SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore Evan Cali hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the top of the eighth to give the Keene State College baseball team the lead back after seeing an earlier three-run advantage disappear and Troy Brennan struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth – all looking – as KSC posted a 7-5 non-conference win over Western New England in a make-up game Sunday afternoon at Trelease Park.

Records

• Keene State:  15-17
• Western New England:  15-14

How It Happened
The Owls made it a productive weekend, winning two of three and improving to 11-6 over their past 17 games since starting 4-11.  And, again, it was their offensive depth that got the job done, as Cali and Tommy Ahlers notched multiple hit games, Shea Zina reached twice and drove in three runs, and the people occupying each of the bottom two spots in the lineup combined for three hits.  It was in support of a pitching staff that did walk seven, but struck out 10 and limited the Golden Bears to just seven hits.  Joe Schlehuber got the start and pitched effectively over three innings, allowing one hit and one run while walking two and striking out two.

Keene State jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the top of the third, scoring a pair in the second partly thanks to Western New England errors, as Ahlers reached to lead off the inning when Cody Waterbury booted a ground ball to third.  Ahlers then stole second and moved to third on Antonio Galizia's bad throw on the play, and Zina followed with a sacrifice fly.  Evan McCue then reached when Canon Marshall at short made an error of his own and advanced when Hamilton Barnes and Joseph Lucas singled.  A wild pitch then scored McCue to make it 2-0.

The Golden Bears got one run back in their half of the inning thanks to a leadoff double and sacrifice fly, but KSC took a 4-1 lead in the third when Ahlers doubled and Zina singled consecutively with two outs.  The hits also scored Jonathan Chatfield, who had worked a one out walk.

Dylan Ellison hit a speed bump in the fourth, as Waterbury and Sean Jamieson singled and walked, respectively, to start the inning.  After he struck out Montini, pinch-hitter Adam Florek blasted a three-run homer to right that tied the game.  WNE took their first lead an inning later when Paul Villecco was hit by a pitch to start the frame and eventually scored on Jamieson's two-out triple.

After seeing eight in a row sent down, the Owls sprung to life in the eighth against Lucas Kamoen, with Zina and McCue each taking ball four to start the uprising.  Pinch-hitter Ethan Rainha then loaded the bases with a single poked into left, and a wild pitch by Kamoen with Lucas at the plate tied the game.  Cali then followed with the biggest hit of the game, pulling a two-run single into right to give the Owls a 7-5 lead.  On the weekend, the KSC sophomore backstop drove in four and finished 5-for-14 (.357 AVG) in three games.  He now has a hit in six straight and has raised his season average from .286 to .308 – over 100 points better than in his rookie campaign.

The Keene State bullpen took it from there, though not without a two-out threat from the Golden Bears in the eighth.  George Young (2-1) worked out of the jam, stranding the bases loaded by getting Waterbury to fly to left.

Brennan slammed the door emphatically for his third save, freezing Jamieson, A. Grenier, and Florek consecutively to lock up KSC's win.

"I was happy with Joe Schlehuber's performance to start the game," said Owls head coach Justin Blood.  "He could be a great weapon for us down the stretch if he's pitching with confidence.  Shea Zina and Evan Cali came through at the plate when we needed them to."

As a team, the Owls have slowly raised their team batting average – now at .275, which would be nearly 30 points higher than last year's mark.

Brennan has struck out 11 over his last six relief appearances.

"Our pitchers can be very effective when they get ahead and execute with two strikes," said Blood.  "We've been bitten on both ends of the equation this spring.  George Young made some big pitches when he had to and Troy pitched with conviction to close the game.  When Troy gets ahead and commands the baseball, he is tough."
Young allowed three hits and walked two in two scoreless innings, also whiffing two.

Kamoen allowed two hits and three runs over the final two innings to take the loss in relief of Tanner Wall, who labored through 3.1 innings, allowing six hits and four runs (two earned) while walking three and striking out three.

Schlehuber tossed 46 pitches in his three innings of work for KSC.

Villecco was the only Golden Bear with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk.

The Owls return home and have a busy week, hosting four games including Tuesday, April 23 against Eastern Connecticut State University at 3:00 p.m.