'NEW LONDON, N.H. 4/14/06 - Steve Hansen's first home run of the
year in the bottom of the eighth would prove to be the game-winner
as Colby-Sawyer held on to defeat Keene State, 8-7, in a
non-conference baseball contest on Friday afternoon at Kelsey Field
in New London.
Hanson's towering shot to left gave the Chargers an insurance
run that mattered when John Grainger (Keene, N.H.) hit a one-out
home run in the top of the ninth for the Owls, cutting the lead to
8-7. KSC (18-9) would add runners at first and second, but stranded
those runners when Tom White struck out Buck Merrill (Colchester,
Conn.) for his third save of the season.
The Chargers got on the board first in the second inning,
scoring five times off Keene State starter Ryan Kohler (Alstead,
N.H.). The Chargers strung six straight hits together with two out
in the inning as they sent nine men to the plate. Colby-Sawyer
would add its sixth run in the third inning, as D.J. Woodman scored
on a double-steal with Ben Warnick taking second base.
Keene State began its comeback in the fifth inning, as Grainger
drove in a pair with a single to right field. After the Chargers
got a run back in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Kris Ramsay,
making the score 7-2, the Owls tacked on six runs in the eighth as
Colby-Sawyer's defense committed three straight errors.
In the eighth, Grainger led off with a walk and moved to third
when left fielder Lee Chubet dropped a fly ball hit by Josh Watkins
(Keene, N.H.). Grainger then scored on an error by Hansen, while
another error on a play hit to second baseman Chris Gaeta loaded
the bases with no outs. Reliever Vinny Vilardi induced Merrill into
a popup behind first base, but Peter Hall (Danielson, Conn.) tacked
on a pair of runs with a single to center, scoring Joe Rousseau
(Nashua, N.H.) and Travis Pelletier (Lebanon, N.H.). Tom White then
came on to retire the side with back-to-back fly ball outs.
Kohler took the loss for KSC. He scattered eight hits, allowed
six runs (five earned), and fanned seven in three innings of
work.
Keene State will host UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday (Noon) at Owl
Athletic Complex.
(Courtesy of Colby-Sawyer Sports Information)
