KEENE, N.H. – Sophomore Collin Henry of Penobscot doubled and homered and drove in two runs to help lead the University of Southern Maine to an 8-4 victory over Keene State College to advance to the Little East Conference championship baseball final Friday.

The No. 3 Huskies will play top-seeded Keene State again today at noon in the championship round and Keene State must beat USM twice to claim the title. The if-necessary game would follow the first game in the double-elimination tourney.

Josh Mackey hit a double and two singles for Southern Maine. Ryan Gaffney drove in two runs and Ryan Pike doubled and singled.

Beau Darak hit a solo home run to pace Keene State. Anthony Cipolla had a double and a single.

So. Maine (32-10) 000 041 003 – 8 13 0

Keene State (30-9) 010 001 002 – 4 10 4

Therrian, Burleson (7) and Berthiaume; Mabey, Wentworth (6), Vogt (8) and Cipolla

Fordham leads in stolen bases

NEW YORK – Nick Restaino has a bunch of thieves on his Fordham baseball team.

They don’t think twice about stealing, and the Rams coach wholeheartedly encourages all the pilfering.

“We’ve got guys who can run and really steal bases,” Restaino said. “And speed kills in sports, right?”

It sure does, and it also can help you win ballgames. Fordham, 26-21-1 heading into a three-game series this weekend against Xavier, leads the NCAA in all divisions with a school-record 148 stolen bases.

“People are asking me if I have Rickey Henderson on the staff,” Restaino said with a laugh. “It’s been fun.”

The baserunning bonanza would certainly make Frankie Frisch, aka The Fordham Flash, proud.

“We pretty much have the green light,” shortstop Rich Goulian said. “Everytime I get on base, I’m just looking to run, get to the next base and do whatever I can to help the team score some runs.”