#3 Southern Maine Rebounds, Downs Benedictine 13-1
AUBURNDALE, Fla. -- A day after suffering their first loss of the season, the third-ranked University of Southern Maine Huskies pounded out 14 hits en route to a 13-1 victory over the Benedictine University Eagles Sunday afternoon at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex. The game was called after eight innings due to darkness.
The Huskies improved to 4-1 on the season. Benedictine, an NCAA tournament team last season, slipped to 1-4.
Senior John Carey (South Portland, Maine) led the Huskies offense with three hits, including a pair of triples, three runs scored and an RBI. Sophomore Sam Dexter (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee), rookie Paul McDonough (Wells, Maine) and senior Troy Thibodeau (Danvers, Mass./New Hampton) had two hits apiece.
Senior right-handed starting pitcher Chris Bernard (Scarborough, Maine) was the beneficiary of the Huskies' offensive outburst pitching six innings to earn his first win of the season. Bernard allowed three hits, one run and three walks while striking out four. Freshman Evan Haferman (Marblehead, Mass.) and junior Alex Tobey (South Berwick, Maine/Berwick Academy) each pitched a scoreless inning in relief. The three Huskies hurlers combined to give up four hits and four walks.
Benedictine senior southpaw Nick Diessner (O'Fallon, Ill) was tagged with his first loss after allowing nine hits and eight runs in 3.1 innings. No Eagles hitter had multiple hits.
The Huskies offense exploded for five runs in the first inning to take the early advantage. Carey drove in Dexter with his first triple, and scored when senior Forrest Chadwick (Gardiner, Maine) lifted a sacrifice fly to right. Bernard followed with a triple and scored on a McDonough fielder's choice. McDonough stole second and scored on a Thibodeau single. Thibodeau scored on a single by junior Jake Glauser (Goffstown, N.H.).
Carey scored a single run in the second inning on Bernard's fielder's choice. The Huskies added two runs in the third on an RBI triple by Thibodeau and a Glauser groundout.
Benedictine tallied its lone run in the third on a leadoff single by sophomore Justin Kovalsky (Bolingbrook, Ill.) and a two-out triple by junior Matthews Higgs (Otsego, Mich.).
USM added an unearned run in the fifth, and four more in the eighth to account for the final score.
Southern Maine is back in action on Monday (1:30 p.m.) faces St. Norbert College for a doubleheader at the Chain O Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Fla. Benedictine will play Washington and Jefferson College on Tuesday (12:00 p.m.).
USM Notes: Chadwick became the 24th player in the history of the USM baseball program to reach 200 hits in a career with his second-inning single ... Carey's two triples tied the USM single-game record. He is the 13th player to have two triples in one game.
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