#3 Southern Maine Defeats MIT 6-2 for Sixth Straight Win
GORHAM, Maine -- Senior Devin Warren (Smithfield, Maine/Messalonskee) snapped a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning with a long home run over the scoreboard in left field and the third-ranked University of Southern Maine Huskies went on to defeat the visiting MIT Engineers 6-2 in a non-conference college baseball game Sunday afternoon at Ed Flaherty Field.
The win was the sixth straight, and 11th in the last 12 games, for the Huskies, improving their record to 27-5. The Engineers dropped their second straight to slip to 17-16-1 overall.
Leading off the home half of the sixth, Warren turned on an offering from MIT sophomore right-hander Casey Bussone (Danvers, Mass./St. John Prep) to clear everything in left field for his fourth home run of the season. The Huskies added two more runs in the frame when junior Andrew Olszak (Danvers, Mass.) greeted sophomore reliever Tommy Hannan (San Marino, Calif.) for a two-out two-run single.
Southern Maine added an additional insurance run in the eighth on back-to-back two-out doubles from sophomore Jason Komulainen (Gorham, Maine) and Olszak.
Warren had a hand in the Huskies taking a 2-0 lead in the second inning when he beat out an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error on the play. Senior Zach Quintal (Eliot, Maine/Marshwood) brought Warren home with his one-out triple, and scored on senior Jack Sylvia's (Glastonbury, Conn.) single.
MIT would come back to tie the game with single runs in the third and fourth innings. A leadoff double in the third by rookie Nick Aiello (Freehold, N.J.), a walk to sophomore Ethan Rolland (Burke, Va.) and a sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third. Senior Jared Schwait (Boca Raton, Fla.) brought home Aiello with a ground out, but USM junior Gage Feeney (Cutler, Maine/Washington Academy) stranded Rolland at third getting the next batter to ground out.
Junior Matt Johnston (Portola Valley, Calif.) tied the game with one swing of his bat in the fourth, hitting his eighth home run of the season to left field.
Southern Maine banged out 15 hits against four MIT hurlers. Olszak, Warren and Quintal led the attack with three hits apiece. Aeillo had a double and single for MIT which was limited to five hits by four USM pitchers.
Neither starting pitcher, Feeney and MIT senior Patrick Callahan (Vicksburg, Mich.), figured in the decision. Junior Ben Lambert (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) got his seventh win of the season for USM pitching two hitless innings in relief. Bussone, who had retired six in a row before the Warren homer, was saddled with his third loss of the season against two wins.
The Huskies are back in action on Tuesday (4:30 p.m.) when they travel to Bowdoin College. The Engineers will play tomorrow afternoon (3:30 p.m.) at Roger Williams University.
-ble-