PROVIDENCE, R.I.  4/2/11 – The Keene State College baseball team began Little East Conference play by splitting a doubleheader against Rhode Island College in Providence on Saturday.

Keene belted four home runs, including a pair of two-run blasts from senior Bobby Doyon (Keene, N.H.) and a two-run pinch hit shot by freshman Dan Barzottini (Manchester, Conn.) in his first college at bat to lead the Owls to a come-from-behind 12-9 win in the opener.  KSC scored its only two runs in the first inning, falling to the Anchormen in the second game 4-2.

Keene State goes to 12-4 (1-1 LEC) while RIC is 7-8 (1-1 LEC).

Keene State fell behind 3-1 after three innings in the first game.  The Owls tied the score (3-3) in the top of the fourth on junior Larry Longo's (Londonderry, N.H.) second home run of the season, a two-run shot.  RIC answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame to go back up 5-3.

Keene State scored five runs in the top of the sixth to make it 8-5.  Doyon hit the first of his two homeruns, junior Kyle Morrill (Auburn, N.H.) had a two-run single to center and sophomore had an RBI hit.

Doyon's second homerun of the game and fourth of the season made it 10-5 in the seventh. Barzottini made his first at bat for the Owls memorable when he hit a pinch hit two-run home run in the eighth.  "It was amazing," said Barzottini about his blast that cleared a raised wall 350 feet from home plate in centerfield.  "I saw it going out and I couldn't believe it."

RIC added one run in the bottom of the eighth and three more in the ninth to make things interesting.

Keene State finished the game with 13 hits, Doyon and Longo each had three while junior Juan Bisono (New Britain, Conn.) had a pair.

Junior Tim Thiesing (South Grafton, Mass.) started for the Owls, lasting 2.2 innings while giving up three runs on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks.  Sophomore Adam Stanclift (Keene, N.H.) took over in the third and got the win (3-0). He tossed 4.1 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while fanning three and walking one.  Junior Nick Winn (West Hartford, Conn.), freshman Daniel Osorio (Manchester, N.H.) and sophomore Joe Katlin (Byfield, Mass.) also saw time on the mound.

Keene State scored two runs in the top of the first, but was held off the board the rest of the way in the second game.  Seniors Tyler DiPrato (Suffield, Conn.) and Doyon delivered RBI singles in the first. 

RIC came back with one run in the bottom of the first.  The game stayed 2-1 until the seventh when the Anchormen plated two runs on a two-run home run by Gary Levesque.  RIC added one more run in the eighth.

The top three hitter in the Owls' line-up, Bates, DiPrato and Doyon, each had two hits.  Doyon was 5-7 in the twinbill with a triple, two home runs and five RBIs.

Sophomore Chris Crutcher (Londonderry, N.H.), 2-2, took the loss for KSC. He gave up three runs on six hits with four strikeouts.  Sophomore Eric  Perrault (Salem, N.H.) pitched the final 1.1 innings, giving up 1 run on one hits while fanning three batters. 

Keene State is at Amherst College on Tuesday (3:30 p.m.).