NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – A one-out solo home run in the bottom of the ninth of the opener while down four wound up being the only run the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth would score in 18 offensive innings as the Keene State College baseball team posted a convincing Little East Conference sweep on Friday, beating the Corsairs 4-1 and 8-0 at the UMD Baseball Complex.

The victories by the Owls (18-14, 10-3 LEC) continue to put pressure on Eastern Connecticut State University (9-2 LEC), who narrowly edges KSC by winning percentage currently for first place (but also does have the tiebreaker thanks to a 2-0 head-to-head record).  The Warriors travel to face the University of Massachusetts-Boston (9-4 LEC) for a pair on Sunday before hosting last place Western Connecticut State University for a single game on Tuesday and UMD for a doubleheader next weekend.  Fresh off their first true road doubleheader conference sweep in 13 years, KSC will host Vermont State University Castleton on Tuesday before visiting Plymouth State University next Friday to close their regular season conference slate.

Keene State's six arms were dominant on this day, combining to allow just nine hits over the two games while striking out 17.  Jake Jachym flirted with another complete game shutout, not allowing his first baserunner until Liam Blesi led off the bottom of the fifth with a single in a scoreless game.  Jachym got Matt Tempone to ground into a first pitch 6-3 double play to erase the baserunner immediately, and had no trouble in the fifth before firing a 1-2-3 sixth.  UMass-Dartmouth got their first runner into scoring position in still a 0-0 game with two outs in the seventh as Devyn Vezina singled with one out and then stole second after Joe Muzio struck out.  Blesi then worked a full count walk to put two on, but Jachym got Tempone to bounce to second to end the inning.

The Owls finally broke the scoring ice with a big eighth inning, and it began with Evan Cali beating out an infield single to third with one out.  Evan McCue followed with a base hit past short, and the sizzling Tommy Ahlers grounded a ball fair down the left field line for an RBI single that made it 1-0 KSC.  The Owls tacked on more runs two batters later with two down, as Ethan Rainha notched a base hit to right that plated McCue.  Blesi's bad relay throw in allowed a second run to score to make it 3-0, and Shea Zina followed with an RBI single to left to make it 4-0.

That proved to be plenty of run support for Jachym, who needed just 10 pitches to strike out two while sending down the Corsairs in order in the eighth.

The Owls left the bases loaded in the ninth with a chance to firmly break the game open, but it did not matter in the end.  Scott Cromack did spoil the shutout bid with a solo shot to left with one down in the bottom of the ninth and Vezina doubled down the line in left as the Corsairs recorded half of their hits in the ninth, but Jachym got Muzio to ground to second for the second out.  Head coach Justin Blood then turned to Troy Brennan to get the final out, and he did, freezing Muzio on a 2-2 pitch to end the game.
Jachym improved to 3-1, allowing just one run and four hits in 8.2 innings while walking one and striking out five.  He threw 96 pitches.

Ray Boutiette (3-5) was handcuffing the Owls early, but wound up giving up 11 hits and four runs in 7.2 innings.  He walked one and whiffed three.

KSC outhit UMD 13-4, and the top of the Owls' order (Cali, McCue, Ahlers) combined to go 7-for-14 with a walk.

Keene State used four two-run innings in the nightcap to finish off their first true road sweep of a Little East Conference opponent in 13 years, this time seeing Camden Thomas and three relievers team up on a five-hit shutout in which the Corsairs were held without an extra-base hit.

The game seemed to be headed in the same direction as the opener initially, as neither team scored over the opening three innings before Ahlers again got the Owls going, this time cracking a solo shot over the left field fence for a 1-0 lead in the fourth.  KSC tacked on another run in the inning when Jonathan Chatfield doubled, moved to third on a grounder to first by Rainha, and scored on Zina's single into left.

UMass-Dartmouth's first hit of the second game also did not come until the fifth, this time with two outs, as Nate Bartalini punched a base hit up the middle.  However, he was thrown out trying to steal second by Cali.  The Owls began pulling away late, including scoring twice more in the sixth as Cali led off with a single and later moved to second on an errant pickoff throw.  Chatfield was then plunked, and both eventually scored on RBI base hits by Zina and Otis Follet for a 4-0 advantage.

A turning point in the game came in the bottom half of the inning, as after Thomas allowed a base hit to Cooper Wixon and walked the next two to load the bases, David Floyd entered and struck out both Muzio and Blesi looking on just seven pitches to keep UMD off the board.

KSC then built off that momentum to take a 6-0 lead in the top of the seventh, as Cali walked to begin the frame and was sacrificed to second by McCue.  The Corsairs then elected to intentionally walk Ahlers, and he and Cali then executed a double steal to put two in scoring position.  A wild pitch by Jordan Paradis brought home the first run and Chatfield plated the second with his second hit of the day.
The Owls' bullpen controlled things from there, as Floyd worked around a pair of two-out singles in the seventh and Joe Schlehuber whiffed two in a scoreless eighth to nullify a hit batter and a walk.  Liam Conley closed out the day with a 14-pitch ninth, fanning Bartalini and getting Wixon to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play to end it as KSC swept the defending Little East tournament champion on the road.  The Owls have won the last three in the series after dropping the previous 11.

Zina had three hits and three RBI to pace KSC's 10-hit attack.  Follet added a pair of hits and two RBI, while Chatfield also had a multi-hit effort.

In the last 11 games in which the Owls are 10-1, they have outscored opponents by 69 runs and compiled a team batting average of .351 while pitching to a 3.19 ERA.  KSC has scored first nine times in that span, including a 22-5 advantage in the first inning and a 26-8 edge in the third.

"The pitchers did a great job today," said KSC head coach Justin Blood.  "Jake was efficient and gave us the start we needed in Game 1.  Cam was good in Game 2 and all three relievers did a nice job.  We did not have great at bats early in either game, but we adjusted well and kept the pressure on them from the middle innings on.  Defensively, we made every play.  It was a real balanced attack today for us, we played very good baseball."

Thomas (4-2) earned the win in the second contest, pitching five scoreless innings.  He allowed two hits and walked four while striking out five.  As a staff, the Owls whiffed 11 Corsairs, including Floyd notching three strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work.

AJ Rourke fell to 2-2, allowing two runs and four hits while striking out four in four innings.

KSC returns to action on Tuesday (April 29) when they welcome Vermont State University Castleton (12-20, 4-7 LEC) to Keene for a 3:00 p.m. start.  The Owls, who will continue to attempt to battle for the Little East regular season championship and hosting rights for the league tournament, beat the Spartans 18-1 in seven innings in Vermont two weeks ago.