KEENE, N.H. 4/16/08 - The Keene State baseball team completed its season sweep of  rival Plymouth State with a 13-2 victory at Owl Athletic Complex on Wednesday afternoon.

The Owls, who defeated Plymouth 12-9 earlier this season at Belmont (Mass.) High, improve to 19-5 (5-1 LEC).  Plymouth State falls to 6-17 (2-6 LEC).

The #19 ranked Owls, who were the away team due to unplayable conditions in Plymouth, broke open the scoreless game by plating five runs in the top of the fourth.  Freshman Tyler DiPrato (Suffield, Conn.), and seniors Greg Ford (Nashua, N.H.), and Ryan Jones (Nashua, N.H.) came through with RBI hits in the inning.

The Panthers got two runs back in the bottom of the inning on RBI doubles by senior Brandon Hodge (Bradford, Vt.) and sophomore Steve Picco (Marshfield, Mass.).

KSC extended its lead to 9-2 with four more runs in the fifth.  Freshman Bobby Doyon (Keene, N.H.) had an RBI single and Ford cranked a three-run home run to left center, his team-leading sixth of the season.

Jamie Chevalier (Amherst, N.H.) had an RBI single in the sixth and Jones added a two-run triple in the seventh. 

Junior leadoff hitter Jeff Perkins (Dumbarton, N.H.), Chevalier, and DiPrato collected three hits each.  KSC finished the game with 15 hits.

Hodge and Picco each had two hits each for the Panthers.

"We got a lot accomplished today," said KSC Coach Ken Howe. "We got a good start from Jameson Wentworth and also got our bullpen some work. Some needed to get some of the guys ready for the big stretch we have coming up."   

Making his first start of the season, sophomore Jameson Wentworth (Peabody, Mass.) went five innings to pick up the win.  Wentworth, 2-0, gave up two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and a walk.

Chris Bryant (Lebanon, N.H.), the PSU starter, took the loss. He gave up nine runs on 10 hits with two walks in his five innings of work on the mound.

KSC has won the last 10 games against its rivals.

Both teams will be in action on Thursday; the Owls hosts Westfield State and Plymouth will be at Colby-Sawyer. Both games begin at 3:30 p.m.