BABSON PARK, Mass. 4/10/11 – In a battle of two of the region's top teams, the Keene State College Owls scored nine runs in the final four innings to defeat host Babson College, 9-2, at Govoni Field on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Owls, ranked fourth in the latest New England Intercollegiate Baseball poll, improved to 15-6 on the season, while the Beavers, who are ranked third in the region, dropped to 20-8 with their first loss in four games.
The first half of the contest featured a fantastic pitchers' duel between Keene State junior Jeff Pelkey (Fitzwilliam, N.H.) and Babson sophomore Brian Swanton (Foxboro, Mass.), who matched zeros through the first five innings. Pelkey, making his first start of the season after seven straight relief appearances, scattered three hits through the first five frames before being chased by back-to-back one-out singles in the sixth. "Pelkey gave us a quality start in a big regional game for us," said KSC head coach Ken howe. "We have been flipping back-and-forth in the regional poll so this was a great win for us."
The game turned in the sixth, beginning when Owls' first-year Nick Vita (Spofford, N.H.) led off the top half with double to left center. He moved to third on a sac bunt by junior captain Kyle Morrill (Auburn, N.H.) and then trotted home on a long sacrifice fly to center field by senior Bobby Doyon (Keene, N.H).
Babson finally got something going in the bottom half of the sixth, beginning with back-to-back one-out singles by senior captain Dave Ahern (Bedford, Mass.) and sophomore Trevor Boyce (Canton, Mass.) that knocked Pelkey out of the game. Sophomore Chris Kucher (Westwood, Mass.) then drew a walk from sophomore reliever Eric Perrault (Salem, N.H.) to load the bases, but the hard-throwing southpaw recorded a key strikeout before inducing a fly ball to center to escape the jam.
From that point on, the contest would belong to the Owls, who scored two runs in the seventh, four more in the eighth, and two in the ninth to run away with the 9-2 victory. Junior Juan Bisono (New Britain, Conn.) drove in Keene State's second run with a grounder to short in the seventh, and first-year David Valley (Essex Junction, Vt.) followed with a sac fly to chase Swanton and make it 3-0. In the eighth, junior Larry Longo (Londonderry, N.H.) drove in a run with a single to left, Bisono plated two more with a single to right center, and Valley notched his second RBI of the day with a single to left center as Keene State took a commanding 7-0 lead.
The Beavers made one final push in the bottom of the eighth, as Ahern led off with a double to left center and moved to third on a single by senior pinch-hitter Sean Pucciarelli (Robbinsville, N.J.). Kucher followed with a sacrifice fly to center to plate Babson's first run of the day, and junior Travis Jonasson (Needham, Mass.) knocked in another with a double down the right field line to make it 7-2.
Keene State tacked on two more runs in the ninth, with an outfield error and an RBI double to left center by senior captain Tyler DiPrato (Suffield, Conn.) accounting for the first. Two batters later, Junior captain Erik Bergstrom (Enfield. Conn.) singled through the right side to score DiPrato and finish off the 9-2 Owl victory.
Pelkey pitched five and a third innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just five hits and striking out two. The win improved his record to 4-0 on the season. Perrault pitched a scoreless inning and fanned a pair, sophomore Joe Katin (Byfield, Mass.) retired the only batter he faced, senior Ed Lacourse (Manchester, N.H.) went one and a third and allowed both Babson runs, and sophomore Kyle Underwood (Campton, N.H.) finished up with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Swanton suffered the tough-luck loss on the mound for the Beavers, dropping his record to 1-1 on the year. He allowed three runs – two of which were earned – on four hits, walked two and struck out two in six and a third innings of work.
Ahern finished 3-for-4 with a run scored for Babson, while Jonasson went 2-for-4 with an RBI. For Keene State, junior Dan Arsenault (Hot Springs, Ariz.) went 3-for-5 on the day, while Bergstrom went 2-for-4 with two runs and one driven in.
The Owls return to action Tuesday, with a home contest against in-state and conference rival Plymouth State at 3:30 p.m.
