WINTER HAVEN, Florida 3/9/12 – Not starting out their spring break trip the way they wanted, the Keene State College baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader, 10-5 and 9-3, to Aurora University on Friday afternoon at the Chain of Lakes field complex.

"We saw some things we need to do better today," said KSC head coach Ken Howe. "We didn't play well defensively behind our pitchers and we needed more key hits to get back into these games."

In game one, the Owls trailing 5-0, put up five runs of their own in the bottom of the third inning, all with two outs.

Freshman catcher Chuck Vogt (Windsor Locks, Conn.) drove in a pair of runs on a triple to cut the lead to 5-2. The very next batter, junior third-baseman Greg Bates (Salem, N.H.), picked up his first RBI on the day with a single. KSC wasn't finished, as senior left fielder Peter Burgio (Bolton, Conn.) cracked his first homer of the season, scoring Bates, to even the game at 5-5.

But that's the last time the Owls would score, as Aurora senior third baseman Tim Mackey (Rosemont, Ill.) would finish the day four-for-four with a homerun and three RBI's to lead the Spartans to a 10-5 victory.

KSC senior pitcher Jeff Pelkey (Fitzwilliam, N.H.) allowed seven runs in four and two-thirds innings in the loss, while freshman Eric Palmer (Melrose Park, Ill.) went five innings allowing five runs and striking out six for his second victory of the season.

The Spartans again jumped out to a lead in game two, putting up two runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Burgio again answered with an offensive punch for the Owls, hitting an RBI double scoring freshman first-baseman Eric Hewett (Rockfall, Conn.) to cut the lead in half. Freshman left-fielder Ian Seawards (Dover, N.H.), who finished three-for-three with two RBI's, laced a single up the middle to even the game at 2-2.

But the Owls couldn't stop the bleeding, as the Spartans would put up five runs in the next half inning, extending their lead to 7-2.

Seawards would answer back in the top of the fourth by driving in Bates with an RBI single to make it 7-3. But that is the last run the Owls would score, as Aurora would tack on one more in the fourth and sixth innings, to come away with a 9-3 victory.

Junior Chris Crutcher (Londonderry, N.H.) took the loss on the mound for the Owls, going three and a third innings, allowing eight hits and seven earned runs. Spartans reliever Anthony Buonamici (Bolingbrook, Ill.) pitched five innings, scattering five hits and allowing just one run in the victory.

On the day Bates and Burgio combined to go seven-for-13 with a homerun and four RBI's, leading the Owls offensively. "Some guys are doing better early in the season than others," said Howe. "We just have to piece things together and come back with a better effort."

The Owls will hit the diamond again tomorrow, at 4 p.m. for a doubleheader against regional rival Husson University. "We need to go out and compete tomorrow," said Howe. "Hopefully we will be ready."