Gorham, Maine—Top-seeded Southern Maine eliminated third-seeded Rhode Island College, 15-4, in game eight of the 2012 Little East Conference Tournament played at the USM Baseball Stadium.

The Anchormen (27-17) will now hope for an at-large bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The field will be announced on Monday, May 14. Southern Maine advances to face the winner of sixth-seeded Plymouth State and second-seeded Keene State tomorrow afternoon (noon).

Freshman right fielder Dean Grasso (Cranston, RI) continued his strong play at the LEC tourney, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Senior first baseman Dan Hopkins (Cranston, RI)  went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

Freshman Dylan Cummiskey (Warwick, RI) took the loss (3-2).

Southern Maine scored in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead, but six runs in the third and four in the fourth put the Anchormen behind the eight ball for the rest of the game.

RIC finally got on the board in the fourth as sophomore designated hitter Alex Verrecchia (Cranston, RI) was walked with the bases loaded and junior third baseman Cody Ortega (Kissimmee, FL) contributed a sacrifice fly.

In the sixth, senior pinch hitter Victor Baez (Providence, RI) brought in one with a sacrifice fly, while Hopkins capped off the scoring with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.

Greg Holmes got the win (1-2) for the Huskies. USM pounded out 18 hits in the victory.