KEENE, N.H. – Sophomore outfielder Eli Oliver came through in a big way, clearing the bases with a two-out, three-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Keene State College baseball team picked up a 4-3 victory over Westfield State University in non-conference action Monday afternoon at the Owl Athletic Complex.

Records

• Keene State:  5-15
• Westfield State:  12-9

Postgame Interview with Coach Blood (click here)
Player Postgame Interview (Eli Oliver) (click here)
Mark Barrett Web Gem

How It Happened
KSC was on their heels against Westfield starter Ryan Donahue for most of the afternoon, only scoring on a passed ball in the third inning and striking out nine times, but Oliver's key swing changed the entire complexion of the game as the Owls won for the third time in their last five tries.  Five Keene State pitchers combined to make pitches at key times, stranding the bases loaded in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings and 16 Westfield Owls overall.  The final two times WSU filled the bases came after the first two outs had been quickly recorded before the third proved elusive for KSC.  In a 1-1 game in the sixth, Joe Barter sent down two of the first three guys before issuing consecutive walks in just his second ever appearance on the mound to fill the bases.  He got out of it by retiring Sam Palmer on foul out to first.  Jack Lang entered in the seventh and easily worked around a hit batter, setting the stage for what turned into a big bottom of the seventh.  Josh Beayon, coming off a nine-RBI day yesterday in a doubleheader against Plymouth State, started the uprising by stroking a single up the middle and was followed by Mike Collins' liner into the right center gap as KSC put two on against Donahue for just the second time in the game.  The Owls had scored on a passed ball to tie the game at one in the third the only other time they had a pair on, but were otherwise held in check, going down in order three times in the opening six innings.  After a strikeout for the second out in the bottom of the seventh it seemed they might come up empty again after having a man at third and one out.  However, Mark Barrett worked a walk to prolong the inning and fill the bases before Oliver's clutch moment, as he took an 0-1 offspeed pitch and lined it out of the reach of Westfield center fielder Nick Martin to put KSC up 4-1, chasing Donahue and putting him on the hook for the loss after 108 pitches.

Lang got Trey Faulkner to pop out to short to start the eighth, but then plunked Damien Maniscalco and allowed a single that bounced through the left side by Devin Slattery as Westfield suddenly had the tying run at the plate in the form of Martin, who had homered four pitches into the game to give his team a 1-0 lead before then recording his 100th career hit.  He had three on the day and was a dangerous man at the plate in that situation, but KSC reliever Dean Ruzich sent him down with a K for the second out of the eighth to keep it 4-1.  However, Westfield still clawed back within one (4-3) on an RBI single by Palmer and a pair of wild pitches by Ruzich that scored Slattery later in the frame.  WSU eventually put the tying run in scoring position and the go-ahead run at first after entering the inning down three runs, but Ruzich struck out Nolan Florence to keep it 4-3.  It was still the same score in the ninth when KSC got out of trouble one more time.  Matt Motyka was hit by a pitch to start the inning – the fifth batter hit by Keene State's pitching staff in the game (all in the seventh inning or later) – and was sacrificed into scoring position by Faulkner to put the tying run in scoring position in the form of John Nickerson.  However, he never got any further than that as KSC's Will Dolaher wrapped up his first save of the season by getting a Slattery fly ball and a fitting grounder to Barrett at short from Martin to end the game.

In addition to Oliver, Barrett finished 1-for-2 and drew a walk.  Josh Beayon was 1-for-3, walked, and scored.  Lang (1-0) got his first career win.  Alex Koletar got the start and allowed one earned run on eight hits in 4.1 innings, strking out two.  KSC's bullpen limited Westfield to just two hits over the final 4.2 innings, but had to successfully weather walking five people in addition to hitting five people.

Donahue (2-1) suffered his first loss, allowing four hits and four runs (three earned) in 6.2 innings.  He walked three and struck out nine.  Martin (3-4) and Palmer (4-5) combined to go 7-for-10 out of the top two spots in the lineup for Westfield, who had 10 hits overall.

Around the Horn

• KSC improved to 15-4 in the all-time series, including 8-2 here in Keene.  Today was the first meeting between the teams since 2016.
• After not recording a save in their first three wins, the Owls now have one in their last two (on back-to-back days) after Gregory Esposito was credited with one yesterday.
• Barter's only previous appearance on the mound came in a scoreless inning with one strikeout on March 10 this season against RPI.

Up Next

• Keene State continues a busy stretch with a conference home game against Castleton University tomorrow (Tuesday, April 12) at 3:00 p.m.
• Westfield State hosts Worcester State University for a MASCAC contest on Thursday, April 14 at 3:30 p.m.