'KEENE, N.H. 4/27/03 – Tim Kendrick's (Middletown, R.I.) double to left centerfield in the bottom of the 11th inning scored pinch runner Pat Neal (Walpole, N.H.) with the winning run giving Keene State College a dramatic 5-4 victory in the second game and a sweep of a Little East Conference baseball doubleheader over Western CT State University in Keene on Sunday.

Keene State won the opener 7-2 behind the pitching of Jim Slack (Manchester, N.H.) who gave up six hits in his eight innings on the mound.

Keene State improves to 11-18 (6-6 LEC) while WCSU falls to 10-19 (1-7 LEC).

Trailing 4-2 after six innings of the second game, the Owls got one run back in the seventh when Travis Muckle (Bennington, VT.) scored on an error. Eric Kilburn (Keene, N.H.) tied the game with a leadoff homerun in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The Owls' winning rally came with two out in the 11th inning. Pinching running for Kilburn, who was at first following a fielder's choice play, Neal stole second base and came home on Kendrick's game-winning hit.

"I was just trying to put the ball in play.  It was right over the plate and I would've been angry if I missed it," Kendrick said.  "It was a huge conference win for us."

Kendrick, Nick Bujeaud (Lincoln, N.H.), Muckle and Justin Hickman (Mont Vernon, N.H.) had two hits each for KSC in the game.  Corey Hartson (Merrimack, N.H.) (2-0) who pitched three innings of two hit ball in relief of starter Pat Austin (Wallingford, CT) got credit for the win.  WCSU starter Justin Davis (Lisbon, CT) was the complete game loser (1-3).

Jeremy Schilling (Centerville, MA.), Hickman, and Kilburn had two hits apiece to lead the Owls' attack in the first game.  Mike MAeur (Warwick, R.I) and Kilburn had RBI hits in a three-run fourth inning and Hickman hit his second home run of the season, a two-run blast, in the fifth inning.

Carl Rivers (Morris, CT) took the loss for WCSU. Both Chris Sudano (New Fairfield, CT) and Chris Kaplan (Stratford, CT) had two hits for the Colonials.