference wins over Rhode Island College (2-0), Plymouth State (2-0), Eastern Connecticut (1-1), Keene State (1-1), VTSU-Castleton (2-0) and WestConn (1-1). Southern Maine has played 13 games against teams that are in the latest ABCA Division III National Poll or in the receiving votes category.
As a team, USM is hitting .289 and are led sophomore
Kyle Douin (Augusta, Maine/Cony), junior
Anthony Poole (South Portland, Maine), sophomore
Hunter Brissette (Lisbon, Maine/Lisbon Falls) and senior
Lucas Francis (Lisbon, Maine/Lisbon Falls). Douin is hitting .379 (61-for-161) with 42 runs scored and 67 RBI. He has 16 doubles, three triples and 13 home runs for a .758 slugging percentage. Poole is hitting at a .349 clip (52-for-149) with 33 runs and 33 RBI. He has nine doubles, three triples and five home runs. Both Brissette and Francis are hitting .346. Brissette has 19 RBI and has 40 runs scored – he leads USM in stolen bases with five. Francis has 15 RBI and 20 runs scored.
Junior
Clay Robbins (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) and graduate student
Owen Sullivan (Biddeford, Maine) have led the way on the mound. Robbins has a team-high of 56.1 innings pitched with 56 strikeouts with a 4.15 ERA. Sullivan has fired 42.2 innings with 52 strikeouts. Freshman
Carson Black (Porter, Maine/Sacopee Valley) has made 16 appearances and has earned wins in two starts with a 3.55 earned run average. He has 43 strikeouts in 38.0 innings.
About UMass Dartmouth
Hitting .307 as a team, UMass Dartmouth has four players hitting over .300 led by Devyn Vezina's .398 average. Going 47-for-118 from the plate, Vezina has 35 RBI with six doubles, a triple and a home run. Andrew Possi is hitting .393 with 25 RBI, nine doubles, and two triples.
With a deep pitching staff, UMD is led by Adam Maher and Ryan Qualey. Maher is 5-2 in nine appearances and 46 innings. Maher has a 3.33 ERA, and has 76 strikeouts against just 12 walks this season. He has held his opponents to a .185 batting average. Qualey has 56.0 innings this season and a 2-3 record in 10 appearances. Holding a 5.79 ERA, he has held opponents to a .252 average and has 45 strikeouts.
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