GORHAM, Maine – Senior
Kristina Yebba (Danvers, Mass.) hit a two-out, walk-off single to lift the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 3-2 win over the Plymouth State University Panthers in game two of a Little East Conference doubleheader Tuesday evening at the USM Softball Stadium. The Huskies dropped a close one, 2-1, in the opener,
Yebba was 3-for-6 over the two games with a double and two RBI. Senior
Kendall Migliorini (Salem, NH) was 2-for-2 as a pinch-hitter with an RBI single. Freshman
Emily Wheeler (Old Town, Maine) was 4-for-7 with a triple and a run scored.
Sophomore
Mia Coots (Hartland, Maine/Nokomis) earned her 10
th win of the season (10-6) going a full seven in game two and allowing seven hits and three walks while striking out five. Senior
Mackenzie Kingsbury (Woodsville, NH) took the loss in game one despite a solid effort going seven innings and allowing two earned runs on six hits and three walks while striking out five.
Records:
GM 1 – PSU 2, Southern Maine 1
Plymouth State (13-13-1, 5-2 Little East) 100 001 0. 2-6-0
Southern Maine (18-10, 2-7 Little East) 000 100 0. 1-9-1
GM 2 –Southern Maine 3, PSU 2
Plymouth State (13-14-1, 5-3 Little East) 001 000 1. 2-7-1
Southern Maine (19-10, 3-7 Little East) 010 010 1. 3-10-1
Pitching Records:
GM 1 – Southern Maine vs Plymouth State
WP: PSU, Allie Cecere (8-4), 7.0 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 Ks
LP:
Mackenzie Kingsbury (4-1), 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 Ks
GM 2 – Southern Maine vs Plymouth State
WP: SM,
Mia Coots (10-6), 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 Ks
LP: PSU, Emily Antrim (3-6), 6.2 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 Ks
How It Happened: Game One
- Connecting on two of its six hits in the game in the top of the first, Plymouth State took an early 1-0 lead on an RBI single from Avery Couch. Kenzie Bessette led off the inning with a bunt single and stole second to move into scoring position. Bissette then used her speed to score off of Couch's single to left field.
- Southern Maine also had a pair of singles in the first from sophomore Aislin Davis (Tewksbury, Mass.) and freshman Emily Wheeler (Old Town, Maine), but were unable to snag the tying run despite both runners moving into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt.
- Both Husky starter Mackenzie Kingsbury (Woodsville, NH) and PSU's Allie Cecere pitched outstanding games. Kingsbury retired the Panthers in order in the second and worked around lead-off walk in the third. Freshman Brielle Foote (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy) helped Kingsbury out in the second throwing out a runner attempting to steal second.
- Kingsbury dominated the fourth with three consecutive outs, including one of her five strikeouts in the game. IN the bottom of the inning, Southern Maine evened the score. Sophomore Hannah Garcia (Dartmouth, Mass.) singled up the middle to start the rally. After a passed ball put pinch-runner freshman Caitlyn LeMay (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy) in scoring position, Yebba knocked a two-out double to the gap in right for an RBI.
- Kingsbury worked around a two-out error in the fifth keeping the game tied and the Huskies were unable to convert a single from Wheeler for a run in the bottom half of the inning.
- PSU scored the go-ahead run in the sixth. Emily Bessett doubled to center to lead off and Couch brought her home with a double to left. Kingsbury was able to bounce back getting out the inning without any further damage despite having runners on first and third.
- USM's Garcia single to right with one out to give USM a base runner, and after a single from pinch-hitter sophomore Ava Gerrish (Limerick, Maine/Massabesic), the Huskies had two on with one out, but an inning-ending double-play on a line-drive stopped the Huskies.
- USM had a chance in the bottom of seven to extend the game as senior Kendall Migliorini (Salem, NH) had a pinch hit single up the middle, but the Huskies' next three batters were unable to bring her around for the 2-1 final.
Game Two
- Southern Maine took a 1-0 lead in the second as senior Olivia Levasseur (Amesbury, Mass.) led off the inning with a double to the gap in right. After a sacrifice bunt from Yebba moved her up to third, Levasseur scored on an RBI sacrifice fly from sophomore Gwen Christie (Barnstead, NH/Prospect Mountain).
- PSU came right back in the top of third, however, to tie the game up. Kenzie Bessette singled to right field and stole second before moving to third on a sacrifice play. Couch made it 1-1 for the Panthers with a sacrifice fly RBI to right field.
- Huskies' sophomore Mia Coots (Hartland, Maine/Nokomis) had back-to-back strikeouts for a quick 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, and worked around a two-out single in the fifth to keep the game at 1-1. In the bottom of the fifth, Migliorini had a pinch-hit RBI single with a shot to left field to make it 2-1. Wheeler got herself into scoring position with a one-out triple to the gap in right before Migliorini converted on two-outs.
- In the top of the sixth, Coots protected the lead getting a pop up, a fielder's choice and a fly out around a one-out single up the middle from Nezuch. In the bottom of the inning the Huskies had the bases loaded with singles from Yebba, junior pinch-hitter Brianna Grenier (Cumberland, RI) and Foote but were unable to bring in a run despite having two outs available.
- In the top of seven, PSU tied the game as Eva Zuber led off with a single. After a sacrifice play and a walk had Panthers on first and third, Ariana Cray made it a tied game with an RBI single to center field.
- The Huskies were able to walk it off in the bottom of the seventh as senior Ella Bezanson (Amesbury, Mass.) led off with a single. Moving to second on a sacrifice bunt from Migliorini, Bezanson ran hard to score the game-winning run as Yebba planted an RBI single to right field for the win.
Up Next:
Southern Maine travels to Husson University on Thursday (4:00 pm) for a non-conference doubleheader and then returns home on Saturday, April 25 for a LEC doubleheader with VTSU-Castleton (12:00/2:00 pm). The Huskies will be hosting their Little League #GirlsWithGame Celebration with Strong Girls United.
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