WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Keene State College baseball team put up a crooked number in both ends of a doubleheader and leaned on a pitching staff that combined to allow just two runs on the day as they swept the University of Hartford 7-1 and 3-1 (8 innings) in non-conference action Saturday at Fiondella Field.
Records
- Keene State: 8-12
- Hartford: 3-11-1
How It Happened
The Hawks were held scoreless in 16 of 18 innings on the day by six Owl pitchers, and KSC generated a pair of big innings late in each game to post their first sweep of the year. In the opener, the top of the Keene State lineup did plenty of damage, as
Brendan Eaton had three hits and drove in five runs, coming up just a home run short of a cycle.
Tommy Ahlers added a multi-hit game (2-4, 3 R) and scored three times, while
Jonathan Chatfield singled, walked, and drove in a run.
KSC took a quick lead, going up 1-0 in the first when Ahlers doubled to lead off the game and scored on Eaton's single two batters later. Hartford answered in their half of the frame as Jake Santiago's double scored Alek Popovich to tie the game, but
Shea Zina settled in, retiring six of seven over the next two innings. The Owls retook the lead in the third when the same duo helped produce another run. Ahlers again led off with a hit, this time a single, and moved to second on a passed ball and third on a groundout. Eaton then scored him with a grounder to short to make it 2-1. It stayed that way until the seventh as the Owls missed a chance with two on and none out in the sixth, but they made good in the next inning as the first five reached in what turned into a five-run inning to blow the game open.
Alec Varano began with a single into left before
Evan McCue walked and Ahlers was plunked to load the bases. A wild pitch brought home one, and after
Evan Cali walked, Eaton greeted new reliever Anthony Bubba with the biggest hit of the game, a bases clearing triple to the opposite field to make it 6-1. Chatfield subsequently tacked on a sacrifice fly to score Eaton.
That proved to be more than enough offense for Zina and
David Floyd on the mound, with the latter building on his relief outing at Rhode Island College last Friday with four innings of hitless relief. He walked two and struck out two.
Zina (1-2) got the win thanks to a five-inning effort where he allowed one run and four hits, walking two and whiffing two.
In addition to the top of the lineup, McCue singled and walked after pinch-hitting for
Kyle Palardy in the fifth.
Colin Blake (0-3) started and took the loss for Hartford, allowing two runs (one earned) and five hits over five innings. He walked two and fanned three. The Hawks' bullpen struggled mightily, allowing five runs and walking three in three innings. Offensively, the hosts were limited to just four hits, one for extra bases.
After winning the opener of a doubleheader for the first time on the season, Keene State built on it, scoring a pair of runs in the eighth of a scheduled seven-inning game to finish off a sweep.
Four Owl arms –
Camden Thomas,
Dylan Ellison,
Daniel Cantafi, and
Troy Brennan – teamed up to hold Hartford to just one run on six hits as the Hawks were held to just 10 hits (eight singles) on the day.
It was late offense that helped KSC emerge, as a third inning RBI single from Jeremy Mangiameli that plated Santiago had Hartford in front 1-0. That lead lasted until the sixth when Eaton and Chatfield helped spark a rally. Eaton singled to start the inning and moved to second on a passed ball before Chatfield moved him up 90 more feet on a base hit to right. Zina then worked a walk to load the bases.
Otis Follet then bounced into a 4-6-3 double play, but it was good enough to score the tying run.
With it still 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Hartford had a two out chance with two on thanks to a pair of walks, but Ellison got a fly ball to center from Jackson Ciccone to send the game to extras.
KSC pounced on Sam Smith in the eighth, as Eaton – who was 5-for-9 on the day and is hitting .415 on the season – kicked off the frame with a double to the right center gap. Zina worked a four-pitch walk to batters later to put two on, and Follet provided the go-ahead run with a single into right for a 2-1 lead. McCue then tacked on an insurance tally with a sacrifice fly to center to score Zina.
Leading 3-1, Brennan closed the door in the bottom half in only 10 pitches after Cantafi was lifted following a leadoff double by Santiago. He got a pair of fly balls to center for the first two outs and then James Hinspeter bounced to second on a 2-0 count to end the game.
"I thought we did a really good job on the mound today, created a lot of weak contact and made some pitches when we had to," said Keene State head coach
Justin Blood. "Defensively we made some big plays when we needed them as well. We're moving in the right direction, and need to keep making gains week-by-week."
It was the first save of the season for Brennan, and helped lock up a win for Ellison (2-0), who pitched a scoreless inning. Thomas allowed five hits and one run over six innings in his start, walking one and striking out four.
Smith (0-2) was rolling along before the eighth before hitting big trouble, and ended up allowing two hits and two runs while waking two and striking out two in 2.2 innings. Luke Rier got the start for the Hawks and allowed one runs and six hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out three.
Follet finished 3-for-4 with an RBI while Eaton was 2-for-4 and scored twice.
Santiago had a three-hit game for the Hawks, who otherwise managed only three singles from three others.
Around the Horn
- Eaton's .415 average is good for a top-five spot in the Little East Conference. He has a 1.161 OPS, and is currently on a 13-game hitting streak. He has multi-hit efforts in six consecutive games.
- It was the first ever meeting between the two programs. Hartford was in Division I until beginning a transition to Division III as a provisional member this year. They will be a part of the Commonwealth Coast Conference, though none of their league contests this year will be officially recognized and they are ineligible for NCAA participation. Blood coached with the Hawks from 2012 through 2021 after being an assistant at the University of Connecticut prior to beginning with KSC in 2022.
- Follet has four multi-hit games over his last seven.
- In his last three appearances, Floyd has allowed no runs and three hits with 10 strikeouts over 9.2 innings.
Up Next
- Keene State will play their long-awaited home opener on Tuesday, April 2 against Fitchburg State University (5-12, 0-1 MASCAC). First pitch is at 3:00 p.m.
- Hartford, who began the season with two wins in three games by a combined 35-11 score but has only one victory since, hosts Western New England University (7-10, 0-2 CCC) on the same day (3:30 p.m.).
