MANSFIELD, Conn. - Sophomore first baseman Josh Stowell (PORTLAND, ME) went 3-for-5 with one run and two RBIs and senior shortstop Nick Vardaro (NORWOOD, MA) 3-for-5 with three runs and one RBI as the third-seeded University of
Southern Maine baseball team defeated second-seeded Keene State College 10-7 in a second-round Little East Conference Baseball Tournament game Thursday night at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.

Southern Maine (27-13/2-0) plays top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University (32-9/2-0), a 10-2 winner over Rhode Island College in a second-round game today, at noon Friday. Keene State (26-12/1-1) meets UMass Boston, a 9-3 winner over UMass Dartmouth this afternoon, in an elimination game at 3:30 p.m. Friday. The Southern Maine-Eastern winner advances to the championship round Saturday, needing one win to capture the title.

Keene had beaten Southern Maine twice in the bottom of the ninth inning by scores of 3-2 when the teams met in the regular season two weeks ago at Keene, NH.

Keene State cut Southern Maine's lead to 8-7 in the seventh inning on senior catcher John Grainger's (KEENE, NH) two-out, three-run home run over the scoreboard in left center off Southern Maine right-handed reliever Adam Ross (SPRUCEHEAD, ME). Grainger went 2-for-4 with five RBIs.

Southern Maine sophomore right-hander Tim Therrian (NEW PORTLAND, ME) relieved Ross and got junior right fielder Greg Ford (NASHUA, NH) to strikeout looking to end the seventh. Therrian pitched a scoreless eighth, inducing a groundball out by sophomore center fielder Jeff Perkins (DUNBARTON, NH) with runners on first and second to end the inning.

The Huskies scored twice in the eighth to increase their lead to 10-7. Senior right fielder Ryan Bourque (SANFORD, ME), a 2006 second-team All-American, had an RBI groundout and senior catcher Max Arsenault (BOOTHBAY, ME) an RBI single.

Southern Maine senior right-handed reliever Pat Foley (NORWOOD, MA) pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save.

Ross (5-1) recorded the win with two innings of one-hit relief, Grainger's three-run homer. Keene State senior left-handed starter Rick Stromgren (KEENE, NH) allowed five runs (four earned), seven hits and no walks in 2 1/3 innings. Stromgren (4-3) struck out three.

The Huskies scored once in the first and twice in the second and third innings to lead 5-1. Arsenault led off the third with a home run to left field, his fifth of the season and second of the tournament. Senior designated hitter Joe McGhee (WALPOLE, MA) had a one-out double and scored on Stowell's double to left center in the third.

The Owls closed to 5-4 with two runs in the third and one in the fifth. Sophomore second baseman James Chevalier (AMHERST, NH) had a third-inning RBI single to left and scored on Grainger's single to center. Chevalier hit a 360-foot, fifth-inning solo home run down the left-field line. It was his second home run of the season and tournament. Chevalier hit a tiebreaking seventh-inning homer in Keene State's 9-8 first-round victory over UMass Boston on Wednesday. Chavalier went 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs.

Southern Maine extended its lead to 8-4 with one run in the sixth and two in the seventh. Sophomore center fielder Chris Burleson's (PORTLAND, ME) had a sixth-inning, RBI ground-rule double scoring Vardaro. Stowell and freshman third baseman Josh Mackey (DANVERS, MA) each recorded seventh-inning RBI singles.

(Courtesy ECSU Sports Information)