HUSKIES SWEEP: Southern Maine 7, Salem State 3; Southern Maine 8, Salem State 5

Sophomore Madison Greene pitched 5.2 innings of scoreless relief to earn the Huskies' 8-5 win in game two.
Recap, photo courtesy of  University of Southern Maine

GORHAM, Maine  –  Freshman Hannah Kenney (Oxford, Maine/Oxford Hills) went 4-for-6 with two runs scored and four RBI, senior Amber Kelly (Berwick, Maine/Noble) and sophomore Madison Greene (Moultonborough, N.H.) each had strong performances in the circle to help the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a non-conference doubleheader sweep of the Salem State University Vikings Thursday evening at the USM Softball Stadium.

            Earning the sweep, Southern Maine is now 9-10 on the season.  The Vikings fall to 7-9 with the pair of losses.

            Led by Kenney and junior Brittany Plowman's (Scarborough, Maine) four hits each, Southern Maine collected 22 hits over its two games.  Seniors Courtney Davis (Woburn, Mass.) and Taylor Lux (Arundel, Maine/Thornton Academy), and junior Brooke Cross (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) each had three hits a piece.  Cross and Lux each had two RBI.

GAME ONE: Southern Maine 7, Salem State 3

            Kelly was outstanding in game one for the Huskies allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits over seven innings of work. The senior captain struck out seven and did not give up a walk in the outing.  At the plate, Kelly helped her own cause finishing 2-for-4, including a double, with a run scored.  Kenney and Cross were both 2-for-3 in the opener with an RBI and a run scored, while Lux was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. 

            Down 2-0 after a rough top of the first, Southern Maine bounced back to take the lead, 3-2, in the home half of the inning and never looked back. Kenney and Davis each had an RBI in the inning. The Huskies extended their lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the third, plating three more runs with Cross and Plowman each registering RBIs. USM manufactured another run in the bottom of the fourth after  a lead off double from Kelly, a ground out and a wild pitch put Kelly across home plate to lead 7-2. 

            Salem State earned its third run of the game in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 7-3.  Junior Kasey Nolan (Braintree, Mass.) connected on a one-out double and took third on a USM error and then touched home after an RBI ground out from senior April Adams (Burlington, Mass.), but it was a close as the Vikings would get.  Kelly retired Salem State in order in the top of the sixth and seventh, including back-to-back strikeouts to secure the win.

GAME TWO: Southern Maine 8, Salem State

            Southern Maine overcame a rocky start in game two, rallying back from a 5-1 deficit after two innings to take the sweep. Davis was 3-for-4 for the Huskies, while Kenney and Plowman were both 2-for-3. 

            Salem State scored five runs over the first two innings utilizing five hits and three Husky fielding errors.  In the first, senior Jen Crovo (Melrose, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) and junior Chloe Manous (Lowell, Mass.) each had RBI singles off of USM starter sophomore Alexis Brown (Malden, Mass.) to help the Vikings to a 3-0 lead.  Salem State scored two more in the top of the second, and chased Brown out of the game. Crovo again had an RBI for the Vikings with a sacrifice fly to center field.

            USM's Brown left the game after 1.1 innings pitched and was replaced by Greene.  After working the Huskies out of the second inning, Greene settled in to keep the Vikings off the scoreboard the rest of the way and help her team to the come-from-behind win.  With her first win of the season, Greene worked 5.2 innings of scoreless ball, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out three. 

            Greene pitched a scoreless third and USM rallied for four runs in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game.  The Huskies scored four runs on two hits and a pair of Viking errors.  Kenney had a sacrifice fly RBI, while Cross drove a double to center field for her team-leading 17th RBI of the season in the innings.

            After a scoreless top of the fourth was tossed by Greene, the Huskies took the lead from Salem State with two runs in their turn at the plate on a one-out two-run double to center field from Lux.  Neither team scored in the fifth, and Greene again kept Salem State off balance in the top of the sixth working her way around a one-out single, before the Huskies scored the final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth.  With one out, Kenney launched her team-leading fourth home run over the center field fence for an 8-5 USM lead.  With a three-run lead in place, Greene closed the door on the win. Southern Maine remains at home this weekend and hosts Keene State College in a Little East Conference doubleheader on Saturday (1:00 p.m.).