GORHAM, Maine - Sophomore
Carter Higgins (Truro, Nova Scotia/Cobequid Educational Centre) launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh, and senior
Jack Bruno (Upton, Mass.) and junior
Peter Keblinsky (Ellsworth, Maine) each threw a scoreless inning of relief as the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated the UMass Boston Beacons 7-5 in a Little East Conference baseball game Tuesday afternoon at Ed Flaherty Field.
Junior
Carson Black (Porter, Maine/Sacopee Valley) earned the win for the Huskies to improve to 5-0. Black went seven innings allowing six hits, two walks and three earned runs while striking out six. Keblinsky earned his second save of the season pitching a scoreless ninth.
Records:
UMass Boston (15-12, 5-3 LEC) 000 101 300 5-7-2
Southern Maine (19-5, 9-1 LEC) 302 000 20x 7-8-3
Pitching Records:
WP: SM,
Carson Black, (5-0), 7.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 Ks, 1 HR
LP: UMB, Alex Meesig (2-2), 1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 Ks, 1 HR
SV: SM,
Peter Keblinsky (Sv, 2), 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
How It Happened :
- With Black retiring the Beacons in order to start the game, Southern Maine used the bottom the first two take an early 3-0 lead on four hits. Junior Evan Baschnagel (Garden City, NY/Chaminade) led off with a single to right, and snagged his team-leading 19th stolen base of the season. After a fly ball to center moved Baschnagel to third, Keblinsky drove in the first run of the game with a single. Sophomore Caleb Vacchiano (Cornish, Maine/Sacopee Valley) followed with an infield single before a Beacon fielding error led to the Huskies having runners on second and third with two outs. With runners in scoring position, sophomore Drew Scialdone (Amesbury, Mass.) delivered with a two-run double to left to score both Vacchiano and Keblinsky.
- After a scoreless second, Black had another 1-2-3 inning the top of the third keeping the Huskies up 3-0, heading into the bottom of the inning. In the third, Southern Maine added two more runs to lead 5-0. Vacchiano singled through the right side and after a hit-by-pitch to Scialdone, both runners collected a stolen base to make it runners on second and third with one out. Senior Mike Anquillare (North Haven, Conn.) picked up an RBI with a ground out to short to score Vacchiano, while freshman Kaiden Morin (Brewer, Maine) singled in Scialdone.
- UMB broke up the shutout scoring an unearned run in the top of the fourth. Elliot Miles, who singled to right to reach safely, stole a base and then moved to third on a fielder's choice play. A two out fielding effort from the Huskies allowed Miles to touch home for a 5-1 game.
- After a quiet fifth, the Beacons pushed another run across the plate to cut their deficit to three runs. The Beacons first two base runners reached on a hit-by-pitch and a single from Brandon Gaer, before moving up to second and third on a passed ball. Black got a pop out for the first out, but Ben Sherry hit a sacrifice fly to left for an RBI and a 5-2 game. With a runner still in scoring position, Black got the final out via strikeout.
- The Huskies had just one base runner in the sixth, and the game quickly moved to the top of the seventh. Black recorded the first out with a strikeout looking before allowing a walk and a single through the left side from Dylan Agvent for two UMB baserunners. UMB's Nick Farnacci put a charge into the ball sending it to left field, but Anquillare made a running stab for the second out. Black came back for the next hitter and had Elliot Miles down 0-2 in the count before yielding a three-run home run to left to tie the game. The home run is Miles' eighth of the season.
- With the game tied, Keblinsky led off the seventh drawing a five-pitch walk. After a fly out kept Keblinsky at first, Higgins took his second pitch and put the Huskies up 7-5 sending the ball over center field for his third home run of the season.
- Bruno relieved Carson to start the eighth and retired the Beacons in order sandwiching two fly outs around a strikeout. USM also went down in order in the eighth, sending the game to the ninth with a 7-5 Husky lead. Keblinsky started the ninth with a swinging strikeout before allowing a double to Chase Beloin and a walk to Dylan Agvent. Keblinsky got the second out with a slow grounder to first and then intentionally walked Miles to load the bases. With three on and two outs, Keblinsky protected the two-run lead forcing a pop up to short stop to end the game.
Up Next:
Southern Maine remains home and host Endicott College on Wednesday (3:30 pm), and then Bowdoin College on Thursday (7:00 pm).
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