GORHAM, Maine – University of Southern Maine (6-12) defeated Saint Joseph's College (8-11), 15-8, in a non-conference baseball game on Thursday afternoon at Ed Flaherty Field.

The Huskies held a 7-0 lead after the first inning and the hosts' cushion bloated to 15-2 through four frames before the Monks tacked on six total runs in the seventh and eighth innings to account for the 15-8 final.

SJC sophomore starter Kyle MacKay (Dracut, Mass.) was unable to get out of a first-inning jam and suffered the loss after giving up six runs on two hits, two walks, and a pair of hit batsmen in 0.1 innings. Freshmen relievers Dylan Brander (Merrimack, N.H.), Ben Fargo (Charlestown, R.I.), and Shea Caton (Bristol, R.I.) combined to toss five shutout innings while allowing three hits and striking out six to close out the setback.

Junior Jordan Valentino (Simsbury, Conn.), who entered the game as a pinch runner in the top of the fifth, led the Monks' offense by going 2-2 with a run, a double, and four RBI. Sophomore Anthony Chiappone (Orrington, Maine) and freshman Michael Richards (Melrose, Mass.) notched their first collegiate hits, both singles, for the Monks.

For the Huskies, seniors Brogan Searle-Belanger (Saco, Maine) and Jonathan Wilson (Granby, Conn.) each drove in four runs to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 15-8 win over the Saint Joseph's College (Maine) Monks in a non-conference baseball game Thursday afternoon at Ed Flaherty Field.

Searle-Belanger was 3-3 at the plate as Southern Maine recorded 16 hits off of nine different Saint Joseph's pitchers.  Wilson was 2-3 with two runs scored, including a three-run home run in the third.

USM reliever Jack Bruno picked up the win and improved to 1-1 after allowing one hit and a walk with three K's over two innings.

Saint Joseph's will host Clark University in a single nine-inning game on Friday at 3:00 PM.

THANKS IN PART TO USM SPORTS INFORMATION