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KEENE STATE OWLS
Baseball Postgame 3.8.2022
3
Keene State KSC 0-3
9
Winner Salem State SSU 1-2
Keene State KSC
0-3
3
Final
9
Salem State SSU
1-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Keene State KSC 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 6 1
Salem State SSU 4 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 X 9 14 1

W: Brad Feeder (1-0) L: Koletar, Alex (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Ryan Hearn, Sports Information Assistant

Salem State Puts Away Keene State Early, 9-3

Owls Surrender Seven Runs in Opening Two Innings of Non-Conference Loss

SALEM, Mass. – Zach Piroh and Christian Burt combined to go 6-for-9, drive in six runs, and score four others as Salem State led by six runs after two innings while cruising to a 9-3 win over the Keene State College baseball team Tuesday afternoon in non-conference action at Central Campus Baseball Field.  The game was originally scheduled for Owl Athletic Complex and then moved to the University of Hartford's Fiondella Field, but neither was playable, thus KSC played a true road game in Salem, Massachusetts - their first since 2000 - instead.

Records
  • Keene State:  0-3
  • Salem State:  1-2
How It Happened
In the first meeting anywhere in 11 years between the programs, the Owls had a pair of hits in the top of the first but ran into a pair of outs on the base paths, and SSU was on their way from there, building a 7-1 lead after two innings.  Four of the seven runs came in the first, all before KSC got an out, as Jake Boucher, Burt, and Traverse Briana began the inning with consecutive singles and a 1-0 lead.  Piroh delivered the big blow, a three-run shot pulled over the fence in right for an immediate 4-0 advantage for the hosts, who had scored just one run and were outscored a combined 17-1 while being swept in a doubleheader at Endicott College last Saturday.  The Owls had allowed just five runs in 17 innings as a pitching staff in their twinbill at Farmingdale State College over the weekend, but Salem State surpassed that total with two outs in the second.  The Owls got a run back in their half of that same inning as a single by Nathaniel Hudson brought home Brendan Eaton, who led off with a walk, to make it 4-1, but they stranded a pair.  Brahiam Ortega singled and stole second to start the bottom half before scoring on leadoff man Boucher's triple, his second hit in as many innings.  A groundout brought him home to make it 6-1, and SSU tacked on one more after back-to-back doubles by Piroh and Bobby Jellison.

Down six, Keene State had chances to claw back into the game, but stranded a pair in the third and fifth innings.  In the fifth, walks to Colin McKeon and Joe Barter around Josh Beayon's single loaded the bases with only one out, but the lone Owl run came on an Eaton sac fly to center that made it 7-2.  KSC did not score again until the ninth, when Michael Montembeault singled to left before pinch-runner Liam Conley scored on a wild pitch.  The Vikings had tacked on insurance runs in the sixth and seventh on a ground ball single to left from Burt and another homer for Piroh, respectively, as they were never seriously threatened after their fast start.  The top six in the hosts' order combined to go 11-for-26 (.423) and drove in all nine runs.  Piroh went 3-for-4 with two home runs, four RBI, and three runs scored, while Burt was 3-for-5 with two RBI.  The Vikings had five extra-base hits and 14 overall, while the Owls managed six singles.

Beayon went 2-for-4 with a walk and Hudson 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk.

Alex Koletar (0-1) got the start on the mound for the Owls, allowing four runs and five hits in the first inning.

Salem State's Brad Feeder (0-1) went 5.1 innings and got the win despite allowing two runs, five hits, and five walks while striking out one.  The Vikings' pitching staff overall walked nine in the game, but only two of those scored.  Offensively, SSU had struck out 29 times in their opening two games, but had just two whiffs today.

Around the Horn
  • The schools separated by about two hours had last met in 2011 in Florida, a 17-3 Owl beatdown when Nick Vita drove in six runs.
  • KSC has worked 14 walks offensively in 26 innings over their first three games, including five of the nine today from the top four in their order.  Their pitching staff has issued seven free passes in 23.1 innings after issuing 100 in 170.1 frames in 19 games in 2021.
  • The teams are each led by new head coaches; Justin Blood is in his first year with KSC and Jason Falcon his initial season with Salem State.  The Vikings went 13-10 last year, winning the MASCAC before falling to Adrian College (2-0) and Luther College (8-2) in the NCAA tournament.
Up Next
  • The Owls open their Spring Break trip to the Riken Experience in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with a doubleheader against McDaniel College (Md.) (6-3) on Sunday, March 13 at 3:00 p.m.
  • Salem State will also be heading to the Palmetto State, opening their trip with two against Albertus Magnus College (0-0) on Monday, March 14 (9:00 a.m.).
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