WILLAMANTIC, Conn. – Sophomore
Colin McDonald (Gorham, Maine) fired six strong innings, and sophomore
Peter Keblinsky (Ellsworth, Maine) drove in two runs and earned the save to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 3-2 win over the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors in the game one of a Little East Conference doubleheader Sunday afternoon.
McDonald pitched six full, allowing just five hits and two walks while striking out five leaving the game up 3-2. Husky relievers
TJ Llerena and Keblinsky were outstanding in relief. Llerena pitched two innings of scoreless and hitless relief over the seventh and eighth inning before Keblinsky picked up his fourth save of the season.
Records:
GM 1 – Southern Maine 3, Eastern Connecticut 2
Southern Maine (9-13, 6-2 LEC) 000 030 000 3-6-1
Eastern Connecticut (17-6, 6-2 LEC) 000 020 000 2-5-1
Pitching Records:
WP: SM,
Colin McDonald (3-2), 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
LP: EC, Francis Ferguson (2-2), 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 10 K
SV: SM,
Peter Keblinsky (Sv, 4) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
GM 2 – Southern Maine
Southern Maine (9-14, 6-3 LEC) 000 010 001 2-9-1
Eastern Connecticut (18-6, 7-2 LEC) 000 020 10x 3-7-2
Pitching Records:
WP: EC, Matthew Wootton (3-0), 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
LP: SM,
Carson Black (3-3), 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 1 K
SV: EC, Tyler Rice (Sv, 4), 1.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
How It Happened – Game One: Southern Maine 3, Eastern Connecticut 2
- Scoreless through four innings as both pitchers were locked in, the Huskies jumped to a 3-0 lead in the top of the fifth. Senior Anthony Poole (South Portland, Maine) drove in the first run of the game with an RBI double to right and moved up to third on a single from junior Kyle Douin (Augusta, Maine/Cony). With two runners in scoring position, Keblinsky – who was 0-for-2 prior to this at bat – laced a double into the gap in right for two runs and a 3-0 USM lead.
- Husky starter Colin McDonald who had a pair of strikeouts and just two hits against him through the first four innings continued to control the game in the bottom of the fifth getting a strikeout and two fly outs to keep Eastern off the board.
- In the sixth, the Warriors came back for two runs. Josh Cofrancesco had a sac fly RBI and Preston Cosme-Cruz had an RBI single.
- With their lead cut to one run, the Huskies used an outstanding performance from Llerena. Llerena retired all six batters faced keeping USM's one-run lead safe. In the bottom of the ninth, the Huskies' rode the arm of Keblinsky, who shut the door on the game in a 1-2-3 inning.
How It Happened – Game Two: Eastern Connecticut 3, Southern Maine 2
- After a scoreless four innings, the Huskies took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth. Freshman Drew Scialdone (Amesbury, Mass.) knocked a one out triple down the right field line to start USM off, and scored on an RBI from junior Dylan Firmin (Stratham, NH/Exeter).
- Eastern Connecticut came back in the home half of the inning with a pair of runs including an RBI double from Ray Leonzi and an RBI single from Hank Penders.
- The Warriors bumped their lead to 3-1 with a run in the bottom of the seventh on a fielder's choice RBI from Alejandro Soriano.
- The Huskies rallied for a run in the top of the seventh, cutting their deficit to 3-2. The Huskies' rally started with two outs as sophomore Mike Anquillare (North Haven, Conn.) and Scialdone went back-to-back for singles before Firmin picked up an RBI with a single to right. The Huskies kept rolling with another single from senior Jack Leblond (Lewiston, Maine/Bridgton Academy) but Eastern's Tyler Rice bounced back to get the last out for the win.
Up Next:
Southern Maine hosts a trio of non-conference single games during next week, hosting Bowdoin on Tuesday (7:00 pm) and Endicott College on Wednesday (3:30 pm) and UMaine Farmington on Thursday (3:30 pm). The Huskies are on the road during the weekend at Keene State for a LEC doubleheader on Saturday (12:00 pm).
-cac-
