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KEENE STATE OWLS
Baseball Postgame 5.3.2022
8
Winner No. 2 Eastern Connecticut ECSU 33-3, 13-1 LEC
6
Keene State KSC 6-26, 2-12 LEC
Winner
No. 2 Eastern Connecticut ECSU
33-3, 13-1 LEC
8
Final
6
Keene State KSC
6-26, 2-12 LEC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
No. 2 Eastern Connecticut ECSU 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 2 0 8 15 4
Keene State KSC 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 0 6 8 3

W: Nolan Lincoln (4-0) L: McKeighan, Patrick (0-5) S: Bryan Albee (3)

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

Baseball Battles 2nd-Ranked Warriors Before Falling 8-6

Owls Bring Tying Run to Plate in Each of Final Two Innings

KEENE, N.H. – The battling Keene State College baseball team trimmed a five-run deficit to two by scoring three times in the bottom of the eighth and brought the go-ahead or tying run to the plate in each of the final two innings, but ultimately fell 8-6 to No. 2 nationally-ranked Eastern Connecticut State University in Little East Conference action Tuesday afternoon at Owl Athletic Complex.

Records
  • Keene State:  6-26, 2-12 LEC
  • Eastern Connecticut:  33-3, 13-1 LEC
Postgame Interview with Coach Blood (click here)

How It Happened
The Warriors' Ryan Bagdasarian hit two home runs to the same spot in left field, driving in three, and his teammate Matt Malcom also had three RBI, with those two proving to be the difference in the end as Eastern Connecticut held on for a win.  The Warriors got off to 4-0 lead by scoring twice each in the second and third innings, but KSC get within one run (4-3) after they scored twice in the bottom of the sixth.  It seemed the Warriors stemmed the tide by answering right back with two in the seventh, including a solo shot by Bagdasarian, before tacking on two more in the eighth for an 8-3 edge, but they needed four pitchers to get through the bottom half of the inning as the Owls hung around, making it 8-6 with a three-run frame.  Aidan Dunn, who had settled things down for ECSU after starter Nolan Lincoln went five innings, was lifted after 30 pitches and getting the first out in the eighth, and the Owls then chewed through two more pitchers as they scored three times against Griffin Pontbriant and Jack Wallace.  Nathaniel Hudson began the uprising with a one-out walk and Liam Conley followed with a double down the left field line to put two in scoring position.  Trent Mayer's RBI single to center made it 8-4 with still two on.  Conley was thrown out at third for the second out after trying to advance on a ball that bounced away from Malcom, but Mike Collins then reached on a misplayed fly ball in right by Jason Claiborn, making it 8-5.  Mark Barrett roped a single to right-center two put runners at the corners, and the Owls drew within two (8-6) when a Wallace pitch ate up Malcom.  Eli Oliver worked a walk to put the tying run at first and bring up the possible go-ahead run in the form of Joe Barter, but Bryan Albee entered and induced a grounder to short to get out of any further trouble.

Jack Lang worked around a one-out single in the top of the ninth to keep it 8-6 and give his team one final shot at a rally.  Still facing Albee, Daft worked a walk to start the inning to again put the tying run on base, but Josh Beayon flied to center for the first out and Hudson rolled a fielder's choice back to the pitcher before a strikeout ended the game.

Barrett finished 2-for-4 to pace KSC's offense, which finished with eight hits.  Daft was 1-for-4, walked, and scored twice, while Conley (1-4, RBI) had the Owls' lone extra-base hit (a double).  His sacrifice fly in the fourth got Keene State within 4-1.  The Owls snapped a 16-inning hitless streak on Barrett's single to right with one down in the fifth, and then opened the sixth with a flurry of four consecutive singles to make it a 4-3 game.  They had runners and first and second with still nobody out, but Dunn notched a pair of strikeouts and got Hudson to ground into a fielder's choice to second to escape further damage after he relieved Lincoln after the third hit in a row earlier in the frame.

Bagdasarian finished 3-for-5 with two home runs and drove in three for the Warriors, while Malcom (3-5, 2B, 3 RBI, R) also had a three-hit game.  Zach Donahue and Ryan Parent each finished with two hits, and the Warriors stole eight bases while improving to 15-0 on the road.

Lincoln (4-0) allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits in five-plus innings to pick up the win for ECSU.  He walked one and struck out four.  Albee walked one and whiffed one over the final 1.1 innings for his third save (to go along with a 9-0 record).

Patrick McKeighan (0-5) allowed four runs and six hits and was charged with the loss.  Alex Koletar pitched two scoreless frames in relief after him to keep the Owls within striking distance.

Around the Horn
  • Beayon, who went 1-for-4 with a walk, entered the day hitting .359 with a .457 on-base percentage in league games.
  • The loss dashed Keene State's LEC tournament hopes.  They entered needing wins in their final three games and some help from around the league to qualify.  The Owls have not made the conference tournament since 2017.
  • Three of the Owls' last four losses and five of the past seven are by three runs or less (6-3, 5-2, 8-6).  Five of their 12 league losses are by three or fewer.
Up Next
  • KSC closes the season with a home Senior Day doubleheader against the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (13-21, 4-10 LEC) on Friday, May 6 at 12:00 p.m.
  • Eastern Connecticut aims to clinch the Little East regular season title and No. 1 seed for the league tournament with one win when they host the University of Massachusetts-Boston (23-13, 11-3 LEC) for two on the same day (12:00 p.m.).
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