USM’s baseball team powered its way to an impressive stretch of wins last week, highlighted in part by a 21-3 dismantling of local rival St. Joseph’s College on Thursday. The win was part of a six-win week for the Huskies, who pushed their win streak to 14 games after a double-header sweep of UMass Dartmouth (10-3 and 21-12). The Huskies also picked up wins against Plymouth State (19-4 and 24-6) and Colby (13-4).
Against St. Joseph’s
Ryan Pike (Saco) led the offensive machine in a record-setting performance. The senior went 5-for-6 with a pair of home runs and nine RBI, tying the school record for RBI in a single game and powering the Huskies to a resounding win. Freshman Ryan Yates picked up his first career win, piloting the Huskies with a solid perofmance on the hill.
“I’m seeing the ball really well, and I’m as relaxed as I’ve ever been at the plate. We’ve been doing some different stuff in practice and BP to help us go the other way with pitches better, and my swing just feels really good right now,” Pike said.
The Huskies fell behind in the top of the first inning when St. Joseph’s junior DH Ian Lee (Hampden, Maine) hit a solo home run off the scoreboard. USM wasted no time, though, as they answered back in the bottom of the inning when Pike launched a three-run homer of his own, staking the Huskies to an early 3-1 lead. USM then caked on four more runs in their half of the inning, expanding their lead to 7-1 after the first.
The Huskies never relinquished the lead after the first. They amassed 19 hits in the game, continuing their recent offensive trend and warding off any attempt by the Monks to cut into USM’s lead.
St. Joseph’s shortstop Mike Burdin hit a solo homer off Yates in the top of the third, but the Huskies would answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning off a two-RBI double from junior Josh Mackey (Danvers, MA), an RBI single from senior shortstop Chris Burleson (Portland), and a passed ball that scored Burleson. After three, the Huskies were comfortably ahead 12-2.
The Monks scored their final run off Yates when catcher Travis Adams hit an RBI single in the top of the fourth.
“I felt like I prepared very well for this game, and it really paid off,” Yates said. “Coach Smith and I went over what to expect from their hitters earlier in the week and I think my preparedness really benefitted me for this win. My slider was working well in the beginning of the game and keeping them off balance was key. I felt pretty good.”
The freshman right-hander, who is now 1-0, pitched a solid five and a third innings while only giving up four hits. He walked five and struck out four and got timely help from USM’s defense to get out of dicey situations.
“This was a huge confidence booster for me to get this win for my team. I had the pre-game jitters but once I stepped onto the mound I felt comfortable and was ready to go,” Yates said.
Andrew deBethune (St. Albans) came in to give an inning and two-thirds of relief before giving the ball to freshman Dustin Stanton (Cornish) who pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth.
Mackey added to his 37 hit season with 3 hits of his own, while seniors Ryan Gaffney (Salem, NH) and Anthony D’Alfonso (Westbrook), and freshman Pisani each had two hits to contribute to USM’s offensive outburst.
Pike’s nine RBI ties current USM coach Bob Prince’s record. Pike added to his first inning slam with a two run shot in the eighth.
By the numbers
Pike isn’t the only Husky who is seeing the ball well at this point in the season. The Huskies have nine starters batting over .300 with D’Alfonso, Gaffney and Burleson all hitting over .400. As a team, the Huskies are batting at a .356 clip and put up, on average, 12 runs per game.
Timely hitting
D’Alfonso is heating up at exactly the right time. The senior has racked up 54 RBI in 27 games heading into Sunday’s make-up double-header against Western Connecticut. That’s exactly two RBI per game – a seemingly unprecedented number.
Henry’s offensive is also picking up steam. The 2006 Maine Mr. Baseball posted eleven hits and 14 RBI in four games spanning from Thursday’s blowout against St. Joseph’s to Saturday’s double-header sweep of UMass Dartmouth.
Putting up runs
The Huskies have scored in double-digits 20 out of 26 games, including 10 straight games dating back to April 9. Coach Ed Flaherty’s squad as eclipsed the 15-run plateau eight times and the 20-run mark five times.
The Huskies are undefeated when they score in double-digits.
A case for double-dipping
Senior captain Andrew Stacy (Fryeburg) made back-to-back relief appearances in USM’s sweep of UMass Dartmouth Saturday. The lefty pitched eight shutout innings over two games, helping the Huskies pick up to more conference wins. Stacy pitched three innings of one-hit relief in the first game and five more innings in the nightcap.