KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State College baseball team surrendered five or more runs in an inning three times as they suffered a pair of late losses to the University of Massachusetts-Boston in Little East Conference action Saturday at the Owl Athletic Complex.  The Owls had a 4-2 lead through six in the opener before falling 7-5, and then had advantages of 5-0 through two and 9-7 through eight in the nightcap before a long ninth inning resulted in a 15-9 loss.

Records

• Keene State:  13-15, 3-4 LEC
• UMass-Boston:  17-9, 7-0 LEC

Postgame Interview (Coach Blood)

How It Happened – Game One
Jonathan Chatfield jumped all over Dillon Ryan in the first inning with a three-run blast, his sixth home run of the season, as KSC took a 3-1 lead, but the Beacons scored five runs in the seventh inning to take their first lead since it was 1-0 in the first and never looked back after that.  Despite the Owls getting to Ryan in the opening frame, their offense was mostly shut down from there as they managed two runs over the final seven innings.

Drew Metzdorf, who had seven hits, eight RBI, and homered three times while adding a double and a triple, went deep in the third to chip UMB's deficit to 3-2, though KSC did get the run right back in their half of the inning when Hamilton Barnes singled, stole second, and scored on Josh Beayon's two-out single into right.  KSC starter David Floyd and Patrick McKeighan helped put zeroes on the board for the next three innings to maintain the 4-2 edge through six.

The Owls wasted a pair of chances in the fourth and fifth innings to pad their lead, and it ultimately bit them in the end.  In the fourth, Nathaniel Hudson led off with a walk and Junior Santos followed with a sacrifice bunt that wound up being thrown away by Ryan, putting two on with nobody out.  However, catcher Craig Corliss then threw out the lead runner Hudson at third on Evan Cali's attempted sacrifice bunt, and then two (of Ryan's eight) strikeouts ended what began as a promising inning.  In the fifth, Barnes led off with a line drive double down the left field line, but he could advance no further.

McKeighan and Sean Brennan avoided damage in the top of the sixth after a walk and an error, but big damage came an inning later, and KSC never recovered.  Metzdorf began the seventh with a homer to left to make it 4-3, and Aidan Blake and Corliss then followed with singles after.  Nick Palma was then hit with a pitch to load the bases.  A fielder's choice off the bat of Gianni Zarrilli Jr. could not be turned into a double play with Barnes getting one out at second, tying the game, and the Beacons kept going from there.  With runners a first and third, pinch-hitter Bostyn Burris' single rolled into left and gave UMass-Boston a 5-4 lead.  Brennan was then lifted in favor of Shea Zina, but Mariano Jimenez then singled into left in similar fashion to add another run.  A sacrifice fly from Breon Parker made it 7-4 before the Owls finally got out of the inning.

KSC got one run back in the bottom of the eighth on a hit batter, passed ball, and ground out before Hudson posted an RBI single to chip the deficit to 7-5, but the Owls went down 1-2-3 on 13 pitches in the seventh and managed only a leadoff walk in the ninth.  The free pass was enough to bring the tying run to the plate, but two lazy flyouts and a strikeout ended the game.

Ryan (4-0) got the win, allowing four runs and five hits while walking one and striking out eight.  He allowed just one run over the final five innings, and was still in the game while his team scored five runs in the seventh.  Sam Gray allowed a walk and struck out two in 1.1 innings to get his fourth save.

Brennan (0-1) allowed four hits and five runs to take the loss.  He struck out one.  Floyd had gotten his first weekend and conference start, going 3.2 innings.  He allowed two runs and four hits, walking three and striking out five.  KSC walked six as a staff and hit two others.

Five of the Owls' six hits came from the top four in the lineup, with Barnes going 2-for-4 with a double.  Chatfield homered and drove in three.  Hudson, in the sixth spot, was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, but KSC struck out 11 times.

Metzdorf finished 4-for-5 with two home runs and two RBI for UMass-Boston.

How It Happened – Game Two
A 5-0 lead through two and a 9-7 lead through eight were not enough, as KSC fell under .500 in the conference and lost to the Beacons for the 17th consecutive time.  There were a lot of offensive bright spots early, including the first career home run and a 4-for-4 effort for Alec Varano, and the Owls overall finished with 17 hits, but their 5-0 edge was gone in three pitches in the third and then they watched 13 Beacon batters come to the plate in an ugly eight-run ninth inning as they went from up two to down six.
The Owls crushed UMass-Boston starter Tim Cianciolo, who entered with an ERA of nearly seven before the game, and today was gone in the second inning after allowing five runs (four earned) and eight hits while getting four hits.  KSC took the lead with a pair of two-out runs in the first inning as Brendan Eaton singled to center to plate Tommy Ahlers and an error on the play by Parker allowed a second run to score.

Jake Jachym set down the Beacons in order for an important shutdown inning, and the Owls tacked on three more runs in the second to go up 5-0.  Varano led off with his first long ball, and Liam Conley followed with a double and Evan McCue an RBI single to right center for a 4-0 lead.  Later, Barnes singled to put runners on the corners and Chatfield's double added another run and put two in scoring position.

As it turned out, Keene State needed all the runs they could get, and after stranding two in scoring position thanks to Brendan Ferrari coming in and striking out the final two batters of the inning, their lead was gone in an instant in the third.  The Beacons' six-run frame began with a hit batter and a walk, and after a strikeout, an error on what would have been the first out if not a double play.  That led to, despite UMB not recording a hit in the inning, Metzdorf coming to the plate with the bases loaded.  On a day where anything in the air carried a tremendous amount, he lofted a fly ball to center for a grand slam to make it a 5-4 game.  Then, on another 1-0 pitch, Aidan Blake went deep to left as the Beacons went back-to-back on three pitches to tie the game and snap Jachym's 20-inning scoreless streak.  Zarrilli Jr. singled with two outs, stole second, and then scored on Burris' single that gave UMass-Boston a 6-5 lead.

The Owls did eventually fight back, retaking the lead with a pair of runs in the fifth against Ethan Errera.  Beayon led off with a single, and after Eaton's foul out, base hits from Hudson and Varano tied the game at six.  Two batters later McCue loaded the bases with another hit, and Errera then walked Ahlers of five pitches to give KSC a 7-6 lead.
Evan Cali provided strong relief work in the sixth and seventh, and the Owls added to their lead in the bottom of the seventh with a well-manufactured run as Varano stayed hot with another base hit and was sacrificed into scoring position by Conley before McCue's third hit was an RBI single that made it 8-6.  Ahlers was then plunked to put two on, but KSC grounded into a double play to end the inning, and overall left 14 people on base in the game.

UMass-Boston drew back within a run without getting a hit in the eighth, but KSC got it back in the bottom half as Chatfield doubled to lead off.  Beayon's sacrifice bunt did not work, turning into a ground out, as Chatfield did not advance to third, but after an intentional walk to Eaton to set up a possible double play, Varano and Conley each took free passes with two outs to make it a 9-7 game.  KSC left three more on in the inning, but had scored what looked to be an insurance run.  As it turned out, they would have needed several more.  Corliss started UMass-Boston's ninth with a double, but Zarrilli Jr. then flied out to center for the first out.  The next out did not come for a long time – and when it did KSC trailed 14-9 after watching seven consecutive batters reach.  Parker, who had not had a hit on the day, gave the Beacons a 10-9 lead with a single up the middle that eluded McCue.  Metzdorf later had a two-run double for a four-run lead, and UMB piled on from there.

Gray (1-0) walked five in two innings and entered with his team losing 8-7, but got the win.  He allowed one run, one hit, and struck out two.

Jachym allowed six hits and six runs (four earned) in the start for KSC, walking three and striking out one.  Cali (2-1) took the loss, allowing five hits and five runs (four earned).  He walked three and struck out three.

KSC had multi-hit games from five different people, including a 3-for-5, two RBI showing for McCue.  Chatfield (2-6, 2 2B, RBI, R), Beayon (2-6), and Eaton (2-5, RBI, BB) had two hits each.

Metzdorf was 3-for-3 with two home runs and six RBI to pace UMass-Boston.  Justin Gouveia was 3-for-5 and drove in two.

After allowing eight walks or hit batters in the opener, KSC walked seven and hit three in the second game, leading to 10 extra baserunners.

Around the Horn

• Varano is 11-for-31 (.355) to start his career.
• The 17 hits in the nightcap were KSC's second-most in a game this season.
• The Owls have not won in the series since 2014, and now having a losing record in it (29-30).
• Keene State has four losses when leading after six innings, three of which have come in LEC games.

Up Next

• The Owls host No. 8 Eastern Connecticut State University (23-5, 8-1 LEC) on Tuesday, April 18 at 3:00 p.m.  KSC has lost five straight in that series and has only three wins all-time in Keene against the Warriors.
• UMass-Boston in home against the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (13-12, 4-5 LEC) on the same day (3:00 p.m.).