MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Salve Regina University graduate student ace Brayden Clark limited the Keene State College baseball team to just four singles over eight innings while striking out six to help the No. 7 nationally-ranked Seahawks down the Owls 5-0 in an NCAA tournament regional first round game on Friday afternoon on the campus of Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg.

HIGHLIGHTS...COMING SOON
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

KSC (25-16) entered the tournament having won 17 of 19 to overcome an 8-13 start and won an outright Little East Conference regular season championship before winning their second conference tournament title last weekend, but saw their bats slowed by Clark, who entered with 104 strikeouts in 74.1 innings on the season including 27 strikeouts in 16 innings of one-run ball over his past two starts.

Salve (33-7) only outhit the Owls 6-4 on the day, but singular runs in five different innings helped the Seahawks slowly build an advantage that proved to be enough in the NCAA tournament opener.  Their tally in the first inning was helped along thanks to an error, as Brandon Grover singled to begin the Seahawks' frame and moved into scoring position when Christian Homa was hit by a pitch.  KSC starter Camden Thomas then got Evan O'Rourke to bounce into a 6-4 fielder's choice, but it turned into a Salve run on a throwing error by Luke Anderson.  The Seahawks added a two-out run in the second to make it 2-0 on an RBI single by Tyler Petrosino, and another run came home in the third on a single by Grover, double by Homa, and run-scoring groundout by O'Rourke.  Petrosino's RBI single in the second was the lone hit from anyone other than the top two in Salve's order, with Grover and Homa combining to go 5-for-7.  Petrosino was 1-for-3 out of the No. 9 spot, and otherwise the Seahawks' three through eight hitters were held to an 0-for-19 mark by Thomas and two Owl relievers.

It did not prove fruitful, though, as KSC did not get a baserunner until the top of the fourth when Tommy Ahlers was hit by a pitch.  Their first hit did not come until Ethan Rainha's one-out single in the fifth.  He moved to second on Otis Follet's groundout to put a runner in scoring position with the Owls down 3-0, but Domminic Tagliaferro bounced to short to end the inning.

The Seahawks tacked on another unearned run in the bottom half when Grover reached second on a misplayed bunt by Thomas with one down and then scored on Homa's single into left.

Trailing 4-0, KSC's best chance to get back into the game came in the sixth when Anderson, who finished 2-for-3, singled to lead off and Evan Cali followed with a nine-pitch walk to put two on.  Anderson moved to third on McCue's fly ball to right, but the inning came to an abrupt end when Ahlers grounded into a rare double play.

KSC walked the first two in the bottom half of the frame to pitch themselves into a jam, but Thomas worked out of it to keep it 4-0.  The Owls' offense, however, never put multiple baserunners on at once again over the final three innings.  Grover added another Salve run in the seventh with a solo shot, one of their two extra-base hits on the day.

Thomas (5-3) took the loss, allowing four runs (two earned) and five hits over six innings.  He walked three and struck out one.

Clark improved to 11-2 after eight shutout innings, allowing four hits while walking one and whiffing six, four of which came in KSC's first three trips to the plate.

Salve advances to the winner's bracket final on Saturday against either The College of New Jersey or host Penn State Harrisburg.  That game was suspended in the bottom of the fourth the Nittany Lions leading 8-2 and will be resumed tomorrow (Saturday, May 17) at 8:30 a.m.  KSC will take on the loser at approximately 10:30 a.m., playing for their season in an elimination game.  Should the Owls win, they would play a second game later in the day with a chance to advance into the regional championship round.