Huskies hold on to pin Seahawks with second defeat of the year

GORHAM, Maine -- The University of Southern Maine used two big innings to build an early lead, then held off visiting Salve Regina University for an 8-6 non-conference baseball win Sunday afternoon at Ed Flaherty Field.

The win was the second straight for the Huskies and improved their overall record to 20-8.  The loss snapped the Seahawks eight-game winning streak as they fall to 16-11 overall.

Down 2-0 in the second inning, the Huskies scored three times on two hit batters, a walk, a ground out and a two-run single from senior Kyle Heath (Westbrook, Maine) to assume the lead.  SRU rookie starter Andrew Roman (Monson, Mass./Pathfinder), making his first start of the season, loaded the bases loaded the bases by hitting sophomore Dylan Hapworth (Winslow, Maine) with  pitch, walking sophomore Andrew Hillier (Bangor, Maine), and plunking junior Jake Dexter (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee).  Sophomore Anthony Degifico (South Portland, Maine) plated Hapworth with a ground out, and Heath followed with his two-run single to right-center field.

Salve Regina chipped away with a run in the fourth on a double from junior Zack Smith (New Canaan, Conn.), a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from senior Christian Vargas (Melbourne, Fla.).

In the home half, the Huskies batted around to score four times increasing their lead to 7-3.  Consecutive two-out singles from Heath, rookie Sam Troiano (South Portland, Maine) and junior Zach Quintal (Eliot, Maine/Marshwood) produced the first two runs and end Roman's day on the hill.

Sophomore reliever Tom Beliveau (West Newbury, Mass./St. Thomas Aquinas) came on to walk sophomore Andrew Olszak (Danvers, Mass.) before junior Devin Warren (Smithfield, Maine/Messalonskee) delivered a two-run single.

The Huskies made it 8-3 in the fifth scoring their final run on an infield throwing error that allowed sophomore Andrew Hillier (Bangor, Maine) to score from second base.

The Seahawks chipped away for two runs in the sixth when a fly ball was misplayed in the outfield for an error.  Senior John Militano (Miller Place, N.Y./Nashoba Regional) led off the seventh with a double, stole third and scored on senior Alex Perry's (North Attleboro, Mass./Bishop Feehan) ground out.

USM sophomore Colton Lawrence (Farmington, Maine/Mt. Blue), who came on after Militano's double in the seventh, retired all six batters he faced on a strikeout and five consecutive ground balls and was credited with his fourth win.  Dexter came on to earned his 10th save of the season striking out the side in the ninth.

Warren and Heath each had two singles to lead the Huskies' eight-hit attack.  Militano was the lone repeat hitter in the Seahawks' seven-hit attack.  Roman was saddled with the loss leveling his record at 1-1.

These two teams have played twice this year - 1,500 miles apart - first in Auburndale, Fla., on Sun., March 11, and today in Gorham, Maine.

Southern Maine returns to Flaherty Field on Tuesday (3:30 p.m.) to host Little East Conference leader, the University of Massachusetts Boston.  Salve Regina will host Curry College tomorrow (2 p.m.) in a rescheduled Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader.