'GORHAM, Maine - Sophomore C Sabrina Sevigny (Sanford, Maine) blasted a two-out walk-off double to center field to lift the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 5-4 win over the Keene State College Owls Saturday afternoon at Towers Field in Gorham. The Huskies dropped the first game 4-3 before rallying for the split in the nightcap.

With the split USM improves to 8-6 in the Little East and 17-19 overall. The loss snapped a seven game win-streak for the Owls who stand at 25-5 overall and 10-4 in conference action.

Trailing 4-3 entering into the bottom of the seventh inning, Southern Maine took advantage of some timely hitting to earn the win. Senior SS Christen Lachapelle (Farmingdale, Maine) led off the inning with a double to right center field and advanced to third on a well-executed sacrifice bunt from sophomore 1B Katie Martell (Wilmington, Mass.). A walk to sophomore OF Anita Dixon (Limington, Maine) gave the Huskies runners on first and third with one out. Junior pitcher Ashlee Nicholson (Swanzey, N.H.) got the second out of the inning on pop up before Sevigny connected on the game-winning hit.

Keene State rallied from a two-run deficit in the top half of the seventh inning, scoring three runs to take a 4-3 lead. Sophomore OF Allie D'Amato (Bristol, Conn.) tied the score up with a two-run home run to left center field, before junior Colleen Ferguson (Sussex, N.J.) put Keene State ahead 4-3 with a clutch pinch hit single up the middle. D'Amato finished the game with three RBIs.

Junior pitcher Kristina Grondin (Sanford, Maine) earned the win for the Huskies allowing four runs on eight hits in seven solid innings of work. Grondin gave up just one walk and struck out two batters to improve to 13-8. Nicholson suffered her first loss of the season allowing four runs on four hits in 2.2 innings pitched with three walks and five strikeouts. Nicholson entered the game in relief of starting pitcher senior Erin Fuoroli (Warwick, R.I.). Fuoroli left the game in the fourth inning with the score tied at 1-1. She gave up two hits and one run with a walk and a pair of strikeouts.

In the first game, Keene State junior C Melissa Scata (Medway, Mass.) blasted a two-run homerun over the left field fence in the third inning and sophomore DH Katie Allenson (Clifton Park, N.Y.) had an RBI double in the fifth inning to lead the Owls to a 4-3 win over the Huskies. Nicholson picked up her 11th win of the season, allowing just three hits and two runs in five innings.

Keene State led the Huskies from the start, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI double from junior 2B Jessica Starkey (Keene, N.H.). The Owls went ahead 3-0 in the third inning on Scata's two-run home run following a leadoff single from Starkey and then increased its lead to 4-0 in the fifth on Allenson's run-scoring double.

USM attempted a comeback and plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth on four hits. Lachapelle led off with a double and scored on a single from Martell, before Nicholson was lifted for Fuoroli. Fuoroli allowed two runs after giving up two run single to Grondin, but Fuoroli settled down and retired the next two batters on a strikeout and a line out. Fuoroli retired the Huskies in order in the top of the seventh to preserve the win.

Grondin was tagged with the loss for USM giving up 10 hits and four runs in seven innings. She struck out three batters and walked one.

Southern Maine returns to action in its final regular season game on Monday (April 29) at 3:30 p.m. when it hosts Bates College for a non-conference doubleheader. Keene State returns to action on Thursday (May 3) in the first round of the Little East Conference tournament.

(Courtesy Southern Maine Sports Information)