GORHAM, Maine – Trailing 1-0 through three and a half innings, top-seed University of Southern Maine exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fourth and rode the strong pitching of junior
Gabe Gifford (Bradley, Maine/Old Town) to earn an 11-1 (8 inning) win over the fourth-seed Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors in game five of the 2026 Little East Conference Baseball Championship Tournament Thursday afternoon at Flaherty Field. Gifford went the full eight innings and held ECSU to one run on seven hits and had five strikeouts.
With the win, Southern Maine is 2-0 in the tourney and advances to play the winner of the No. 2 Keene State vs. No. 3 UMass Dartmouth game on Friday (12:00 pm). Eastern Connecticut is eliminated from the tourney.
The Huskies collected 13 hits off of the Warriors' battery. Junior
Mike Anquillare (North Haven, Conn.) was 3-for-4, including an RBI double. Senior
Kyle Douin (Augusta, Maine/Cony), junior
Peter Keblinsky (Ellsworth, Maine) and sophomore
Caleb Vacchiano (Cornish, Maine/Sacopee Valley) each had two hits. Junior
Evan Baschnagel went 1-for-3, driving in three runs with a fourth-inning bases-clearing double.
Records:
No. 4 Eastern Connecticut (25-15-1) 010 000 00 1-7-0
No. 1 Southern Maine (28-10) 000 520 04 11-13-0
Pitching Records:
WP: SM,
Gabe Gifford (5-2), 8.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 Ks
LP: EC, Stephen Rickert (6-3), 4.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 Ks
SV: none
How It Happened:
- After a scoreless first, Eastern Connecticut took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Warrior Ian Moser led off the inning with a bloop double to right field and advanced to third on a single from Kieran Scruggs, but was cut down on a strong play at the plate on a fielder's choice bunt from Danny DiNorcia. Husky senior Chris Quigley (Halifax, Mass.) fielded the ball cleanly and freshman Kaiden Morin (Brewer, Maine) made the tag for the first out. After Gifford picked up a strikeout for the second out of the inning, ECSU's Matthew Carrera singled in a Scruggs for the 1-0 lead before the final out was recorded.
- ECSU starter Stephen Rickert cruised in the first two innings and retired seven consecutive Huskies before yielding a single to freshman James Main (Northstonington, Conn.); however, Rickert came back with a pair of strikeouts after a hit-by-pitch to end the threat. In the top of the fourth, Gifford worked around two walks getting a pair of ground outs before ending the inning with one of his five strikeouts in the game.
- Still trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Keblinsky gave USM its lead runner with a single, and moved up to second after Vacchiano was hit by a pitch. A single through the right side from Anquillare loaded the bases for Southern Maine with no outs, and a wild pitch allowed Keblinsky to score for a 1-1 game. After one out was recorded, Main drew a walk to load the bases again, and another wild pitch brough in Vacchiano for a 2-1 USM advantage. With the bases still full, Baschnagel took the first pitch he saw in the at bat and doubled to left field clearing the bases for a 5-1 USM lead.
- ECSU had a lead runner with a walk in the fifth, but Quigley stabbed at a sharply hit ball and was able to convert the double play to quickly give USM two outs. Teige Kimbler singled through the right side to extend the inning, but Gifford induced a pop fly to second base to move to the bottom of five.
- The Huskies added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth as Anquillare knocked an RBI double and Morin had a sacrifice fly to right field as part of a three-hit inning for Southern Maine. Keblinsky and Vacchiano started the inning with back-to-back singles, setting the table for Anquillare and Vacchiano.
- Gifford was outstanding in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings for the Huskies. Retiring the Warriors in order in the sixth on nine pitches, the Husky left-hander worked around a two-out single from Penders. In the top of eighth, Gifford had another 1-2-3 inning getting a strikeout to start and the back-to-back ground outs to move the game to the bottom of the inning.
- Southern Maine earned the eight-inning win, scoring four runs to invoke the 10-run rule. Douin had a two-run single in the inning, while Keblinsky had an RBI ground out for a 10-1 Husky lead. Vacchiano ended the game with an RBI double to the gap in right, scoring Douin for the final.
Up Next:
Southern Maine advances to play on Friday (12:00 pm). The Huskies will face the winner of the No. 2 Keene State vs. No. 3 UMass Dartmouth game.
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