LEWISTON, Maine – Keagan Ryan drove in the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly to left to complete a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth as the Bates College Bobcats defeated the No. 28 University of Southern Maine Huskies 8-7 in a non-conference baseball game Sunday afternoon at Leahey Field.
Southern Maine outhit the Bobcats 13-10 in the loss. Junior
Carter Higgins (Truro, Nova Scotia) was 3-for-5 to lead the Huskies, while senior
Kyle Douin (Augusta, Maine/Cony) was 2-for-4 with a run scored, and two RBI, including his 11th home run of the season and 35
th of his career. Sophomore
Caleb Vacchiano (Cornish, Maine/Sacopee Valley) was also 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while freshman
Kaiden Morin (Brewer, Maine) was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
Records:
No. 28 Southern Maine (25-8)
Bates College (20-10)
Pitching Records:
WP: B, Charlie Cariello (1-1), 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
LP: SM,
Jack Bruno (1-2), 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
How It Happened:
- Bates led through three innings, scoring its first run in the second on a solo home run from David Swift and taking a 2-0 lead on an RBI single from Henry Prince.
- Southern Maine took the lead in the fourth scoring three runs on three hits. Douin led off the inning with a solo home run to deep left field. After junior Peter Keblinsky (Ellsworth, Maine) doubled and moved to third on a wild pitch as Vacchiano drew a walk, sophomore Drew Scialdone (Amesbury, Mass.) picked up an RBI with a ground out. Morin made it 3-2 with an RBI single through the left side to score Vacchiano.
- Southern Maine stayed in front and added to its lead in the sixth. Vacchiano led off the inning with a single and moved up to second as Morin drew a two-out walk. Senior Chris Quigley (Halifax, Mass.) brought him around with a RBI single to right field for a 4-2 Husky lead.
- Bates made it a one-run game in the bottom of the seventh, using a lead-off triple to center field from Keagan Ryan and an RBI ground out from Jack Mariloff for a 4-3 game.
- In the top of the eighth, USM scored three more runs to put itself comfortably ahead 7-3. The Huskies collected five of their 13 hits in the game during the inning. Junior Mike Anquillare (North Haven, Conn.) and Morin went for back-to-back singles, and Quigley moved both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt toward third base. Both Morin and Anquillare then scored on a two-run single from senior Hunter Brissette (Lisbon, Maine). After a single from Higgins put Brissette at third, Douin made it 7-3 with a single to center field for an RBI.
- Bates continued to push back and scored twice in the bottom of the inning to trail by two runs 705. Ryan had an RBI after being hit by a pitch, and Margiloff added an RBI single.
- Southern Maine had a lead-off running in the top of nine thanks to a Bates' error, but a double-play and a ground out erased any scoring threat.
- Prince homered to start the ninth for Bates on the third pitch of the inning to quickly make it a one-run game 7-6. A single from David Swift and a walk to Brady Thomas made it two runners on with one out before Luke Yoon stroked a pinch-hit double to tie the game up, scoring Swift. After an intentional walk to load the bases, Ryan stepped in and took a 1-2 pitch to left field deep enough for the RBI and the win.
Up Next:
Southern Maine returns to Little East Conference play on Tuesday (3:30 pm) at UMass Boston. The Huskies are at home against Husson University on Wednesday (3:30 pm) in non-conference action, and close out their regular-season with a Friday conference doubleheader against Eastern Connecticut State (12:00 pm) at Flaherty Field. The 2026 Little East Conference tournament begins on Wednesday, May 6-Saturday, May 9. The top six teams qualify, and the tourney will be played at the highest seed.
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