HARWICH, MASS. 5/17/07 - John Grainger (Keene, N.H.) and Joe Rousseau (Nashua, N.H.) collected two RBIs each and pitcher Phil Mabey (Williamstown, Mass.) had a solid start to lead fifth seed Keene State to a 6-3 win over top seed Wheaton College in a second-round game of the NCAA New England Regional Tournament played Thursday at Whitehouse Field in Harwich, Mass.

"This is a huge win for us. To go 2-0 right now puts us in a good position," said Ryan Jones, who had a key RBI in a four run fifth inning.  "We have a solid team and we'll be ready for Eastern Conn. tomorrow."

"Our guys are playing well right now and playing with confidence," said KSC Coach Ken Howe.  "It's been a good trip so far. They're playing like it's old hat to them.  I'm probably more nervous than they are."

Keene State (31-13) will play second seed and LEC rival Eastern Conn. (36-10) on Friday at noon.

The Owls wiggled out of a jam in the top of the first inning when Robert Foote grounded out to second with runners on first and third.

KSC jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second.  Greg Ford (Nashua, N.H.) and Beau Darak (Londonderry, N.H.) had consecutive singles and moved up on a throwing error by Lyons pitcher Louie Bernardini (Gray, Me.).   An RBI single to left by Joe Rousseau (Nashua, N.H.) scored Ford.  Darak had a chance to score but stumbled going around third and returned to the bag.

Owl leftfielder curtailed a potential Wheaton rally in the top of the third when he threw out Nick Pecora (Highland Park, N.J.) trying to stretch a single into a double.
KSC added to its lead in the bottom of the inning.  Ryan Jones (Nashua, N.H.) singled up the middle, stole second, and came home on a single by John Grainger (Keene, N.H.).

Mabey got a key strikeout on the top of the fifth when he fanned Travis Anthonoine (Portland, Me.) with two out and a runner on third. "I love to get the ball in big games," said Mabey, who gave up three runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts and one walk.  "I was throwing all my pitches for strikes."  

Mabey improves to 4-1 on the season.

Keene State racked up four more runs on four hits and an error in the fifth. Jones, Ford, and Buck Merrill (Glastonbury, Conn.) collected RBI singles and Grainger came home on a bases loaded walk to make it a 6-0 game.
"We did some running and got some guys moving and it worked out well for us," said Howe. "It gave our pitchers some breathing room."

Loading the bases with one out in the sixth, Wheaton got on the board when Mabey hit Jake Yagjian (Brewster, Mass.) to force in a run.  He ended the inning by getting Jeff Martin (Marblehead, Mass.) on a soft liner to Jamie Chevalier (Amherst, N.H.). A two-run double by Adam LaPlante (Harwich, Mass.) made it 6-3. Ben Sonberg (Bow, N.H.) took over for Mabey, got Bobby Foote to fly to right, and got Guillerault to ground out to short.
Mike Cook (Dover, Mass.) threw two innings of one hit ball over the final two innings.  

Pecora finished the game with four hits for Wheaton (33-12).  The Lyons will play the winner of the Williams and Western New England.

The Owls are set for another tussle with the ECSU Warriors. "We still have a long haul to go," Howe said. "We've seen Eastern, and they've seen us. There won't be any surprises."