Box Score KEENE, N.H. – Eastern Connecticut State University put up five crooked numbers in seven innings and mashed out 21 hits while blowing out the Keene State College baseball team 19-3 in Little East Conference action Tuesday afternoon at Owl Athletic Complex.
Records
- Keene State: 2-8, 1-4 LEC
- Eastern Connecticut: 16-2, 9-0 LEC
How It Happened
Keene State was under fire right away, as Jason Claiborn singled to second base out of the reach of
Mike Collins to lead off the game before starter
Ryan Sliwinski hit the next two batters, filling the bases just minutes after the first pitch. Entering with a .316 team batting average and unblemished conference record, the Warriors had no trouble cashing in, hitting the ball to all fields to plate all three of those runners and then one more. Luke Broadhurst brought in two with a ground ball up the middle and was followed by a double to left by Holden White for a 3-0 lead. A sac fly to right by Jack Rich brought home a fourth run, and before the Owls had a chance to swing, much like what occurred on Saturday against Plymouth State University, they were already facing a sizable deficit.
The lead swelled to 8-0 in the third before the Owls answered with three in their half of the inning to try to stay in the game.
Colin McKeon walked with one out before
Josh DeFrancisco was plunked, putting two on as ECSU starter Tim Pfaffenbichler labored with command despite being staked to a big lead.
Josh Beayon, who is now 9-for-25 with five doubles on the season, got KSC on the scoreboard with a two-base hit that scored DeFrancisco. Following a walk to
Joe Barter, Collins hit a hard ground ball that Pfaffenbichler initially could not handle but picked up in plenty of time to throw and end the inning, but it was well of the mark and to foul territory, bringing home two runs as the Owls made it 8-3.
Will Dolaher put up Keene State's first zero in the fourth inning and kept the score there, but the Owls could not score against ECSU reliever John Parker in their trip to the plate and were then caved in by a massive fifth inning where the Warriors had six hits and scored nine times. The frame began with a single and then three consecutive walks before Ryan Bagdasarian looked at strike three for the first out. The next out did not come for a while – quite a while – and once it did, the Owls were down 15-3 as John Mesagno (single) and Broadhurst (double) each brought home a pair. Keene State needed four pitchers to get through the inning, walked five, and saw ECSU send 14 batters to the plate in an inning that more or less removed all doubt from the outcome.
White doubled four times for the Warriors, who had nine extra-base hits including a home run from Thomas Acevedo, his second hit in 11 collegiate at bats. Eastern had 11 different players record an RBI and six record multiple hits, including three each from Broadhurst and Owen Marica. Parker (1-1) won by pitching two scoreless innings of relief after Pfaffenbichler pitched three innings.
Colin McKeon (1-2, R, 2 BB) reached base three times, but KSC was held to five hits. Sliwinski (0-1) took the loss, allowing six runs in 1.2 innings. Keene State used six arms in the game.
Around the Horn
- The Owls have three qualifying players hitting over .350, including Beayon (.360), McKeon (.355), and freshman Colin Grenier (.353).
- After allowing only six runs in their first two games of the year (a seven-run win and a one-run loss), Keene State has allowed double-figure runs in seven of the past eight games including the last four in a row since a 25-1 win over Plymouth State last Friday.
- The two teams had not met since March 30, 2019 when KSC played as the home team in Mansfield, Conn. The doubleheader that day resulted in a split; ECSU took the opener 13-2 in seven innings for Keene State won the second contest 6-5. Eastern Connecticut received votes (27) in the most recent d3baseball.com Top 25 poll released today, slotting behind No. 25 Birmingham-Southern College and the first team out of the poll, Denison University.
Up Next
- The two teams tangle again tomorrow in Connecticut at 6:00 p.m. for a non-conference contest. The Warriors have already played 15 games on their home field, winning 14. Please also note that Keene State's Friday league contests at 21st-ranked University of Southern Maine were moved to Sunday. Saturday's pair of non-conference games are still scheduled for 12:00 p.m. in Keene.
