Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 KEENE, N.H. – Plymouth State University scored a run in the top of the first inning of Saturday's first game and basically never stopped scoring after that, running away with 17-10 and 20-1 (7 innings) victories over the Keene State College baseball team on a very nice, yet very long spring Saturday afternoon at Owl Athletic Complex.
Records
- Keene State: 2-7
- Plymouth State: 4-4
How It Happened – Game One
The games did not count toward the Little East Conference standings, but were tough sledding nonetheless for KSC's pitching staff, which allowed runs in 14 of a possible 16 innings on the day and in seven of nine in the opener. Plymouth recorded 18 hits and never trailed in the day's first game, building a 3-0 edge by the third inning after run-scoring singles from Griffin Crane and Drew Metzdorf and an RBI from Andrew Wasilefsky, who would have a much bigger swing later on. Trailing 5-1 and eventually 8-3, Keene State stayed in the game, making it 8-6 in the sixth following a run-scoring poke to left by
Mike Collins and a two-run double from
Josh Andrade. A rare 1-2-3 frame followed and the Owls then put two on with one out in the bottom of the seventh with the heart of the order coming up, but a foul out and then a fly to center stifled that comeback bid.
Plymouth put up a pair in the eighth before KSC answered with one to get within 10-7 heading to the ninth, but that is where the wheels fell off for the Owls. A pair of miscues started the frame, one in which six of the seven runs scored were unearned, and it snowballed from there, as an RBI single from Luke Sokolski made it 11-7, and Alex Rives later attempted to squeeze a run home but wound up getting a base hit as the ball rolled between the pitcher, shortstop and third baseman. The next batter, Wasilefsky, removed whatever doubt was left by crunching a ball off the scoreboard for a grand slam, making it 17-7. PSU had only three hits in the frame but sent 10 batters to the plate and scored seven times.
With a big mountain to climb, the first four Owls reached in the ninth including another blast – his fourth of the season – by
Joe Barter as KSC made it 17-10.
Michael Montembeault followed with a walk, but pinch-runner
Colin Grenier was thrown out stealing second on a pitch that struck out
Trent Mayer, and that just about did it for the Owls in the first game.
Pitching with ample run support, Ryan Hurlbert (2-0) picked up his second win after allowing six runs (four earned) over six innings. He allowed eight hits and struck out two.
Alex Koletar (0-1) made his season debut for the Owls and took the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) and seven hits in four innings. Not only did Barter hit another dinger, he also added a pair of doubles and finished 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs.
Mike Collins (3-5, 2 RBI, 3 R),
Giovanni Rodriguez (2-4, RBI), and
Josh Beayon (2-4, 2 R, BB) also had strong showings at the plate.
How It Happened – Game Two
It was an inauspicious start to the second game for Keene State, as the Panthers grabbed a lead nearly immediately when Sokolski led off with a single and then scored on Metzdorf's double to deep center. James Salta followed with another run-scoring hit and PSU was ahead 2-0 three batters in. It never improved from there for the Owls. Andrade stroked a single into left and eventually was plated by
Josh DeFrancisco's hit later in the third as KSC made it 4-1, but Plymouth scored six times in the next two innings, including five in the fifth, to make it 10-1. Gavin Cook (two-run home run) and Crane (two-run double) had the two biggest swings of the inning, one where Plymouth had five hits. They finished with 22 in the game and a whopping 40 on the day after having just 31 in their first six games of the season. The game headed toward a run-rule ending after the Panthers piled on 10 more runs in the seventh inning.
Plymouth starter Mark Berryman (1-1) was another beneficiary of tons of run support, but he did limit the Owls to just one run and six hits over his six innings anyway. He fanned six.
Simon Pierce (0-1) got the ball for the Owls and lasted 4.1 innings, allowing eight runs. He struck out five.
DeFrancisco finished 3-for-3 with an RBI for the Owls, but KSC overall had just six singles in the game. Plymouth had eight extra-base hits, including a home run (Gavin Cook) and four doubles (three from Crane).
Around the Horn
- Barter's four home runs have all come within the last seven games. He has driven in 12 runs in that span, including five multi-RBI showings. The Owl senior seems to have a great shot at seeing his name on the all-time KSC single-season home run list, with a slew of people tied for ninth with seven, most recently done by Keith Patnode and Kyle Morrill in 2010.
- Plymouth State won two road games in one day against Keene State after having just three in the previous 23 years (3-18). The Owls have lost three in a row – all in the last two days – and four of five in the series. The Panthers set new highs for runs in a game against Keene State in three consecutive games this weekend.
- PSU stole 17 bases in the doubleheader. They also struck out only 11 times at the plate after doing so 74 times in their first six games.
Up Next
- Keene State will hope to put this behind them and get back on track against league-leading Eastern Connecticut State University (15-2, 8-0 LEC) this week. The Owls host the Warriors at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday for an LEC contest before traveling to Mansfield, Conn. for a non-conference game the next day.
- Plymouth State returns home to face Castleton University (5-5, 3-1 LEC) for two (one LEC game) on the same day starting at 12:00 p.m.
