GORHAM, MAINE 5/7/09 - It will be an early wake-up call for the Keene State College baseball team on Friday morning.

            The third seeded and defending champion Owls will return to Southern Maine Baseball Field at 9 a.m. to resume their opening-round Little East Conference Tournament game against second seed Eastern Conn, which was halted after seven innings due to darkness.  When play was suspended the Warriors (31-6) held a 6-3 lead over the Owls (23-14).

            "I have a two year old, so I'm usually up at the crack of dawn anyway," said KSC associate head coach Marty Testo, who was filling in for Head Coach Ken Howe, who had to leave the team for personal reasons. 

            "It got dark quick," said Testo.  "We got seven innings in, we're in a good ball game with Eastern and I expect to show up tomorrow ready to go."

            Keene State had Eastern starter Matt Fontaine on the ropes in the early innings, but couldn't deliver the knock out punch.

            Trailing 1-0 after one inning, the Owls loaded the bases in the top of the second, but could only plate one run when junior Keith Patnode (Keene, N.H.), who singled, came home on and infield error.

            In the bottom of the second, senior centerfielder Jeff Perkins (Dunbarton, N.H.) kept the Warriors lead-off batter Tristen Hobbes from getting on base with a diving catch.  

            The Owls threatened again in the third, but once again came up with just a single run on a sacrifice fly by Patnode that made it 2-1.

            The Warriors knotted the game in the bottom of the third on a RBI double to left by Jim Schult.  A heads up play by KSC first baseman Beau Darak (Londonderry, N.H.) kept ECSU from scoring the go ahead run.  KSC second baseman Kyle Morrill (Auburn, N.H.) made a diving stop of a ground ball up the middle by Hobbes. Morrill's throw was too late to get Hobbes, but Darak fired to third and got Schult who had rounded too far around the base.

            ECSU put its first two runners on base in the fourth.  However, KSC avoided any trouble when catcher Anthony Cipolla (Glastonbury, Conn.) gunned down Joe Cousineau at third on a failed double steal.

            The Owls couldn't escape trouble in the fifth when Melvin Castillo knocked in two runs with a double down the left field line to give the Warriors a 4-2 lead. Cousineau's RBI triple made it 5-2.

            Patnode got the Owls one run closer with a solo blast to right center, his eighth home run of the season, in the top of the sixth.

            ECSU regained its three run lead (6-3) in the bottom of the inning on a RBI double by Shawn Gilblair.

            The two teams played one more inning before the umpires called off play for the day.

            Patnode said the suspended game could work in the Owls' favor.  "I think it might be actually good for us," he said. "Maybe we can get into their bullpen and pick up the momentum on our side."

            "We'll be all right," said Bobby Doyon, who had two of KSC's six hits.  "We'll go to bed and come out and be ready for a big game." 

            John Parke and Gilblair each had two hits for the Warriors.

           Jeff Raymond (Amston, Conn.) was pulled after two outs in the fifth inning. He gave up five runs on 10 hits with four walks.

           After a shaky start, Fontaine settled down, allowing three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

          Host and top seed Southern Maine defeated fourth seed UMass-Boston 16-7 in the first game.

          Following the suspended game, the schedule will have UMass-Boston taking on the loser of the suspended game. Southern Maine faces the winner of the suspended game.  The long day of baseball will conclude with an elimination game.