The University of Southern Maine rallied past Keene State 11-5 to clinch the LEC championship on May 9. Sophomore Caleb Vacchiano (Cornish, Maine/Sacopee Valley) drove in six runs, including four on an eighth-inning grand slam, to lead the top-seed University of Southern Maine Huskies to their seventh Little East Conference Baseball Tournament title with an 11-5 win over the second-seed Keene State Owls. The Huskies were trailing 5-3 entering the inning before rallying for eight runs on eight hits to take an 11-5 lead. Vacchiano earned the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Award after finishing the tournament with four hits, 10 runs batted in and five runs scored. Junior Carter Higgins (Truro, Nova Scotia) led the Huskies with three hits, while junior Mike Anquillare (North Haven, Conn.) and freshman James Main (North Stonington, Conn.) each had two hits. The Huskies had a strong performance from junior starter Carson Black (Porter, Maine/Sacopee Valley) as the righty struck out five over eight innings of work to earn his seventh win of the season. Anquillare led the Huskies with nine hits in the tournament, followed by senior Kyle Douin (Augusta, Maine/Cony) and junior Peter Keblinsky (Ellsworth, Maine) with seven each.

According to the University of Southern Maine’s Aathletic Mmedia Aassociate, Riley Driscoll, the LEC Champion University of Southern Maine Huskies will begin its 2026 NCAA Division III Baseball National Championship Tournament run at home, as Southern Maine has been selected as one of 16 regional site hosts for the tournament. The complete 64-team field for this year’s tournament was announced on May 11. Southern Maine will be making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2021, and its 27th overall, after defeating Keene State College to earn the program’s seventh Little East Conference tournament title and the conference’s automatic bid. The Huskies are 30-10 on the season, and went 4-0 in the LEC Tournament, outscoring their opponents 46-25 over the four games.

The Huskies are the No. 2 seed in the region, which also consists of No. 1 seed Rowan University (32-5), the New Jersey Athletic Conference champions; No. 3 seed Babson College (26-15), the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) champions; and No. 4 seed Rochester Institute of Technology (24-13), who won the Liberty League title. The first game of the regional will feature Rowan vs. RIT at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 15. The Huskies will take on Babson at 2:30 p.m. in the second game of the day. The tournament is double elimination. Rowan University will be a tough opponent, according to Southern Maine’s head coach Scott Heath. With that said, he added, “Being selected to host can be a huge advantage with high-energy hometown crowds and create a challenging environment for the opposing teams.” In 26 NCAA tournament appearances, the Huskies have won eight NCAA Division III Regional Championships (1989, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2013, 2014) and two National Championships (1991 and 1997).

The winners of each of the 16 regions will be paired up for a three-game super regional series with the winner earning a spot in the 2026 Division III College World Series at the Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake, Ohio. Best of luck to the Huskies.