By Sun Journal staff

GORHAM – The University of Southern Maine scored five runs in the sixth inning to slam the door shut on the Beacons as the Huskies notched a 9-4 victory against the University of Massachusetts at Boston in LEC baseball action Tuesday.

Three straight singles loaded the bases for the Huskies (16-6) in the sixth before sophomore catcher Max Arsenault walked to force home the tying run. The Beacons’ (12-12) relief pitching was not up to the task, as Ryan Blanchard did not record an out against the four batters he faced.

Southern Maine freshman outfielder Eddie Skeffington singled in one run, and rookie third baseman Rich McGraw was hit by a pitch to force home another run. Sophomore second baseman Joe Ganley walked to force in the fourth run, and sophomore short stop Nick Vardaro singled home the final run.

Bowdoin 3, Brandeis 2

BRUNSWICK – Bowdoin starter Trevor Powers held the upper hand in a pitcher’s duel, allowing one earned run and just five hits in a 3-2 victory over Brandeis in collegiate baseball action Tuesday.

Brandeis (15-12) got on the board first, then the Polar Bears (13-9) evened things out in the second when Mike Buckley ripped an RBI single to plate Jon Koperniak. The Judges regained the lead in the top of the third when a two-out RBI single from Jonathan Winston scored Phil Aurigemma to make it 2-1 Brandeis.

Bowdoin grabbed the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth thanks to some outstanding baseruning. With two outs, Ben Yormak stole second and Chris McCann beat out a ground ball to second. Yormak alertly rounded third and scored on the slow grounder, tying the game at two. Nick Lawler followed with a gapper to left-center that scored McCann all the way from first with the game-winner.

Husson 9, Colby 5

WATERVILLE – Billy Kane and Adam Sheehan both had two hits and two runs scored Tuesday to propel Husson to a 9-5 victory over Colby in baseball action on Tuesday.

Husson scored six runs in the final three innings to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 9-5 win. Justin Spencer doubled and added a pair of runs. Barrett Dionne scattered 14 hits while earning the mound win.

Softball

Maine 5, Colby 2

WATERVILLE – Alexis Pullen scattered five hits in seven innings of work to lead the University of Maine to a 5-2 victory over Colby in softball action Tuesday. Brittany Cheney and Amy Kuhl scored runs for the Black Bears (12-18) in the third inning.

Essie Widlanski led the way for Colby (8-11) with an RBI single, while Miki Strarr had one run scored. Amanda Rohne handled pitching duties for the Mules, allowing eight hits while taking the loss.

UMF, St. Joe’s split

FARMINGTON – Kahler Dawling earned a 7-3 victory in the opener for St. Joseph’s, while Stephanie Moriarty notched a one-hit shutout for a 9-0 win in the nightcap for the University of Maine at Farmington in softball action Tuesday.

The Monks (11-16) rallied for a five-run sixth inning in the opener, which included a dropped fly ball, two bases-loaded walks and a two-run single by Amanda Roy.

The Beavers (12-8) received an excellent pitching effort from Moriarty in the nightcap. She held the Monks to one hit, while UMF blistered four extra base hits to score nine runs.

Megan McCrum hit a three-run homer in the sixth for the Beavers to put the finishing touches on the Monks.

Middlebury sweeps Bates

LEWISTON – The Middlebury College softball team earned a pair of wins over Bates in softball action on Tuesday.

In the first game, Middlebury (13-7) exploded for four runs in the fifth inning to break open a scoreless game. A two-run single by Maura Casey plated a pair, while a passed ball and groundout scored the other two runs. Jennifer Williams struck out four to earn the five-hit, 6-0 shutout.

In Game 2, Middlebury took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Victoria Glowacky scored on an error. Bates (6-6) tied the game in the second inning, but an RBI double to left field by Casey in the second gave Middlebury a 2-1 lead. The Panthers’ lead grew to 3-1 later in the inning with an RBI single from Glowacky, plating Casey. Bates cut the lead to 3-2 in the third with an RBI single through the left side from Alex Bethel, but that would be the game’s final run.

USM sweeps

BOSTON, Mass. – Senior pitcher Melissa Henderson picked up a pair of wins, while freshman shortstop Dawn Ross recorded a double, triple and a homerun with four runs batted in to lead the University of Southern Maine to a sweep with 12-0 and 10-7 victories over the University of Massachusetts at Boston in baseball action on Tuesday.

In Game 1, Henderson tossed her fourth one-hitter and fifth shutout of the season as the Huskies (15-11-1) jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first inning. The Huskies added another three runs in the fourth when junior first baseman Caterina Riitano launched a three-run home-run.

The Huskies again relied on Henderson to pull out the win in the nightcap. The Beacons (2-18) scored a pair of runs to shrink Southern Maine’s lead to one, and were threatening with runners on second and third when Henderson entered the game in relief for Caterina Riitano.

Henderson allowed the game-tying run on a fielder’s choice, but collected two strikeouts and a groundout to end the inning.

The Huskies would not roll over, as they tallied three runs in the top of the eighth, including a run-scoring double to left center from Caterina Riitano for the eventual game-winner.

Henderson struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth for the win.