Courtesy Eastern Conn. St. Sports Information

MANSFIELD, Conn. - Jeremiah Bayer (Greenfield, Mass.) pitched a complete-game seven-hitter and Sean Killeen (Greenfield, Mass.) highlighted a three-run eighth inning with a two-out, two-run double that carried the third-seeded Trinity College baseball team to a 6-0 win over second-seeded University of Southern Maine Friday morning on the third day of the 2009 NCAA Baseball New England Regional at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.

The win is the fifth straight for the Bantams (31-5), last year's New England Regional and national championship game, and lifts Trinity into a winners' bracket game Friday night at 7:45 p.m. against fourth-seeded WPI. The loss is the third in the last four outings for the Huskies (36-8), which will play an elimination game Friday at 4:30 p.m. against top-seeded Eastern Connecticut.

The 2009 New England Pitcher-of-the-Year, Bayer (11-0) lowered his national-leading ERA to 0.44. The senior righty scattered seven singles while fanning four and walking four in handing Southern Maine only their second shutout loss of the year. Bayer also induced three infield ground ball double plays, the first two coming during a scoreless game. The Huskies' best offensive threat came in the first inning when they loaded the bases after there were two out, but Bayer got a fly ball to right field to end the inning.

Trinity scored five of its six runs on two-out hits as Bayer outdueled previously-unbeaten USM senior righty Tim Therrian (New Portland, Maine), a second-team All-New England selection. Both pitchers were named Pitcher-of-the-Year in their respective conferences.

Robert Martin (Lowell, Mass.), batting ninth in the order, scored twice after singling each time. His first single gave the Bantams a 2-0 lead in the sixth and he scored the third run of the game on a two-out single by leadoff hitter Jack Abbott (Longmeadow, Mass.). Killeen, a first-team All-New England selection, contributed a two-run double in the eighth to push Trinity's lead to 5-0.

Averaging just over seven strikeouts per game, Therrian struck out only one before being lifted in the Bantams' three-run eighth inning. Trinity is batting .355 as a team.