BOSTON, Mass. – No. 2 seed and No. 22 nationally ranked Eastern Connecticut State University scored six runs in the third inning to turn a one-run deficit into a five-run lead and Nathan Furino took it the rest of the day, pitching a complete game with nine strikeouts, as the Warriors ended the No. 5 seed Keene State College baseball team's season 8-2 in a Little East Conference tournament elimination game Friday night at Monan Park on the campus of the University of Massachusetts-Boston.  ECSU moves on to Saturday, where they will take on the host Beacons in another elimination game.  The winner of that contest will have to beat the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth twice in the championship round.

Records

• Keene State:  21-22
• No. 22 Eastern Connecticut:  29-11

How It Happened
The Owls jumped on Nathan Furino right away in the first inning as Evan Cali opened with a single and two batters later Jonathan Chatfield doubled to put two in scoring position.  Two batters after that, Brendan Eaton came through with a two-run double down the left field line to plate both and give KSC a 2-1 lead, but the Owls managed only two hits after that and were shut out over the final eight innings as they suffered a season-ending loss and fell to the Warriors for the fourth time this season, allowing eight or more runs to them for a third time.  KSC also allowed at least eight runs in every LEC tournament game, but did notch their first postseason win in seven years yesterday to keep their season alive. 

Eastern Connecticut had been shut out earlier in the day by UMass-Dartmouth's Anthony Keefe in 96 pitches, mustering only three hits as the Corsairs' hurler tossed a complete game of his own, to fall into the elimination bracket.  But they had their bats early in this contest, scoring seven runs over the first three innings.  They took the lead for good in the third, though the final four runs they scored were helped along by the Owls.  They began the frame with three consecutive hits, the last of which a single by Ryan Parent into right field that tied the game at two.  After a strikeout and a walk, Mason Balmer pulled a single into left to give the Warriors a 3-2 advantage.  That is where the inning then got away from the Owls, as a hit batter, two wild pitches, and a ground ball to the pitcher scored four more runs, all without the benefit of a hit.

Furino (7-0) took it from there, allowing just a two-out single to Evan McCue in the fourth and a Chatfield base hit with two down in the eighth.  KSC had only four baserunners from the second inning on, the other two coming on errors, and never had multiple runners on after the first inning.  Furino wound up throwing 118 pitches and struck out nine while inducing 13 ground ball outs.  He allowed five hits and two runs.

Shea Zina took the loss, allowing eight hits and eight runs in 4.1 innings while throwing 88 pitches.  He walked one and struck out five, dropping to 3-4.  Daniel Cantafi was effective in relief, whiffing six in 4.2 one-hit innings, but the Owls' inability to generate offense (and allowing six runs in the third inning) proved costly.

"The wheels kind of came off during their six-run inning," said KSC head coach Justin Blood.  "We had good at bats early, but then allowed Furino to settle in and keep us off balance.  I thought Dan Cantafi did a great job keeping the score where it was.  His stuff looked great."

Keene State concludes their season with 21 victories, eight more than their total from a year ago when they went 13-25.  Head coach Justin Blood has improved the team by 15 wins from his first season in 2022, and the Owls will look to continue to build entering 2025.  KSC graduates Brendan Eaton and pitcher Zach Corrado, who missed the season with an injury, but otherwise expects to return everybody else and add a recruiting class that will help them move up into the top part of the conference.

"We gained some valuable tournament experience this week," said Blood.  "The rain delays, falling behind early, extra innings, etc.  We got a little bit of everything.  These experiences will no doubt help us in the coming year(s).  Overall, I feel like we reached the goals we set out for this spring.  Finishing the regular season at .500 for the first time in years and making the confernece tournament was a very good positive step for us.  We're just a couple of pieces away from competing for an LEC championship."