Southern Maine Downs UW-Stevens Point 5-2

Senior SS Sam Dexter had four hits, including a record tying three doubles, in the Huskies' 5-2 win over UW-Stevens Point.

Southern Maine Downs UW-Stevens Point 5-2

            AUBURNDALE, Fla. -- The University of Southern Maine Huskies pounded out 18 hits en route to a 5-2 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in non-conference baseball action Wednesday afternoon at Lake Myrtle Field #3.

            The win snapped the Huskies' two-game losing skid, and improved their overall record to 5-2.  The Pointers, who snapped a four-game losing streak with a 12-1 win over Washington and Jefferson earlier in the day, fell to 2-5.

            Senior Sam Dexter (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) and sophomore Sam Stauble (Harrison,
Maine/Bridgton Academy) paced the Huskies attack with four hits apiece.  Dexter had three doubles for the second time in his career to equal the school single-game record.

            Rookie Kyle O'Connor (Lynn, Mass./Lynn English), junior Matt Bender (Walpole, Mass.), sophomore Nick Bowie (South Paris, Maine/Oxford Hills) and freshman Jake Dexter (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) had two hits apiece for the Huskies.  Jake Dexter also scored two runs.

            Rookie Jack Donnelly (Walpole, Mass.), senior Dan Kinnon (Londonderry, N.H.) and freshman Matt Correale (Peabody, Mass.) combined to limit the Pointers to six hits and two runs (one earned).  Donnelly started on the hill allowing no runs on one hit and four walks with two strikeouts in 4.2 innings.  Kinnon, who picked up his first win of the season, surrendered two runs on three hits over 1.1 innings before Correale came on to get the Huskies out of a seventh-inning jam and go three innings to earn his third save of the year.

            Senior right-hander Luke Watson (Appleton, Wis.) went six innings on the hill for the Pointers giving up four runs (three earned) 12 hits and one walks while fanning five.  No UWSP hitter had more than one hit.

            The Huskies jumped on top with three runs in the fourth inning.  Bowie doubled with one out and scored on an infield error on sophomore Kyle Heath's (Westbrook, Maine) ground ball.  Jake Dexter followed with a single, and O'Connor singled to score Heath.  Bender plated Jake Dexter with another single.  After a walk to Sam Dexter loaded the bases, Watson escaped further damage with a pair of strikeouts.

            USM increased its lead to 4-0 in the sixth after two outs.  Bender singled and came home to score on Sam Dexter double.

            UWSP cut the deficit in half in the seventh with a pair of runs.  Freshman William Iloncaie (East Troy, Wis.) doubled and scored from second on an infield error.  Junior Ben Gerber (Stoughton, Wis.), who reached second on the error, stole third and sophomore Ray Greco (Downers Grove, Ill.) walked putting runners at the corners.  Correale came on to get a double play ball that scored Gerber and a foul out to get out of the inning.

            The Huskies added an insurance run in the eighth inning when Jake Dexter scored on double play ball.

            The Pointers got the tying run to the plate with one out in the ninth, but Correale nailed down the win with a ground out and pop out to Sam Dexter.