DANBURY, CT (Apr. 11th) - Jamie Morin (Goffstown, NH) pitched a complete-game four-hit shutout in game one for Keene State, while Phil Mabey (Williamstown, MA) and Rob Delbuono (Trumbull, CT) combined to shut out Western Connecticut State University in game two as the Owls swept a double header (9-0 and 8-0) from the host Colonials at Westside Field Friday afternoon.

    In game one, WestConn only managed to reach second base twice and never threatened to score as Morin recorded nine strikeouts and no walks. In six of the game's nine innings, Morin (2-0) set the Colonial's down in order.    "Jamie through a gem," said KSC Coach Ken Howe.  "He was in command all game."

    Keene State took the lead early in game one when lead-off hitter, Jeff Perkins (Dunbarton, NH), was hit by the game's first pitch, stole second base, and then scored on a double by Anthony Cipolla (Glastonbury, CT).

    The Owls scored two more runs in the third on a sacrifice fly by Bobby Doyon (Keene, N.H.) and RBI single by Tyler DiPrato (Suffield, Conn.) KSC put the game out of reach with five runs in the seventh. The big hit of the inning came off the bat of Beau Darak (Londonderry, N.H.) who, with two outs and a 3-2 count, hit a grand-slam home run that cleared the left-field fence by 20 feet. It was the first grand-slam and second home run of the season for the sophomore first baseman.

    Keene State added an insurance run in the top of the eighth on a RBI single by Doyon and Morin retired the Colonials in order in the ninth to secure the 9-0 victory.

    Cipolla led the Owls 15 hit attack with four hits.  DiPrato had three hits and Jamie Chevalier (Amhesrt, N.H.) and Ryan Jones (Nashua, N.H.) two each.

        In game two, WestConn put a runner on third base in three different innings, but couldn't come up with a timely hit and stranded all three. WestConn's best scoring chance came in the eighth inning when sophomore Sam McNeil (Gales Ferry, CT) led off with a double down the left-field line and moved to third when Pat Kantor (Southbury, CT) grounded out to first. A strikeout and a grounder to third base stranded McNeil at third, keeping the Colonials scoreless for the afternoon.

    Keene State scored three runs in the second inning to take the lead in game two when Ryan Jones hit a triple deep over the head of WestConn's center fielder, scoring Darak and DiPrato. Jones then scored on a sacrifice fly by Perkins giving the Owls a 3-0 lead. A single run in the forth on a Joe Rousseau (Nashua, N.H.) RBI hit, and three in the sixth on a two-run double by Darak and RBI single by Rousseau. 

    Game two's victory was credited to Mabey (2-1) who went seven innings, giving up three hits while walking four and fanning five batters.  DelBuono tosses the finsl two innings allopwing two hits and notching one strikeout.

    Owl bats had 12 more hits in the nightcap.  Cipolla and DiPrato led the way with three hits each. Cipolla was 7-for-10 and DiPrato was six-for-nine) in the two games.

    "We put it all together today," said Howe.  "We swung the bats well, got great pitching and played a clean game in the field.  That's what you want to do, especially in conference games.

       Ranked 19th in the D3Baseball poll and 17th in the ABCA poll, KSC (16-5, 4-1 LEC) was orignally scheduled to play UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday.  The doubleheader has been postponed. The Owls could play either UMD or Brandeis on Sunday.

   With this afternoon's losses WestConn's record stands at 8-16 (2-5 LEC).