RINDGE, NH – Matthew Wootten fired seven scoreless innings of two-hit baseball to lead the No. 3 Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors to a 3-1 win over the No. 4 University of Southern Maine Huskies in the third game of the 2025 Little East Conference Baseball Championship Tournament Wednesday evening at Franklin Pierce University's Pappas Field.
With the win, ECSU advances to day two and will face Rhode Island College at 2:00 pm on Thursday at the Owl Athletic Complex. Southern Maine remains alive but is in a must-win situation, and will face regular season champion and tournament host Keene State College at 11:30 am on Thursday.
Wootten gave up just two hits, both singles, and a walk in seven innings of work while striking out eight. Husky starter sophomore
Colin McDonald (Gorham, Maine) turned in an outstanding effort pitching 7.2 innings and allowing one earned run on five hits and a walk while striking out four.
Record:
No. 3 Eastern Connecticut No. 4 Southern Maine
Southern Maine (20-18) 000 000 010 1-6-1
Eastern Connecticut (28-11) 000 002 01x 3-6-0
Pitching Records:
WP: ECSU, Matthew Wootton (4-2), 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
LP: SM,
Colin McDonald (4-3), 7.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
SV, ECSU, Tyler Rice (Sv, 5), 1.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
How It Happened – Eastern Connecticut 3, Southern Maine 1
- Scoreless through the top of the sixth, Eastern Connecticut broke through for a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the inning to jump ahead of the Huskies 2-0. Ray Leonzi led off with a double to the gap in right for the Warriors. After McDonald got the first out with a fly ball to center advancing Leonzi to third, Leonzi came around to score on a fielding error in the outfield for a 1-0 lead, and a runner on second. After a balk put the Warrior runner on third, ECSU's Alejandro Soriano made it 2-0 with an RBI ground out to short. McDonald came back for the final out of the inning with a strikeout.
- The Huskies had a chance to score in the top of the seventh as senior Anthony Poole (South Portland, Maine) drew a lead-off walk and advanced to third but was left stranded. In the bottom of the seventh, Francis Ferguson started with a single for the Warriors, but was erased on a double play ball before McDonald ended the inning with another strikeout.
- USM made it a 2-1 game in the top of the eighth. Senior Jack LeBlond (Lewiston, Maine/Bridgton Academy) led off with a walk and moved to second when senior Joe Bova (Boston, Mass./The Winchendon School) was struck by a pitch with one out for runners on first and second. With two runners on junior Chris Quigley (Halifax, Mass./Silver Lake Regional) came through with a single up the middle for the RBI scoring LeBlond. Bova moved up to third on the same play but was left on the bases Tyler Rice entered the game for the Warriors to get the final two outs and end the threat.
- ECSU took back the run in the bottom of the eighth to lead 3-1 when Hank Penders had an RBI ground out to second, scoring Leonzi who had reached with a one-out double to left earlier in the inning.
- Southern Maine looked poised to at least tie the game in the top of the ninth when senior Kyle Douin (Augusta, Maine/Cony) and sophomore Peter Keblinsky (Ellsworth, Maine) started the inning with back-to-back singles and sophomore Mike Anquillare (North Haven, Conn.) loaded the bases with a perfectly placed bunt single towards third base. However, the Warriors and Rice were able to keep USM off the scoreboard getting the next three batters in order all on strikeouts for the win.
Up Next:
The Huskies will face regular season champion Keene State College on Thursday, May 8 (11:30 am) in the second day of the 2025 Little East Conference baseball championship. The Huskies need to earn a win over the Owls to remain alive in the tourney.
2025 Little East Conference Tournament Seeds – Regular Season Records
- Keene State 21-15 (13-3 LEC)
- UMass Boston 24-15 (12-4 LEC)
- Eastern Connecticut 27-11 (12-4 LEC)
- Southern Maine 20-17 (11-5 LEC)
- Rhode Island College 16-21 (9-8 LEC)
- UMass Dartmouth 16-18 (8-8 LEC)
2025 LEC Championship Format
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Game 1: No. 1 Keene State vs. No. 6 UMass Dartmouth – Keene State 12-1 (7 innings)
Game 2: No. 2 UMass Boston vs. No. 5 Rhode Island College – Rhode Island College 7-0
Game 3: No. 3 Eastern Connecticut vs. No. 4 Southern Maine – Eastern Connecticut 3-1
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Game 4: UMass Dartmouth (home) vs. UMass Boston (away) - 9:00 a.m.
Game 5: Keene State (home) vs. Southern Maine - 11:30 a.m.
Game 6: Rhode Island College vs. Eastern Connecticut - 2:00 p.m.
If four teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed:
Friday, May 9, 2025
Game 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 - 9:00 a.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 6 - 11:30 a.m.
Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 - 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9 - 12:00 p.m.
Game 11: If Necessary - Same teams as in Game 10 - 3:00 p.m.
If five teams remain after Game 6, the following procedure will be observed:
Friday, May 9, 2025
Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 - 9:00 a.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 - 11:30 a.m.
Game 9: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7 - 2:00 p.m.
If two teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed:
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9 - 12:00 p.m.
Game 11: If Necessary: Same teams as Game 10 - 3:00 p.m.
If three teams remain after Game 9, the following procedure will be observed:
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9 - 12:00 p.m.
Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 - 3:00 p.m.
-cac-
