GORHAM, Maine – Junior Gabe Gifford (Bradley, Maine/Old Town) of the no. 29 University of Southern Maine Huskies' baseball team has been named the Little East Conference Pitcher of the Week.  Earning the first weekly accolade of his Southern Maine career, Gifford is one of six Huskies' to be recognized by the Little East this season and the third to earn pitcher of the week accolades.
 
In his lone appearance of the week, Gifford earned the win over Eastern Connecticut State University in game two of a Little East Conference doubleheader to seal the Huskies' regular season championship and top-seed/hosting rights for the tournament.  Firing six strong innings, Gifford allowed one earned run on six hits and three walks in a 19-8 (8 inning) win over the Warriors. Gifford started the game out with back-to-back strikeouts and finished the game with eight over his six innings of work.
 
Making 12 appearances and eight starts so far in 2026, Gifford is 4-2 with a 2.40 ERA. In 48.2 innings, Gifford has 70 strikeouts and has held his opponents to a .193 batting average, yielding just 35 hits. Gifford has reached double-digits in strikeouts in three games this season, including a career and season-best 11 twice. 
 
The 2026 Little East Conference Regular Season co-Champions, the nationally-ranked Huskies are the top seed in the upcoming Little East Conference Championship Tournament. Southern Maine will host the top six teams for a double-elimination championship May 6-9.  Southern Maine opens its tourney against sixth-seed VTSU-Castleton on Wednesday (12:00 pm).
 
 
 

2026 Southern Maine Baseball Weekly Awards

 
Evan Baschnagel                                                                              Little East Player of the Week, March 16
                                                                                                        Little East Player of the Week, April 6
 
Colin McDonald                                                                                MCBSA Pitcher of the Week, March 24
 
Hayden Strout                                                                                  MCBSA Rookie of the Week, March 17
                                                                                                        Little East Pitcher of the Week, April 27
 
Carson Black                                                                                    Little East Pitcher of the Week, March 30
 
Kyle Douin                                                                                        MCBSA Player of the Week, March 31
                                                                                                        Little East Player of the Week, April 13
                                                                                                        MCBSA Player of the Week, April 14
                                                                                                        Little East Player of the Week, April 27
                                                                                                        MCBSA Player of the Week, April 28
 
Kaiden Morin                                                                                    Little East Rookie of the Week, April 6
 
Gabe Gifford                                                                                     Little East Pitcher of the Week, May 4
 
 
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