Southern Maine Splits Against UMass Dartmouth, 9-6; 7-9

Peter Keblinsky had three RBI and the save in USM's win over UMass Dartmouth in game one.

McDonald 9Ks in Game One Win; Poole Collects 5 Hits

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass.   –  Sophomore Colin McDonald earned his second consecutive win in conference action picking up nine strikeouts, and junior Peter Keblinsky (Ellsworth, Maine) drove in three runs on 2-for-4 hitting and earned a two-inning save to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 9-6 win in game one of a Little East Conference doubleheader against UMass Dartmouth.  Southern Maine dropped game two, 9-7, for the split. 
 
Senior Anthony Poole (South Portland, Maine) was 4-for-5 in game one, and finished the doubleheader 5-for-10 with two RBI, four runs scored, a stolen base and three putouts.
 
Originally scheduled to be played at Flaherty Field in Gorham, the game switched venues due to surface conditions and impending weather.  Southern Maine remained the home team on the scoreboard.
 
Records:
GM 1 – Southern Maine UMass Dartmouth
UMass Dartmouth (9-8, 2-1 LEC)                                                       000 200 400    6-11-2
Southern Maine (5-10, 3-0 LEC)                                                        510 003 00x    9-14-1
 
Pitching Records:
WP: SM, Colin McDonald (2-1), 6.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 9 K, 1 HR
LP:  UMD, Ray Boutiette (2-2), 0.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
SV, SM, Peter Keblinsky (Sv, 2), 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
 
 
GM 2 – Southern Maine UMass Dartmouth
UMass Dartmouth (10-8, 3-1 LEC)                                                     017 000 001    9-10-4
Southern Maine (5-11, 3-1 LEC)                                                        030 400 000    7-9-2         
 
Pitching Records:
WP: UMD, Dillon Harding (3-0), 1.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
LP:  SM, Carson Black (1-1), 3.0 IP, 6 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
SV: UMD, Geordan Jackson Murphy (Sv, 1), 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
 
 
 
 
How It Happened – Game One: Southern Maine 9, UMass Dartmouth 6

• Southern Maine took a large lead early in the game scoring five runs in the top of the first. The Huskies collected five hits in their opening at-bat.  Senior Connor Burgess (Halifax, Mass./Silver Lake Regional) had a two-run single down the left field line as part of the Huskies' offense, while junior Chris Quigley (Halifax, Mass./Silver Lake Regional) drove in the fifth run of the inning with an RBI single single to left.
• USM led 6-0 after the second as junior Peter Keblinsky (Ellsworth, Maine) singled through the left side for an RBI. Keblinsky's hit scored Poole who led off the inning with one of his four singles in the game.
• McDonald, who started the game strong, with a pair of strikeouts in the first to work around a single, and three fly ball outs in the second, struck out the side in the third in the third, giving up a one-out single, as USM remained in front 6-0 after three innings.
• UMD scored twice in the top of the fourth. Liam Blesi led off the inning with a solo home run to left field, and Cooper Wixon picked up a sac-fly RBI for an unearned run against McDonald.
• UMD sat the Huskies' batters in order in the bottom of the fourth, and the Corsairs threatened for runs in the top of the fifth.  D Vezina singled up the middle to get the lead runner on, and a walk and fielder's choice had UMass Dartmouth with runners on first and third with one down.  Southern Maine's defense took care of the threat, however, as senior Lucas Francis (Lisbon, Maine) gobbled up a ground ball and helped turn a double-play to end the inning.
• McDonald came back strong in the sixth, starting with a strikeout and then getting a pop up and a fly out to head to the bottom of the sixth.  The Huskies scored three more runs to lead 9-2. Southern Maine connected on four hits in the inning, including an RBI single up the middle from junior Hunter Brissette (Lisbon, Maine), and a two-run single through the left side from Keblinsky.
• In the seventh, McDonald struck out the first two batters before yielding a walk and back-to-back singles to load the bases.  Lifted in favor of senior Gavin Rawstrom (Sabattus, Maine/Oak Hill), Rawstrom gave up a two-run double to Blesi, and then a two-run single to Matt Tempone as UMD raced back to a three-run game 9-6.
• After a quiet seventh from the Huskies, Keblinsky entered in relief to start the top of the eighth, getting a pair of strikeouts to start before giving up two singles.  Keblinsky bounced back however to get the final out with a fly ball to left. Another scoreless inning from USM in the bottom of eight, Keblinsky earned the save in the ninth getting the Corsair batters in order.

 
How It Happened – Game Two: UMass Dartmouth 9, Southern Maine 7

• Trailing Southern Maine 3-1 after two innings, UMass Dartmouth erupted for seven runs in the top of the third taking an 8-3 lead.  The Corsairs used five hits, two Husky errors, a walk and a hit-by-pitch to generate their runs.  Matt Tempone had a two-run RBI single to left to highlight the inning for UMass Dartmouth.
• Southern Maine came back with four runs in the bottom of the four, making it a one run game, 8-7. Brissette had an RBI single through the left side, junior Kyle Douin (Augusta, Maine/Cony) had an RBI double, and Keblinsky added an infield single for an RBI.
• Both teams were held scoreless over the next four innings. UMass Dartmouth added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, generating a run on a lead-off single, three wild pitches and a walk.
• Trailing by two runs in their final at bat, the Huskies got a lead off runner when sophomore Mike Anquillare (North Haven, Conn.) drew a walk.  Burgess had a two-out single through the left side to get runners on first and second, but UMD reliever Geordan Jackson Murphy earned the save getting the final out of the inning.

 
Up Next:
Southern Maine hits the road for its next two contests taking on Husson University on Tuesday, April 1 (3:30 pm) and MIT on Thursday (3:30 pm).  Both games are non-conference action.  The Huskies are scheduled for a home doubleheader against UMass Boston on Saturday, April 5 (12/3:00 pm).