'KEENE, N.H. 4/28/04 - Matt Orszulak (Campton, N.H.) knocked in
the winning runs with a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh
and Peter Bergeron (Keene, N.H.) pitched 2 and 2/3 innings of
one-hit relief to give the Keene State College baseball team a 5-3
win in the second game and a split of a Little East Conference
doubleheader against UMass-Boston at Owl Athletic Complex on
Wednesday.
Ryan Blanchard (Gloucester, Mass.) pitched eight innings of
three-hit ball and the Beacon batters collected 15 hits in a 9-2
win in the opener.
In the nightcap, KSC took a 2-0 lead in the first on Justin
Hickman's (Mont Vernon, N.H.) second home run of the
twinbill. It was his fifth of the season and 15th of
his career breaking the Owl mark of 14 set by Brian Hamilton.
After UMB scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings,
KSC took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly
by Hickman.
The Beacons tied the score in the top of the seventh on a RBI
single from Eddie Stich (W. Hazleton, Pa.) In the bottom of
the inning Orszulak's drive to the gap in left center delivered the
go-ahead runs. Orszulak, Mike Masseur (Warwick, RI), and Hickman
had two hits each for KSC.
Taking over for starter Rick Stromgren (Keene, N.H.), Bergeron
(1-4) struck out five, including the side in the ninth to earn his
first win of the season. Jamie Soto (Peabody, Mass.) (1-3)
took the loss for UMB (17-13, 3-6 LEC).
In the opener, Hickman gave the Owls an early 1-0 lead in the
second with his first home run of the game. UMB tied the game on a
home run by Chris King (Andover, Mass.) in the third and went ahead
in the fourth on Mike McGonagle's (Boston, Mass.) RBI triple.
David Waters (Millis, Mass.) had a bases clearing double in the
fifth that put the Beacons up 6-1 and Jeran Mondalto (Amesbury,
Mass.) delivered a three-run double in the eighth for UMB.
Jeremy Schilling (Centerville, Mass.) knocked in KSC's second
run with a single in the eighth.
Ryan Kohler (Alstead, N.H.), who struck out five and walked
three in his five and a third innings of work, took the loss (3-2)
for KSC. With the win, Blanchard improved to 4-1.
Keene State (13-16-1, 5-5 LEC) hosts Springfield College on
Friday (4 p.m.).
