GORHAM, Maine -- The No. 18 nationally ranked University of Southern Maine Huskies slugged four home runs to defeat the Bates baseball team 10-3 Wednesday afternoon at Ed Flaherty Field.
Bates starter junior Brendan Smith (Hingham, Mass.) tossed two innings of shutout ball before surrendering a solo home run to Sam Troiano in the third.
Already up 1-0, the Huskies (26-8) scored six in the fourth to extend their lead. Devin Warren singled to lead off the inning and Dylan Hapworth hit USM's second homer of the game. Two outs later Zach Quintal added a solo home run and after back-to-back singles Troiano cleared the bases with a three-run shot to put the Huskies up 7-0.
The Bobcats (14-16) rallied in the top of the fifth against USM starter James Sinclair. Junior Justin White (Whitesboro, N.Y.) and sophomore Giovanni Torres (North Haven, Conn.) got the inning started with back-to-back singles. One out later sophomore Kyle Carter (Plantation, Fla.) got hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Sophomores Will Sylvia (Newton, Mass.) and Jon Lindgren (Plainville, Conn.) drew back-to-back walks, cutting the deficit to 7-2 and chasing Sinclair from the game. Tanner Laberge (1-0) entered the game and sophomore Jack Arend (Newfields, N.H.) drove in Carter with an RBI fielder's choice.
Senior Connor Speed (San Diego, Calif.) relieved Smith (1-3) and tossed a scoreless fifth inning. But the Huskies added three runs in the sixth, via a bases loaded hit-by-pitch, a double play and a Warren RBI single.
Junior Justin Foley (Lynnfield, Mass.) took over in the seventh and pitched two innings of shutout ball to finish up the game. Meanwhile Laberge went 2.2 shutout innings to pick up the win for USM and Ryan Gaydou and Bobby Delaney each tossed a frame of scoreless ball out of the bullpen.
White and Torres each recorded two hits to pace the Bates offense. The Huskies outhit the Bobcats 11-6, with Warren leading the way by going 3-5 at the plate. Both of Troiano's hits were homers. He finished 2-5 with four runs batted in.
The victory marks the 1,000th in the career of USM head coach Ed Flaherty, father of MLB player Ryan Flaherty. The Bobcats get a second chance to defeat the Huskies this Saturday at Leahey Field. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m.
