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ABERDEEN, Md. – Cam Thomas pitched four hitless innings with seven strikeouts in his first collegiate start while four Owls hit over .300 on the weekend as the Keene State College baseball team finished 2-1 in Maryland at the Ripken Experience, beating Swarthmore College 9-4 on Saturday and Mount Aloysius College on Sunday.  The Owls dropped their opener to McDaniel College 20-5.

Keene State played from ahead in each of the final two games on the weekend, jumping in front of Swarthmore (2-1) with a four-run bottom of the third that included a two-run double for Joseph Lucas and an RBI single from Alec Varano.  The Garnet battled back to tie it at four in the sixth, with three of the runs scoring on something other than a hit (sac fly, walk, balk), but the Owls produced a big answer in the bottom half by plating three.  Tommy Ahlers brought home the go-ahead run in Luke Anderson, who walked with one out, and Jonathan Chatfield came through with a big two-out, two-run single to make it 7-4.  The Owls piled on a pair of insurance runs in the eighth on a run-scoring triple to center by Evan Cali and another RBI from Chatfield, who tied for a team-best four RBI on the weekend with Varano after each look to build on productive rookie seasons last year.

On the mound, David Floyd started and went the first 4.2 innings, allowing three runs and five hits with three walks and four strikeouts.  Shea Zina (1-0) got the win, pitching the final 3.1 innings and allowing just one hit with one walk and one strikeout.

"Great bounce back today," said Keene State head coach Justin Blood.  "David (Floyd) did exactly what we needed him to do – attacked early and commanded his stuff.  We played solid defense and got some big hits when we needed them.  Shea was great today, commanded the baseball and got some big outs for us."

Behind a pair of freshmen, the Owls had no trouble with Mount Aloysius (0-4) on Sunday to wrap up the weekend, as they built a 5-0 advantage in the third and 7-0 in the seventh while getting six scoreless innings from Camden Thomas and Dylan Ellison in their collegiate debuts.  Thomas mowed down the Mounties over four, walking two and striking out seven including the side in the first inning of his career.  KSC led right away with a pair of triples as Ahlers and Chatfield struck right away for a 1-0 lead.  The Owls piled on four more in the third, as Varano had a run-scoring single to center on a low line drive that also got past centerfielder Joshua Brown to make it 3-0.  Evan McCue tacked on a two-run double to right that made it 5-0.

Mount Aloysius did not get their first hit until the fifth, but had a chance to score in the fourth.  However, Thomas stranded the bases loaded, freezing Brown and getting Owen McDermott to bounce to first.  Dylan Ellison (1-0) stranded a pair in the fifth with his first collegiate strikeout, and wound up picking up the win (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K).
Keene State made it 7-0 in the seventh with a pair of two-out runs courtesy of an RBI double from Shea Zina and run-scoring single to left by Hamilton Barnes.
The Owls outhit the Mounties 12-4.

"I thought Cam Thomas gave us a good start," said Blood.  "He is going to be a very dangerous pitcher in our league when he learns how to command the baseball at a higher level.  Dylan and Troy Brennan did a good job on the mound as well."

"We left some runners on base, I thought we should have extended the lead on a couple of occasions.  Overall, we swung the bats pretty well and got some nice contributions off the bench offensively and defensively."

The final two games helped wash away the taste of a tough season opener in which McDaniel (1-0) scored five runs in the first and eight in the second on Friday morning, cruising to a 20-5 win.  The Green Terror piled up 20 hits and KSC made four miscues.

McDaniel had six people with multi-hit games, including a five-hit, five RBI day with three doubles and a home run for leadoff man and centerfielder Shane Daly.  Nine of their 20 hits went for extra bases.

Jake Jachym (0-1) took the loss, allowing six hits and eight runs in one inning.  He walked three.

"We got punished for leaving pitches up in the zone most of the day," said Blood.  "McDaniel can hit, but we never made them uncomfortable."

After four miscues in the opener, the Owls made just one over the next two games, outscoring their opponents 16-6 to cap a winning weekend.

Around the Horn

• Chatfield has 28 RBI in 38 career games.  He also led the team in that category a season ago.
• It was KSC's first ever meetings against both Swarthmore and Mount Aloysius.  The Owls are 2-8 against McDaniel, losing the last three after a 6-1 win in Florida in 2018.
• Head coach Justin Blood began his third season with the program, taking over in 2022.

Up Next

• Keene State has a pair of doubleheaders in Hartford next weekend, visiting Trinity College (Conn.) on Saturday starting at 12:00 p.m. and the University of St. Joseph (Conn.) on Sunday at the same time.