Winter Haven, Florida 3/12/12 – Led by sophomore second-baseman Nick Vita's (Spofford, N.H.) 4-for-4 day at the plate, and the pitching of junior starter John Coughlin (Litchfield, N.H.), the Keene State College baseball team cruised to a 12-3 victory over in-state opponent Daniel Webster on Monday afternoon at the Chain of Lakes Field Complex.

"It's a good win for us," said Vita, who also finished the game with two RBI's, a run scored and a walk. "We played hard and it is nice for us to keep the streak going after taking two games from Husson on Saturday night."

Daniel Webster, led by head coach J.P. Pyne, is no stranger to the Keene area, being the former manager of the Keene Swampbats before current manager, and KSC associate head coach Marty Testo. "We know the coaching staff over at Daniel Webster very well," said KSC head coach Ken Howe. "We were excited with the opportunity to play them and we are happy we came away with the victory."

After a shaky start, Coughlin settled in to his start, going five innings, allowing only one run and scattering four hits with two strikeouts. "We have been waiting for Coughlin to get on the mound because of injuries," said Howe. "It was a good step in the right direction to see him settle down and give us a quality start."

"Coughlin threw the ball well today," said Vita. "He commanded the strike zone and got the ball on the ground and let us do our job."

After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, Vita would answer in the second inning with an RBI single up the middle, scoring senior designated hitter Peter Burgio (Bolton, Conn.). Freshman catcher Chuck Vogt (Windsor Locks, Conn.) would give the Owls a 2-1 lead on a sac-fly and KSC would never look back.

In the next ups, senior Larry Longo (Londonderry, N.H.) would belt his first homer of 2012, to deep left-center field, as a part of a four fun inning for the Owls.

Senior Erik Bergstrom (Enfield, Conn.) would join the RBI party, lacing a 2-RBI single through the left side of the infield with the bases loaded as a part of a three-run fourth inning, to give Keene State a 9-1 lead.

In the seventh, the Owls would add two more, as sophomore catcher Andrew Gummow (Brookline, Mass.) would collect his first two-RBI's of the season with a single to centerfield.

The Eagles added two more in the top of the eighth, but freshman Tyler Estevez's (East Hartford, Conn.) RBI groundout, would give KSC the 12-3 victory.

18 Owls saw action in the lineup or on the mound in the victory. Bergstrom also had a solid day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI's and a run scored.

Also seeing time on the mound for the Owls, sophomore reliever Shawn Egan (East Hartford, Conn.) went three innings, allowing two runs and striking out one batter. Junior Joe Katin (Byfield, Mass.) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth with two-strikeouts in his first appearance of the season.

Kieran Koch (New City, N.Y.) took the loss for Daniel Webster, going just three innings while allowing six runs on seven hits in the losing effort.

The Owls will be hitting the diamond again soon, as they will play Becker College tomorrow morning at 9:30. "It is a quick turnaround," said Howe. "We will get home and get some rest and get ready to battle Becker tomorrow morning."