Providence, R.I.--The Rhode Island College baseball team was swept by Southern Maine in a Little East Conference doubleheader played at Pontarelli Field on Saturday afternoon. Southern Maine took the opener, 10-3, and finished the sweep with a 9-5 walk-off win (10 innings) in the nightcap. Southern Maine was the designated home team with the games played at RIC's home field.

THE BASICS
Game One: Southern Maine 10, Rhode Island College 3
Game Two: Southern Maine 9, Rhode Island College 5 (10 innings)
USM (12-2, 4-0 LEC)
RIC (11-6, 1-2 LEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME ONE
• Southern Maine was led by senior second baseman Jake Dexter (Oakland, ME), who went 4-for-4 with one run scored and an RBI. Junior shortshop Andrew Olszak (Danvers, MA) was 2-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI for the Huskies.

• Junior second baseman Nate Vigeant (Coventry, RI) and classmate third baseman Ryan Rotondo (Warwick, RI) each had two hits in the setback for RIC.

• Freshman starter Connor Davey (Cheshire, CT) took the loss (3-1) for the RIC, allowing six runs on 12 hits with four strikeouts in six innings of work. 

• Junior pitcher Ben Lambert (Saco, ME) notched the complete game win (3-0) for Southern Maine, allowing three runs on seven hits with 11 strikeouts. Lambert, who had 19 scoreless innings to start the season, retired 11 straight and 14 of 15 during the contest for the win.

• Southern Maine got on the board in the bottom of the first when senior right fielder Zach Quintal (Eliot, ME) drew a bases loaded walk to give the Huskies the 1-0 advantage.

• The Huskies went up 2-0 in the bottom of the second when senior first baseman Jack Sylvia (Glastonbury, CT) singled and later came around to score on a wild pitch.

• The Anchormen took the lead in the top of the third on back-to-back-to-back RBI singles from junior catcher Sam Franco (Cranston, RI), Rotondo and freshman right fielder Charlie Amarante (Bristol, RI).

• USM regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth when they pushed across three runs, including a two-run single from Olszak, to go up 5-3.

• The Huskies added a run in the bottom of the sixth after an RBI single from junior left fielder Dylan Hapworth (Winslow, ME) for the 6-3 advantage. USM tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Olszak and an RBI bunt single from Dexter to put the score at 8-3. Hapworth belted a solo home run as part of a two-run bottom of the eighth en route to the victory.

GAME TWO
• Hapworth paced USM, going 2-for-5 with a run scored and five RBI, while junior third baseman Andrew Hillier (Bangor, ME) was 2-for-6 with a pair of runs scored for the Huskies.

• Rotondo was 3-for-5 with two RBI for RIC. Junior shortstop Rommy Morel (Providence, RI) was 2-for-4 with  a homer, a double, two runs scored and two RBI in the loss for the Anchormen.

• Junior reliever Jake Rockefeller (Cumberland, RI) suffered the setback (2-2) for the Anchormen, allowing six runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work.

• Dexter recorded the win in relief for Southern Maine, throwing two scoreless innings of relief with one strikeout

• An RBI single from Rotondo in the top of the first staked RIC to the 1-0 advantage.

• Southern Maine responded in the bottom of the frame and took a 2-1 lead after an RBI groundout and a miscue from the Anchormen to plate an unearned run.

• The Huskies then grabbed the 3-1 advantage in the bottom of the first on a solo home run from sophomore left fielder Sam Troiano (South Portland, ME).

• RIC trimmed the lead to one, 3-2, in the top of the third on an RBI double from Rotondo.

• The Anchormen regained the lead in the top of the fourth when Morel belted his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to left field, to put RIC up, 4-3.

• RIC then added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when they capitalized on a USM miscue for an unearned run and the 5-3 advantage.

• Southern Maine knotted the game in the bottom of the eighth with a pair of runs, including an RBI groundout from Sylvia, to make the score 5-5.

• Hapworth then provided the heroics for Southern Maine in the 10th innings, belting a walk-off grand slam home run to give the Huskies the 9-5 victory.

WHAT'S NEXT
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will host Salve Regina on Wednesday, April 3 (3:30 p.m.).