Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 DANBURY, Conn.--After taking game one 6-2 and holding the lead for most of game two, the Western Connecticut State University baseball team gave up a grand slam in the seventh inning to fall behind Keene State College 6-5, but then scored a run in the bottom of the seventh and two more in the eighth for an 8-6 victory and a sweep of the Owls Saturday afternoon at Westside Field.
Game 1 Recap
In the bottom of the second, senior Nick Briatico led off with a double to left center. Freshman Peter Nanos followed with a double to deep left, but Briatico only advanced to third as he waited to see if the Keene State left fielder would be able to make a play on the ball. Junior Gus Constantino (Oxford, CT) followed with a walk to load the bases, and freshman Tre' Gause drove in the game's first run with a grounder to second. With senior John Fracker at the plate, Gause stole second, but when the throw sailed into center field, Nanos was able to score from third to give Western a 2-0 lead.
Back to back errors to start the top of the third inning put two runners on for Keene State with no outs. After a soft fly to center for the first out, senior Nick Vita hit an RBI single up the middle to trim Western's lead to 2-1. Western starter Edgardo Santiago then got Cody Dube to ground into an inning-ending double play to keep the score 2-1.
In the bottom of the fourth, Nanos was hit by a pitch and scored when freshman EJ Lavoie drilled a double in the gap in left center. After four, Western led 3-1.
In the bottom of the sixth, Lavoie reached safely on an error by the Owl third baseman and moved to third when the next batter, Gause, singled down the line in right. Fracker then popped an RBI single to short center field, putting runners at the corners with one out and one run in. Senior Jeff John then hit a sacrifice fly to center to give Western a 5-1 lead.
Western added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth when Lavoie hit a one-out single to right, stole second, and advanced to third on a ground off the bat of Gause. Fracker then hit his second RBI single of the game to extend the Western lead to 6-1.
Santigo struggled a bit in the top of the ninth, giving up three hits and a Keene State run, but with runners on second and third and only one out, the lefty recorded a strike out and a grounder to third to end the game, earn his fourth win of the season against no defeats, and give Western a 6-2 game-one win.
Game 2 Recap
John led off the bottom of the first for the Colonials with a double off the fence in left, and scored when sophomore James Annello singled to right. Senior Bobby Coyne singled and moved to second when the throw went to third. Briatico then drove in Annello from third with a grounder to short, and Nanos pushed the Western lead to 3-0 with a hard single through the left side to score Coyne. Back to back strike outs ended the Western threat.
Western starter, sophomore Craig Frobel, cruised through the first two innings, setting down the first six Keene State batters in order.
In the Western half of the second, Keene State starter Eddie Dionne recorded two quick strikeouts before John and Annello followed with back to back singles. On Annello's single to left, John hustled to take third and scored when the throw from left sailed into the Keene State dugout. After two innings, the Colonial lead was 4-0.
With two outs in the top of the third, Keene State hit three straight singles off Frobel to narrow the margin to 4-1.
In the bottom of the third, Nanos was hit by a pitch to lead things off and when the Colonials put runners on first and second with a one-out walk, Dionne's day was over and junior Jake Ciolfi took over on the mound for Keene State. After giving up an infield hit to Gause to load the bases with one out, Ciolfi got a liner to left and a grounder to third to end the Western threat.
In the bottom of the fifth, Lavoie led off with a single and moved to second on a bunt by freshman Dave Palladino. Back to back singles by Gause and Fracker scored one Western run and brought sophomore John Poissant in the from the Keene State bullpen. A successful double steal moved both Western runners into scoring position with only one out, but a pop up to short center and a strike out ended the threat with the Colonials holding a 5-1 lead.
Keene State took the lead in the top of the seventh when Frobel hit the leadoff batter, senior Andrew Gummow, who was then out at second on a fielder's choice. A single off the bat of sophomore Vinny Parilla scored the first Keene State run of the inning. After and a liner to short for the second out, a walk and another hit batsman loaded the bases with two outs. Junior Matt Boulay then hit a fly that just cleared the fence in left center for a grand slam and a 6-5 Keene State lead.
In Western's half of the seventh, Lavoie led off with a double down the line in right, moved to third on a bunt by Palladino, and scored on a single to left by Fracker. After seven innings, the score was tied at 6-6.
Keene State threatened in the top of the eighth, but Western reliever Alex Roger retired the final Owl batter swinging with a runner on third to keep the score tied.
In the Western eighth, Annello led off with a walk and moved to second on a Coyne bunt. An intentional walk to Briatico put two runners on with one out for the Colonials. With Nanos swinging at strike three, Annello and Briatico were running on the pitch. The throw to third by the Keene State catcher sailed into left field allowing Annello to score and Briatico to move to third. Lavioe then followed with an RBI single to left for an 8-6 Western lead.
Junior Rob Valunas came on in relief of Roger in the ninth for Western and retired the Owls in order to earn the save and give Western the 8-6 win.
With the sweep, Western improves to 12-9 on the season and 3-3 in the Little East Conference. Keene State falls to 6-13, 1-5 in the LEC. The Colonials return to action on Tuesday, April 15, when they host Little East Conference and in-state rival Eastern Connecticut for a single game at Westside Field. First pitch is slated for 4:00pm. Keene State will also continue LEC play, hosting longtime foe Plymouth State University in a single game at 3:30 at Owl Athletic Complex.
(Story courtesy WCSU Sports Information)
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