Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

KEENE, N.H. – Josh Beayon had five hits, two triples, two doubles, and drove in nine runs while doing something that no Keene State College baseball player had done in a game in 11 years as the Owls split with Plymouth State University in a Little East Conference baseball doubleheader Sunday afternoon at the Owl Athletic Complex.  KSC scored 11 unanswered runs to win the opener 11-4 before coming up short in the second contest, 8-5.

Records

• Keene State:  4-15, 1-3 LEC
• Plymouth State:  9-15, 1-3 LEC

Postgame Interview with Coach Blood (click here)

How It Happened – Game One
The Owls got off to a slow start, making three errors over the first three innings on the way to a 4-0 deficit in the top of the fourth, but a bases-clearing triple in the bottom half was the beginning of 11 consecutive KSC runs as they went on to a comfortable win.  The Owls had just one hit over the first three frames and seemed as if they could be headed for another scoreless inning in the fourth before Beayon provided a big jolt, clearing the bases with a triple that hit off the fence – nearly going out – to make it a one-run game (4-3) just like that.  Keene State starter Brendan Muhs notched a shut down inning in the fifth, easily working around a two-out walk, and struck out a pair in the sixth to keep his team right there.  That paid off soon after, as the Owls plated four in their trip to the plate to take the lead for the first time.  Michael Montembeault and Liam Conley began the frame with base hits, with Montembeault then reaching third on PSU reliever Ethan Foster's errant pickoff throw.  Conley in turn stole second, and both scored on a two-run single by Beayon that gave the Owls a 5-4 lead.  They were not done there, as pinch-hitter Malik Pearson stroked a single into the right-center gap to plate another.  Wyatt Daft then bounced a ball of the third base bag for a hit and Nathaniel Hudson was plunked to loaded the bases, after which the hot-hitting Brendan Eaton worked a free pass to force home another for a 7-4 KSC edge.  Gregory Esposito relieved Muhs in the seventh and wound up pitching three hitless  innings, shutting down any hope of a Plymouth State comeback.  He did walk a man in each frame, including the leadoff man twice, but induced weak contact routinely to easily work around them.

Keene State effectively put the game away by scoring twice in both the seventh and eighth innings.  Beayon continued his torrid day by plating Liam Conley with a base hit up the middle for an 8-4 lead and eventually scored himself on Aiden McDonough's wild pitch.  The Owls continued to grind through PSU's pitching up five runs in the eighth, as Nathaniel Hudson smoked a leadoff double and eventually came home when Montembeault cracked another two-base hit to left, plating two to make it 11-4.  Hudson and Montembeault each doubled and had two hits on the day, with the latter driving in two runs and adding a walk.  Conley finished 1-for-2 and drew three free passes, reaching four times and adding a stolen base.

The star of the show was Beayon, who finished 3-for-4 with a walk and drove in six runs, finishing just a home run shy of the cycle.  His triple in the fourth changed the trajectory of the game, and the double in his next appearance put KSC ahead for the first time.  Counting his pair of hits in the second game, he raised his average 66 points on the day.

Muhs (2-2) allowed four runs – two earned – on seven hits while walking three and striking out seven to pick up the win.  Esposito whiffed two in his first save.

Plymouth State starter Eoin Hamell-Kelleher lasted four-plus innings and 86 pitches, allowing three runs on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts.  Foster (0-1) was touched up for four runs and five hits in 1.1 innings to take the loss.  KSC chewed through five Panther pitchers and made them throw a total of 196 pitches, nearly 25 per inning.

Jackson Curtis paced PSU's offense with a 2-for-3 effort that also saw him walk twice, score twice, and steal three bases, but the Panthers lost for the sixth time in their past seven games.

How It Happened – Game Two
The Owls again fell behind early (4-0 in the second) and tried to rally, getting as close as 5-3 and 7-5, but a pair of home runs and five runs batted in for Curtis helped get the Panthers a split of the twinbill.  KSC did not help themselves with their defense, committing three more errors that helped lead to five unearned runs.  Plymouth State's four-run second that turned a 1-0 game into a 5-0 game began with a misplayed popup and, later, after Alex Rives' sacrifice fly for the second out made it 2-0, Curtis made it hurt with a three-run blast to right.  Beayon (0-4) – who got the start on the mound in the second game – struck out Luke Sokolski to put an end to the inning (his fourth), but left after two innings, allowing five runs (one earned) and five hits.

While his outing was forced to end early, his sizzling bat remained in the lineup and helped KSC chip away in the bottom half of the inning, smacking a run-scoring triple that plated Joe Barter, who had led off with a base hit.  Junior Santos quickly made it 5-2 with a sacrifice fly as the Owls chipped two runs off their deficit in three batters.  Plymouth State starter Bobby Cliche stopped the damage right there and worked around a walk and a hit batter in the third, but the Owls got one more run closer (5-3) after four Mike Collins' line drive double scored Santos.  Much like in the opener, Keene State seemed to be building momentum after falling into the early deficit, but this time around, the Panthers did enough to keep them at bay.  Rives began the fifth with a base hit to right center and was followed by a second long ball in consecutive plate appearances from Curtis, whose two-run shot to right made it 7-3 almost immediately after KSC had gotten within two.  Yet again Beayon came through to get those runs back in the bottom of the fifth with a two-out double that made it 7-5, but the Owls could not get any closer.  Phil Nichols tossed a 1-2-3 sixth with two strikeouts and Collins began the bottom half with his second double of the day to bring the tying run to the plate.  However, PSU turned to Noah Wachter to get out of the inning, and he wound up covering the final 3.2 innings, allowing one hit and walking two with four strikeouts to get his third save.  Down 8-5 in the seventh after Curtis' bunt single was thrown away allowing a run to score, Keene State loaded the bases with two outs (after having a runner picked off earlier) on two walks and an error, but a strikeout got PSU out of it and the Owls' only baserunner over the final two innings came on another miscue.

Cliche (2-3) allowed five runs (three earned) and seven hits in 5.1 innings to get the win.  Beyond Curtis, the Panthers got a pair of hits and an RBI from Bryan McGrath.  Griffin Crane singled twice and walked.

Beayon was 2-for-3 with a double and triple for the second straight game, driving in three to make it nine for the day to carry KSC's offense.  Collins doubled twice and had an RBI while going 2-for-4 while Barter also had a multi-hit effort.

Around the Horn

• Beayon's six RBI in the opener marked the most for a Keene State player in a single game since Nick Vita recorded that many in a 17-3 (7 innings) win over Salem State University in Florida in March of 2011.  The Owl junior is a career .280 hitter in 41 games.
• Muhs has allowed two earned runs and struck out 11 over his last nine innings.
• Keene State leads the all-time series 34-18, but has lost five of the last seven meetings.  Half of Plymouth's six wins in Keene have come in the last year.

Up Next

• It is a busy week for the Owls, mostly at home, including tomorrow (Monday, April 11) when they welcome Westfield State University (12-8) for a 3:00 p.m. start.
• Plymouth State hosts the University of Massachusetts-Boston (15-5, 4-0 LEC) for a conference game on Tuesday, April 12 at 2:30 p.m.