KEENE, N.H. 5/7/10 – The Keene State College baseball team celebrated senior day, by clinching at least a share of the 2010 Little East Conference regular season championships with a 8-7, 12-0 sweep of UMass-Dartmouth on Friday afternoon at Owl Athletic Complex. The Owls conclude their regular season 25-13-1 and 10-4 in LEC play, while UMass-Dartmouth falls to 20-17 and 7-7 in league play.

The only team that can take the conference tournament away from the Owls is Eastern Conn. State. The Warriors will play their final regular season doubleheader at Southern Maine on Sunday at noon. If Eastern Conn. were to sweep the Huskies, the Warriors would host the 2010 Little East Conference tournament. However, if the Warriors were to split or be swept, the tournament would come back to Keene for the second time in program history.

“We did what we needed to do today,” said KSC Head Coach Ken Howe. “I like what we've been doing the last couple of weeks. Playing defense a lot better and getting timely hits are just a couple of things we have been improving on. Now we just need to sit back and see what happens with Southern Maine and Eastern Conn. on Sunday.”

KSC celebrated senior day at the end of the doubleheader, saying special words for seniors Jesse Cahill (Cranston, R.I.), Anthony Cipolla (Glastonbury, Conn.), Keith Patnode (Keene, N.H.), Mike Riley (East Hartford, Conn.) and Jeff Raymond (Amston, Conn.).

Game one was a close one, with the Corsairs and the Owls exchanging a run in the second inning. UMass-Dartmouth sophomore Dan DeMello (Taunton, Mass.) doubled in a run in the top half, while Patnode's RBI-groundout evened the game in the bottom half for KSC.

The Corsairs kept up the offense in the top of the 4th and 5th innings, when Matt Ryan (Uxbridge, Mass.) scored on a wild pitch, and Tom Ladore (Milford, Conn.) ripped a two-RBI triple to give the visitors a 5-1 lead.

KSC fought back in the bottom-half of the fifth, with back-to-back RBI hits from Tyler Diprato (Suffield, Conn.) and Cahill. Patnode added the other run, with a sac-fly scoring Cahill to cut the UMD lead to 5-4.

Patnode tied it up and took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh inning. Patnode added an RBI double, scoring Cipolla. Erik Bergstrom (Enfield, Conn.) joined the hitting parade, with an RBI single of his own to centerfield. Diprato put the exclamation point on the inning with his second RBI-hot of the day to make it 8-5 Owls.

The Corsairs wouldn't go away, scoring two runs in the top of the eighth inning, both unearned, on an RBI single from Jeff Macchi (Franklin, Mass.) and a sac-fly from Zak Talis (Lynnfield, Mass.) to make it 8-7.

But the KSC bullpen did their job, closing the lid on the game with junior hurler Cory Vogt (Suffield, Conn.) pitching a 1-2-3 ninth for his fourth save of the season. Raymond started the game going five innings allowing five runs (four earned) and nine hits with two strikeouts. Kyle Davis (Rochester, N.H.) earned the win for the Owls, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings and striking out a batter for his fourth win of 2010.

Pat Lavey (Cranston, R.I.) took the loss for UMass-Dartmouth, going 2.1 innings allowing four runs on six hits and striking out two.

In the second game, it was all KSC. The Owls erupted for 12 runs on 11 hits, while junior pitcher Dan Nelson (Glastonbury, Conn.) went six innings allowing just three hits and striking out four batters in his fifth victory of the season.

Kyle Morrill (Auburn, N.H.) led the way for the Owls in game two. The sophomore centerfielder went 3-for-4 with a run scored  and two RBI's for the Owls out of the nine-spot. Cody Callahan (Seekonk, Mass.) also hit well for the Owls, ripping a key two-RBI double down the right-field line for KSC in the second inning.

Riley closed out the game for the Owls in the top of the seventh. The senior allowed three hits, but retired the side to complete the Owls sweep.

Diprato went 4-for-8 on the day with four runs scored and three-RBI's from the leadoff spot in both games. Morrill who went 4-for-6 on the day, also had a strong day in the field, making catches at the warning track and in the gaps multiple times to stymie the Corsairs offense.