KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State College baseball team scored five times in the bottom of the fourth to turn what had been a three-run deficit into a two-run lead, but that advantage disappeared in the very next half inning and then Mitchell College broke the final tie with a four-run eighth as the Mariners went on to an 11-7 win over the Owls in non-conference action Wednesday afternoon at the Owl Athletic Complex, handing KSC a sixth consecutive loss.

Records

• Keene State:  13-17
• Mitchell:  25-6

Postgame Interview (Coach Blood)

How It Happened
Keene State will enter Saturday's important doubleheader against the league's current last place team still in search of turning things around, as free baserunners and the big inning again bit them in another defeat.  Every time Mitchell scored they wound up plating multiple runs in an inning, and the Owls also walked seven and hit a batter, all in the first six innings as they went through three pitchers.  They actually overcame those free baserunners allowed by having their own five-run fourth inning in which they themselves received three walks and had three batters plunked.  Instead, more problems arose in the late innings, as for the third time in the last four games, they could not hold a lead or tie entering the seventh inning.  Troy Brennan entered in the seventh and worked around a leadoff single to set down the next three, but ran into big trouble in the eighth, as Dougie DelaCruz led off with a triple to the right center gap and then scored when cutoff man Hamilton Barnes' throw could not be corralled and bounded into the dugout, giving DelaCruz the plate and an 8-7 lead.  The inning further unraveled from there, with Matt Falk and Lelo Martinez both singling to left field, chasing Brennan.  Owen Robbins then greeted Daniel Cantafi with a rope that Jonathan Chatfield got a glove on but had no chance of stopping, going for an RBI double and a 9-7 Mariner lead with still two in scoring position and nobody out.  A Justin Adorno sacrifice fly and a wild pitch from there scored both of them, putting Mitchell up four for the first time.

The Mariners did have a two-run lead in the third that immediately disappeared in the bottom half and then a three-run lead in the fourth that again was wiped away in the very next half inning, but KSC also did not have much success holding a lead, as theirs did not until they came up again, either.  However, unlike Mitchell, the Owls' offense after waiting out starter Jacob Quiles and reliver John Novak was nearly completely shut down by Ryan Solimine and Kenny Heon over the next five innings, with the pair combining to strike out nine and allow only two hits.  They also did walk three, but none of them scored.

Solimine entered with two outs in the fourth with his team down 6-5, and Josh Beayon hit a routine grounder to second that was botched by Adorno when the throw was wide of first, allowing another run to score.  Brendan Eaton then worked a five-pitch walk to fill the bases, but Alec Varano struck out to force KSC to settle for the two-run lead.  That wound up being the first of 10 consecutive batters retired including four consecutive strikeouts, with the Owls' next big opportunity not coming again until the ninth inning down four runs.  Barnes, who drove in four runs and had two hits on the day, began that inning with a line single to right, and Chatfield and Beayon followed by taking consecutive walks against Heon to bring the tying run to the plate with nobody out.  However, KSC could not capitalize.  Eaton and Varano each struck out from there for the first two outs.  Heon threw two straight balls to pinch-hitter Otis Follet and was then lifted mid-at bat for Camren Varney, who got a one-pitch save after getting a routine chopper to second to end the game.

It was another tough loss for KSC, who fell to 13-5 when tied or ahead after six innings this season (they were without a win in 12 tries when trailing through that number of frames).  They have a minus-11 run differential in the seventh, a minus-seven run differential in the eighth, and a minus-13 run differential in the ninth.  In his postgame interview, head coach Justin Blood talked about finding the proper roles for relievers and how down the line, the current pitchers might be slotted into more suitable situations.  One example came when Shea Zina, who leads the team in saves, had to enter in the fifth inning.  However, he too struggled with command and allowed a pair of runs after KSC had taken the lead with a big fourth that featured a two-run single for Barnes and an RBI double for Chatfield that made it 6-5.  The Owls scored their other two runs in the inning on a bases loaded hit by pitch and an error.

Barnes, now hitting exactly .300 in his rookie season, had also come through in the third to tie the game also, lining a single past Martinez and down the left field line to make it 2-2, nullifying Mitchell's runs in the top half that scored on a sacrifice fly and an error.  However, after a leadoff ground out in the fourth, the Mariners had four in a row reach to quickly go back up two again as KSC continued to struggle with shutdown innings.

Brendan Muhs started for the Owls and allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits in three innings.  He walked three and struck out one.  Brennan (1-2) took the loss, allowing three runs and four hits.

Solimine improved to 6-1 after picking up the win, walking one and striking out five in 3.1 hitless innings.  Varney's one-pitch save after entering in a 2-0 count was his first save of the season.

Barnes (3-5, 4 RBI, R) had three of KSC's seven hits.  Chatfield and Conley also doubled, but the Owls had only two other singles.  They still did strand nine, including the bases loaded twice.

Four Mariners had multiple hits, including a 3-for-4 showing with a double and two RBI for No. 9 man Thai-ler Sestokas, who entered hitting .212 in 22 games.  Bo Yaworski finished 2-for-6 and also drove in two, while Angel Galindez was 2-for-4 and walked twice out of the top spot in the order.

Around the Horn

• KSC, who fell to 7-5 at home, has only three home games left in the regular season.
• Barnes has recorded a hit in 18 of 28 games this season, including 10 multi-hit efforts.  The four RBI were his most in a game in his young career.
• Mitchell has won both meetings in the all-time series after a 6-3 win in Connecticut last year marked the first-ever matchup between the teams.

Up Next

• Keene State travels to face Western Connecticut State University (7-24, 1-9 LEC) this Saturday for a conference doubleheader that starts at 12:00 p.m.  The Owls, who have remarkably not played at WCSU in nine years, currently have a game and a half lead over seventh-place Castleton University for the sixth and final playoff spot.  KSC plays the Spartans next Tuesday.
• Mitchell, who entered today after being swept in a doubleheader by Salve Regina University 12-5 and 15-7 on Sunday, visits Lesley University (10-17, 1-5 NECC) for a league doubleheader on Saturday (12:00 p.m.).  The NECC will be breaking apart, with the four member schools left joining other leagues after this season.