Box Score KEENE, N.H. – Castleton University put up five runs and six hits in the top of the first inning and that was ultimately just the beginning as the Keene State College baseball team was overwhelmed 18-2 in seven innings Tuesday afternoon in Little East Conference action at the Owl Athletic Complex, losing their ninth consecutive game.
Records
- Keene State: 13-20, 3-8 LEC
- Castleton: 14-17, 4-8 LEC
Postgame Interview (Coach Blood)
How It Happened
What was shaping up to be an interesting final portion of the season after KSC had won eight of nine to improve to 13-11 has instead turned sour, with the Owls now having lost all four games to the Spartans and Western Connecticut State University, both of whom entered the contests behind Keene State in the league standings. Castleton, who had earlier beaten the Owls 5-2 in Vermont for their first conference win after starting 0-6, today completed a season sweep and had that many runs by the end of the top of the first. Keene State briefly chipped their deficit to three (5-2) with single runs in the first and second innings against Brayden Howrigan, but then gave up six runs in the top of the fourth to fall behind 11-2 and it never got any better from there. That frame began with a single from Ryan Lawrence, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, against
Joe Schlehuber, who had to enter in the first inning and temporarily calmed things down. Reliever
Evan Cali then walked Reece de Castro to put two on. A strikeout of Tyler McLain came next, but the inning resumed unraveling after that, as Evan Keegan – who homered in the first – poked a single to right for a 6-2 lead. He then took second in a first and third situation before scoring along with de Castro on Jackson Cardozo's two-run single to left. Hunter Perkins was then plunked to put two on again and, after Addison Schaub sacrificed both into scoring positon with a bunt, Jack Boyle made it 10-2 with a two-run single to right.
Keene State did not mount much of an offensive push all day despite scattering around nine hits and leaving 11 on base (three of the hits and six of the LOB came in the final two innings).
Josh Beayon tripled with two outs in the first to get one run back and
Evan McCue cracked a two-out gap double to left center in the second to make it 5-2, but that was as close as the Owls got.
Jonathan Chatfield worked a two-out walk in the third with it still a three-run game that did not amount to anything, and
Alec Varano led off the fourth in an 11-2 game with a single to right before the next three went down in order. KSC mounted more significant threats in the final two innings, ultimately leaving the bases loaded twice, but the game had long since been decided by that point thanks to a 22-hit attack from Castleton, who finished 22-for-40 at the plate on the day, a .550 batting average after they entered at .261 and comfortably in the bottom third of the conference in that category (KSC was at .250).
Pitching with massive run support, Howrigan (2-2) picked up his second win of the season over Keene State, allowing two runs (one earned) and seven hits in 5.1 innings. He walked two and struck out four.
Patrick McKeighan (1-1) was chased in the first inning and took the loss for KSC, allowing five runs and five hits while recording two outs. He actually struck out the opening batter of the game and got McLain to fly to center for the second out in what seemed like it was going to be a quick first inning, but five consecutive hits came next and he was out of the game after that.
Varano remained hot at the plate for the Owls, going 2-for-2.
Josh Beayon was 1-for-2 with a triple and an RBI, but KSC fell out of the final playoff spot and after sitting at 3-1 in the conference at one point with a win over first-place Rhode Island College now sits at 3-8. They are a half game behind Castleton, now in sixth place, but would lose any tiebreaker with the Spartans. Western Connecticut State University is in eighth at 3-10 after being blasted at Eastern Connecticut State University today, while Plymouth State University is currently in last at 2-8. The schedule does not lighten up for KSC, who plays their final five games of the season against teams in the top five of the league standings. Their final three games after this coming Saturday are on the road.
Around the Horn
- KSC's 18 runs allowed were a season high. Their team ERA has ballooned to 6.64. It is 9.49 during the losing streak.
- Castleton leads the all-time series 11-6. The Owls have won only one game against the Spartans since they became conference foes (6-5 in 10 innings last year in Keene). They have scored four runs or fewer in all eight losses in that span.
Up Next
- Keene State hosts the University of Southern Maine (12-16, 7-4 LEC) in a Senior Day doubleheader on Saturday, April 29 at 12:00 p.m. The Owls will honor ten seniors for their contributions to the program. KSC has lost eight straight in that series, scoring 19 runs total.
- Castleton travels to face WestConn (9-25, 3-10 LEC) on the same day (12:00 p.m.). The Wolves have been outscored by 70 runs in conference games.
