KEENE, N.H. – Down three runs with just two outs remaining, the Keene State College baseball team staged a furious comeback, erasing a 5-2 ninth inning deficit to post an exciting 6-5 Little East Conference victory over Castleton University on Mike Collins' walk-off double in the bottom of the 10th inning Tuesday afternoon at the Owl Athletic Complex.

Records

• Keene State:  6-15, 2-3 LEC
• Castleton:  5-14-1, 0-7 LEC

Quotable
"The guys were resilient today.  We did not have great at bats early but got some big hits when we needed them.  I am very happy with how we have competed in the past week.  We need to keep improving week-by-week." – Keene State head coach Justin Blood.

Collins Walk-Off Double (highlight clip)
Daft Game-Tying Hit in 9th (highlight clip)

How It Happened
What started as a pitcher's duel between the Owls' Phil Nichols and Castleton's Max Olmsted turned into a wild finish as KSC improved to 4-2 over their past six games and 4-2 at home this season.  After having very few chances early, Keene State cracked the scoreboard first in the bottom of the sixth after Wyatt Daft poked a single through the right side to lead it off and eventually scored on a passed ball.   Castleton answered with a pair in their very next trip to the plate to take the lead as Jackson Cardozo began with a double and scored on Jesus Cardenas' RBI single to center to tie it before a sacrifice fly by Ryan Lawrence delivered the go-ahead run for the Spartans, who had entered the inning with just five singles – one on a bunt – over the first six innings.  Nichols, a freshman getting the first start of his career in league action, was solid overall while lowering his season ERA from 3.80 to 3.52 in 30.2 innings (10 appearances).  He departed facing possibly a very tough-luck loss, but concern was rapidly diminished when Castleton's 2-1 lead was gone in a flash, as Joe Barter kicked off the Owls' half of the seventh with a blast to left, his third of the season and eighth in the past 41 games.  Olmsted was gone one batter later after plunking Josh Beayon, but Owen Phelps preserved the tie before he and KSC's Gregory Esposito pitched scoreless eighth.  The back-and-forth that developed in the late innings foretold the eventual story, which had the preferred ending for Keene State.

Castleton's ninth inning rally began with a one-out walk to Addison Schaub and escalated from there, as they loaded the bases on consecutive singles by Cardenas and Ryan Lawrence.  Hunter Perkins brought home one with a sacrifice fly to put the Spartans up 3-2, and KSC then appeared to be in serious trouble when Tyler McLain hit a bounding ball into right field to plate two more for a three-run edge (5-2).  The battling Owls had other ideas.  After a fly out to right began the ninth, KSC saw the next five consecutive batters reach against Aubrey Ramey and scored three times, handing him a blown save.  Barter started it off with a walk and was followed up by singles from Beayon and Collins to put the tying run on base and the go-ahead run at the plate.  Pinch-hitter Trent Mayer worked a full count walk to force in a run and make it 5-3 with still just one out, after which Daft lined a ball to left field that was out of reach of a diving Perkins, scoring two runs for the tie.  KSC that quickly had the winning run 90 feet away but extras were needed after Ramey struck out Malik Pearson looking and got Brendan Eaton to hit a grounder back to the pitcher.
Esposito mowed down the Spartans 1-2-3 in the 10th to get his team right back up to the plate quickly, and still with momentum.  Barter made a bid for a second home run of the day with a swing that chased Perkins back near the track to make the catch, but was the second out.  Two batters later, the game was over as KSC capitalized on advantageous counts, with Beayon cleaning out a 3-1 pitch for a double to deep center before Collins roped a 1-0 pitch into the right center gap for the walk-off and his third hit and second two-bagger of the game.  Daft also went 3-for-4 and drove in a pair of critical runs in the ninth.

Nichols allowed two earned runs and seven hits in his seven innings of work.  He walked one and struck out two, throwing 79 pitches.  Esposito (1-0) got the win, rebounding from the though ninth with an important perfect frame in the 10th.

Adam Winchell (0-1) took the loss for the Spartans, allowing one run and two hits in the tenth with one strikeout.  Olmsted went six-plus innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and six hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

Reece de Castro doubled in a 3-for-3 effort on the day to pace Castleton's effort, while Cardenas (3-5, RBI, R, SB) also had a three-hit day.  McLain also had a multi-hit afternoon, but the Spartans dropped their sixth straight pending the completion of a suspended game mixed in the streak that they will complete later this month against Skidmore College leading 14-8 in the tenth.

Around the Horn

• Since starting the season 0-for-8, Collins is hitting .289 over his last 38 at bats including six for his last 11 with four doubles and two RBI.
• The Owls snapped a five-game losing streak in the series against Castleton, beating them in a Little East Conference game for the first time since they joined prior to the 2019 season.
• Daft had five two hit showings, but posted his first three-hit effort of his young career this afternoon.

Up Next

• After an off day Wednesday, KSC's busy week continues with a home non-conference matchup against Roger Williams University (18-3-1, 5-2-1 CCC) on Thursday, April 14 at 3:00 p.m.
• Castleton, who has yet to play anything other than a true road game, is scheduled for their home debut with an LEC doubleheader on Friday, April 15 against the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (10-11, 1-4 LEC).  First pitch is at 12:00 p.m.