GORHAM, Maine – Junior
Kyle Douin (Augusta, Maine/Cony) was 4-for-5 at the plate with five runs scored and seven RBI to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a lopsided sweep of the WestConn Wolves in a Little East Conference doubleheader Friday afternoon at Ed Flaherty Field.
Douin had a double and three homeruns on the day, including his second grand slam of the season in the Huskies 13-1 (7 innings) game one win over the Wolves. Douin was 3-for-3 with six RBI and three runs scored in game one. In game two, a 13-0 win (7 innings), Douin was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and a home run.
Senior
Jack LeBlond (Lewiston, Maine) was 4-for-5 with four runs scored and three RBI, while senior
Connor Burgess (Halifax, Mass./Silver Lake Regional) went 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBI as the Huskies combined for 24 hits over two games.
Records:
GM 1 – Southern Maine 13, WestConn 1 – 7 Innings
WestConn (9-25, 1-14 LEC) 000 000 1 1-5-0
Southern Maine (19-17, 10-5 LEC) 212 215 x 13-13-1
Pitching Records:
WP: SM,
Colin McDonald (4-2), 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
LP: WC, Max Grewal (2-5), 4.1 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
SV, SM,
Kyle Skolfield (Sv, 1), 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB 1 K
GM 2 – Southern Maine 13, WestConn 0 – 7 Innings
WestConn (9-26, 1-15 LEC) 000 000 0 0-1-1
Southern Maine (20-17, 11-5 LEC) 009 004 x 13-11-1
Pitching Records:
WP: SM,
Lucas Francis (4-3), 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
LP: WC, Bryan Mansfield (2-5), 2.2 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
How It Happened – Game One: Southern Maine 13, WestConn 1 – 7 Innings
- Douin led off the Huskies with a solo home run in his first at-bat and finished the game going 3-for-3 at the plate with six RBI as Southern Maine rolled to a 13-1 (7 inning) win in the first game of the doubleheader. Douin finished the game with two home runs and a double to highlight a 13-hit attack from Southern Maine that included six extra-base hits.
- The Huskies' offense flowed easily as Southern Maine scored at least one run in each of its six turns at the plate. Senior Jack LeBlond (Lewiston, Maine/Bridgton Academy) had three RBI on a 3-for-3 effort, including a double and a triple. Senior Anthony Poole (South Portland, Maine) and junior Dylan Firmin (Stratham, NH/Exeter) each finished the game with two hits.
- In control and leading 8-0 after five innings, the Huskies put the game out-of-reach, and put the 10-run rule into play with a five-run bottom of the sixth. LeBlond and Firmin led off the inning with back-to-back singles and senior Joe Bova (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) loaded the bases with a walk. Junior Chris Quigley (Halifax, Mass./Silver Lake Regional) made it a 9-0 game drawing one-out walk for an RBI. WestConn was able to get the second out of the inning, but with the bases still loaded Douin bombed his second home run of the game to right field for a grand slam and four RBI for a 13-0 lead. The grand slam is Douin's second of the season.
- WestConn broke up the shutout in the top of the seventh, scoring a run on an RBI fielder's choice from Jayson Hannah.
- In a designated bullpen day, sophomore Colin McDonald (Gorham, Maine) earned the win as the pitcher of record with 2.0 shut-out innings, allowing one hit and a walk with three strikeouts.
How It Happened – Game Two: Southern Maine 13, WestConn 0 – 7 Inning
- Senior Lucas Francis (Lisbon, Maine) fired five scoreless innings to earn the win, and the Huskies scored nine runs in the third and added four more in the sixth to defeat the Wolves 13-0 in seven innings. Southern Maine continued to hum offensively, collecting 11 hits off of WestConn pitchers, including four for extra bases highlighted by home runs from Douin and senior Connor Burgess (Halifax, Mass./Silver Lake Regional).
- Francis retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced through the opening three innings, giving up single in the second to dominate early. Francis opened the game with a strikeout, and retired WestConn 1-2-3 in the first with a pair of ground outs to follow.
- Locked in a scoreless game, Southern Maine exploded for nine runs in the third on six hits, a walk, two hit-by-pitch plays and an error. Douin led off the big inning for the Huskies with his third home run of the day, knocking a solo shot to center field. Graduate student Sam Economy (Hampden, Maine), Burgess, and sophomores Peter Keblinsky (Ellsworth, Maine) and Mike Anquillare (North Haven, Conn.) each had RBI hits in the inning highlighted by Keblinsky's two-run double.
- After the big third from USM, Francis kept WestConn's bats quiet retiring the next six in a row, and struck out the side in the fifth. The score remained unchanged through the sixth as junior Jack Bruno (Upton, Mass./Nipmuc Regional) relieved Francis and worked around an error to get the Wolves out in the sixth.
- In the bottom of the sixth, Southern Maine tacked on four more runs pushing its lead to 13-0 and invoking the 10-run rule. Anquillare and LeBlond led off the inning with singles, and moved to second and third on a wild pitch. Bova drove in the first run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to left to make it 1-0. After Economy was hit by a pitch, the Huskies had two on and one out for Burgess who drove a three-run home run over the fence in center field to make it 13-0.
- In their final at-bat, the Wolves faced Keblinsky in relief. Keblinsky made quick work of the Wolves in a 1-2-3 inning for the 13-0 final.
Up Next:
Southern Maine will begin preparation for the 2025 Little East Conference Baseball Championship Tournament. The opening day of the tournament is Wednesday, May 7, and will be hosted by Keene State College the number one seed in the tourney. Southern Maine (11-5 LEC) is the fourth seed in the tourney, and will face third seed Eastern Connecticut (12-4 LEC) in the third game of the opening day of the tourney at approximately 3:00 pm. More information will follow.
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