Standish, ME - The Saint Joseph's College baseball team dropped a non-conference game to the University of Southern Maine on Thursday, 8-7, at Mahaney Diamond. With the loss the Monks drop to 20-3 on the season, while the Huskies improve to 14-6.

St. Joe's got on the board in the first inning when SO RF Wade Oliver (Owls Head, ME) scored on an RBI single by JR catcher Andrew Wood (South Portland, ME), Oliver had walked to open the inning.

After the Huskies knotted the score at 1-1 in the top of the fourth, the Royal Blue rallied for three runs in their half of the frame. Wood opened the stanza by drawing a walk, then 1B Ben Grant-Roy (Biddeford, ME) reached on an error by the shortstop. Junior CF Dustin Spiller (Gorham, ME) dropped down a perfectly placed bunt for a single, loading the bases for Mark Clapp (Blue Hill, ME). Clapp came through, scorching a single back through the box to score Wood. Grant-Roy scored moments later on a wild pitch and Spiller came home when 2B Brian Schools reached on an error, pushing the St. Joe's lead to 4-1.

USM cut the lead to 4-3 by scoring a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. The Monks responded with a run in the bottom of the frame to regain a two-run advantage, 5-3.
The St. Joe's run came on a solo shot hit by SR DH Chris Doughty (Windham, ME). The senior's second homerun of the year came just moments after a controversial double-play call against the Monks.

In the eighth inning, the Huskies strung together six hits and an error against three Monks relief pitchers to plate five runs and jump out to an 8-5 advantage.

Facing a three-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth, Brian Schools led off with a bunt single. Wade Oliver followed with a single. After a strikeout by LF Keil Martin (Saco, ME), Luke Enman (Milan, NH) laced a ball sharply down the right field line, scoring Schools and Oliver easily. On the play Enman attempted to advance to third but was thrown out on the play. Andrew Wood extended the game for the Monks when he reached on an error by the Husky shortstop, then was pinch run for by Steve Gorsun (South Berwick, ME). With two outs and the tying run on base Ben Grant-Roy hit a hard ground ball to the shortstop, after a slight bobble there was a bang-bang play at second base, Gorsun was ruled out, ending the Monks' comeback attempt.

FY LHP Andrew Keirstead (Westbrook, ME) suffered the loss for the Monks after allowing 3 runs on 3 hits in 2 innings in relief of starter Mike Burdin (Gardiner, ME). Burdin pitched well, going 5.2 innings, scattering five hits and allowing 3 runs. Andrew Pooler (Southwest Harbor, ME) allowed a hit to the only hitter he faced. Sophomore Cole Filosa (Milford, MA) threw the final 1.1 innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out one.

The same two teams will meet again tomorrow in the second game of this home and home series. The start time is set for 3:00 PM on the campus of the University of Southern Maine.