Harwich, MA --- Southern Maine senior Chris Bernard (Scarborough, ME) went 2-for-5 with a pair of runs and two RBIs sparked the top-seeded Huskies to a 6-5 triumph this afternoon over #4 Western New England in the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament at Whitehouse Field.
Southern Maine (39-7), who tied their program record for wins in a campaign, moves in the winners bracket to face off either second-seeded Wheaton and #3 Endicott at 4:30 PM tomorrow.
The Golden Bears (32-12) will try to stay in the hunt for the New England regional title when they take on #6 St. Joseph's of Maine at 9:30 AM on Friday.
Western New England slowly built up a 5-0 advantage over the contests first five innings of play.
Senior Kyle McElvey (Schenectady, NY) drove in the classmate Mike Rubino (Northford, CT) in the opening frame before sophomore Steve Buckley (Monroe, CT) notched a run-producing double in the bottom of the third for the early 2-0 lead.
In the fourth, freshman Tim Budd (Cheshire, CT) rapped out a triple to score Buckley and then Budd scampered home on a solo base-knock by junior Jeff Schult (Wappingers Falls, NY). The Golden Bears capped off the rally with a solo homer in the fifth by McElvey for his third blast of the season.
But the Huskies answered by putting up a crooked number to trail 5-4 in the top of the sixth.
After Bernard drove in the first score on an RBI single and junior Matt Verrier (Norway, ME) helped Southern Maine take advantage of a key error by the shortstop with a two-run solo safety to left field to highlight the frame.
In the top of the seventh, Bernard manufactured the equalizer on a run scoring double to center field for the 5-5 contest. With two outs in the inning, the second baseman went out to field a shallow pop fly in right field, but he misplayed the ball and allowed Bernard to cross the plate for the go-ahead run.
The Golden Bears threatened in the bottom of the eighth when Budd and Schult reached on consecutive singles with two men down, but sophomore Andrew Richards (S. Portland, ME) induced a fly-out to get out of the jam.
In the top of the ninth, Southern Maine put runners on second and third with no one out, but once senior Mike Lospinuso (West Islip, NY) got the first man on a pop-up, senior Kevin Jefferis (Cheshire, CT) came into the game and ended the threat with two straight punch-outs.
Richards (7-1) then set Western New England down in order in the bottom of the frame to help preserve the hard-fought victory for the Huskies. Richards, who entered the contest in the sixth, spun four innings of three-hit baseball in the winning decision.
For blowing the save opportunity in the top of the sixth, Lospinuso (8-3) was tagged with the setback in relief of sophomore Trevor Breton (Enfield, CT). Brenton went the first 5 1/3 innings giving up four runs (two earned) on seven hits to go with four walks and one strikeout.
Senior Ryan Yates (Norway, ME) pumped out the first five frames for the Huskies. Yates allowed five earned runs on 10 hits while he fanned one batter and walked no one.
Shult, Rubino, McKelvey, Buckley and Perun paced an attack that out-slugged Southern Maine, 13-10. Rubino crossed home plate twice and McKelvey finished with a pair of RBIs.
Bernard, Verrier, senior Tucker White (Deerfield, NH) and classmate John Carey (S. Portland, ME) all chipped in with two base-knocks apiece. Grady and Bernard scored twice for USM.