Former Souhegan standout Alec Burns is all smiles after he hit two home runs in the first game of a doubleheader for West Virginia vs. Oklahoma on Saturday. (Twtter photo)

Souhegan High School Alum Alec Burns may have had his coming out party on Saturday, topping a look a what locals are doing in the college ranks with the return of spring season.

Burns, a redshirt sophomore for West Virginia University, smashed two home runs, the second sending the first game of a doubleheader with Oklahoma into extra innings. However, the Mountaineers eventually lost, 8-7 in 11.

Burns’ first homer, a two-run shot, came as part of a four-run first for the Mountaineers, as they jumped out to a 4-1 lead. His second, a solo shot to left, tied the game at 6 leading off the bottom of the ninth.

The 6-foot-4, 225 pound former Saber went into the day batting .250 with just one homer and three RBIs in 16 at-bats, but he came alive. He also went in with a .929 OPS.

Last year, in the pandemic-shortened season as a redshirt freshman, Burns played in nine games, was an Academic All Big-12 First Teamer.

Burns was on the Sabers’ 2016 state title team and was a Souhegan captain in 2018, and broke the school’s home run record with 12 in 2017.

ETHIER MEDALIST AT EAST REGIONALS

Nashua’s Tommy Ethier of Bentley University scored a win on the second playoff hole over Mercyhurst’s Jack Angelucci. to capture medalist honors at the 2021 NCAA Division II East/Atlantic Regional Saturday at the Lake View Country Club in North East, Pa.

The win plus his 74-75-74-223 in the 54-hole tourney qualifies Ethier for the NCAA Division II Championships, which will be held May 17-21 at the PGA National Resort, the Champions Course, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Ethier had eight birdies for the tournament and was four-under on the par-fives, closed out the third round with birdies on 16 and 17, and a bogey on 18. Bentley finished fourth overall as a team.

ALLARD WINS AWARD

Plymouth State senior goaltender Meaghan Allard of Amherst took home the top honor as the Little East Conference (LEC) Defensive Player of the Year and was selected to the All-LEC First Team following a vote of the league’s head coaches as the LEC announced its women’s lacrosse major awards winners and all-conference teams earlier this week.

Another PSC local, former Bishop Guertin standout Emily Santom of Litchfield garnered All-LEC Second Team honors.

Allard becomes the 11th Panther to win Defensive Player of the Year since the league first sponsored women’s lacrosse in 2002.

The 5-4 goalie led the league in save percentage (.606) and was second in goals against average after allowing just 5.82 goals per game.

A two-time Goalie of the Week honoree, Allard was especially strong in mid-April when she posted three straight games of 10-plus saves, including a career-high 16 in an overtime win against Keene State. It is her first postseason honor.

Santom was the Panthers’ most effective attacker. Despite playing in just seven of the team’s 10 games, she led Plymouth State with 34 points and her 25 goals were just one off the team lead.

Santom poured in a career-high seven goals, matching the highest scoring output of any LEC player this spring, in an April game against UMass Dartmouth, then came back with a personal-best eight points (five goals, three assists) the following contest.

It is her first postseason honor.

LEWIS TAKES TWO AT DARTMOUTH

Plymouth State senior Terrell Lewis, now of New Boston but a former Nashua South standout, won two events against a field of NCAA Division I student-athletes this weekend at the Dartmouth Invitational at Dartmouth College

Entering the day Friday Lewis owned the 10th-fastest time in NCAA Division III in the 110-meter hurdles. The top 20 times in the country qualify for this month’s NCAA Division III Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Championship.

While he didn’t move up the national performance list, he wasn’t far off his personal-best time of 14.63 seconds set earlier this spring. Lewis won the event Friday with a time of 14.69 seconds, topping a field of runners from NCAA Division I schools University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College and University of Vermont.

Lewis also took the top spot in the long jump after covering 6.52 meters.

MATHSON, HOGAN SHINE FOR SNHU

Southern New Hampshire University sophomore Lydia Mathson, formerly of Nashua South, placed sixth in the 1000 meters in this weekend’s NE 10 Outdoor Track and Field championships in 41.16.29.

Litchfield’s Luke Hogan, also a sophomore and a Campbell alum, set a personal best for the Penmen in the 1500 in 4:11.

(SNHU, PSC and Bentley Sports Information departments contributed to this report.)

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