PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Jonathan Chatfield seems to be on his way to be having a memorable final season as an Owl, and Saturday's effort will likely be near the top of the list.  The senior Connecticut native finished 7-for-11 at the plate, including notching the first cycle for the Keene State College baseball team since 2007 in the second game as the Owls obliterated Rhode Island College 17-1 in seven innings to complete a Little East Conference sweep at Pontarelli Field.  KSC never trailed but had to fend off a pesky Anchormen squad in the opener 8-6, scoring twice in the ninth inning to break the final tie.

The victories were much needed for the Owls (6-8, 2-0 LEC), who had dropped eight of their last nine games – many in frustrating fashion.  But with still a month and a half remaining of the regular season and an entire conference schedule to go, KSC had time to right the ship.  If Saturday was the beginning, it was a good start, as they swept the Anchormen (1-8, 0-2 LEC) for the first time in 14 years and for the first time in Providence since 2009.  The Owls' resurgence last season began around the beginning of conference play – where they are now 19-3 in their last 22 games including the league tournament – and they will hope for a similar script this season.

In a tightly-contested opener, the Owls had to battle, and it was ultimately two ninth inning runs in a rally that came entirely with two outs that made the difference.  Evan Cali took a 3-2 pitch for a walk to put the go-ahead run on base in a 6-6 game and swiped second with Evan McCue at the plate, which turned out to be a huge bag, as McCue cracked a go-ahead double to center on a 1-2 pitch as KSC took the lead for the third time in the game after holding 4-0 and 6-4 leads.  McCue then took third on a wild pitch before coming home with an insurance run on Chatfield's single into right that made it 8-6.  Troy Brennan (2-1), who authored three one-hit innings of relief, then emphatically mowed down the Anchormen in the bottom half of the inning, striking out Finn Boyle and Parker Camelo looking with a popup to center by Ryan O'Leary in between as he retired the side on 14 pitches.  Not only were the wins much-needed for the Owls, it was also a confidence boost of an outing for Brennan, as he whiffed four and did not walk a batter.

KSC opened the scoring with a four-run third as Derek Finlay, Cali, and McCue singled consecutively to begin the frame and push across the game's first run.  Lucas Rogers then added a one-out RBI base hit to make it 2-0, and a single from Mitchell Coffey before Otis Follet was plunked brought home another.  A miscue by Daniel Cascio at first base on Luke Anderson's ball helped make it a 4-0 Owl lead.

Rhode Island College had not done much against David Floyd, striking out four times and getting just one hit over the first two innings before going down 1-2-3 against Jake Jachym in the third.  But the Anchormen sprung to life in the fourth to set the tone for the game, as two singles and an RBI double made it 4-1 with two on and nobody out.  Jachym fanned George Threats for the first out, but CJ Almagno then sent his first collegiate home run over the fence in right to suddenly tie the game.

KSC answered quickly, as Derek Finlay came through with a two-out, two-run single in the top of the fifth to push the Owls back in front 6-4, but the Anchormen got out of a two-on, two-out jam in the sixth and then tied the game in the bottom half as Sean Gallagher and Threats each doubled with one out to make it a one-run game.  After Almagno struck out, Jack Dichiaro made it 6-6 with their third two-bagger of the inning against Jachym.

Each team had chances over the next two innings to jump in front.  In the top of the seventh, Jason Potvin walked the bases loaded and threw two wild pitches, but the Owls could not score, leaving the bases loaded.  RIC then got an leadoff infield single in the bottom half before KSC head coach Justin Blood turned to Brennan.  Cascio doubled to right with two down to put two in scoring position as the home team searched for their first lead of the day, but Gallagher skied to left.  Brennan then sent the Anchormen down 1-2-3 in the eighth to set the stage for the Owls' ninth inning rally.
Potvin (0-2), who beat KSC in Keene last year, took the loss in relief, allowing two hits and two runs over 2.2 innings.  He walked four and struck out five. 

The Owls' three arms combined for 12 strikeouts and did not issue a free pass.  Jachym had four, including the 100th of his career.  Floyd, working his way back from an injury, has struck out six over his first three innings, allowing only one hit.  KSC is 2-0 in his starts.

"I thought Floyd looked very good again," said Keene State head coach Justin Blood.  "We will continue to build his pitch count in the coming weeks.  We executed offensively in spurts and Troy did a great job out of the pen."

No late-game heroics were needed in the nightcap, as the Owls pulverized RIC for the largest win in series history, scoring four in the first, three in the third, and six in the fourth to take a 13-0 lead.  By the end, the story had become Chatfield and his cycle that included six runs batted in.  But in the beginning, it was others who helped stake KSC to the huge early lead, as Follet and Trevor Snow each came through with two-out, two-run doubles in the first to put the Owls up 4-0.  Chatfield's first hit of his cycle was a solo shot for his fourth home run of the season in the third to make it 5-0.  Each of the first four reached in that inning, as Follet pulled an RBI double to right and Snow beat out a single to third for a 7-0 advantage.  Things went from bad to worse in the fourth for the Anchormen, as Cali led off with a single to short before reliever Stephen Sullivan walked McCue and hit Rogers.  Chatfield then came through with maybe the hardest part of the cycle, a triple – this one to the opposite field plating three runs – as KSC blew the game wide open.

The Owls finished with eight of their 15 hits going for extra bases, including RBI doubles for Anderson and Finlay later in the fourth to make it 13-0.

Beyond the copious amount of runs for KSC's offense, which is hitting nearly .320 as a team so far this season, Rhode Island College had very few answers for Owl rookie Jayke Glidden, who held their offense to just one run and three hits in what wound up being a seven-inning complete game effort on 78 pitches.  He walked one and whiffed five.  One could make a case his only trouble came in the first inning when Camelo singled to lead off and Gallagher poked a base hit into left with two outs to put two on, but he got Threats to bounce right back to him to end the inning after previously whiffing Aidan Bolwell and Cascio for the first two outs.  RIC's only run of the game came on a Cascio homer on the first pitch of the bottom of the fourth down 13-0.  Glidden then faced the minimum over the next two, including a 1-2-3 fifth.  He then picked off Eric Wilson to end the sixth.

Getting a hit in his final four consecutive at bats, Chatfield completed the first cycle for a Keene State player since Greg Ford in 2007 with his RBI single in the fifth and RBI double in the seventh.  He is now two RBI shy of 100 for his career, currently 14th on the Owls' career list.  His long ball was the 21st of his career, moving him into third place alone ahead of Beau Darak on that KSC all-time list.

The beauty of the win for the Owls, though, was many others contributed, as Follet finished 2-for-3 with two doubles, three RBI, two runs, and a walk while Snow, a sophomore, was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs batted in to go along with a walk.  Cali (2-3, 2 R, BB) also reached base three times.

Jake Foster (0-1) took the loss for RIC after an ineffective start, allowing seven hits and seven runs (six earned) in three innings.  He walked two and struck out one.

"We got some really good swings out of a handful of guys, obviously led by Chatfield," added Blood about the second game.  "Glidden was really good…controlled the zone, got swings and misses, and has a good feel for the game.  Good start to conference play, and we need to keep the positive momentum going into the midweek."

KSC has won six of the last seven in the series, including a win over the Anchormen in the winner's bracket final in last year's Little East tournament that sent them to the championship, which they would later capture.

The Owls have a pair of non-conference road games this week, visiting the University of St. Joseph (Conn.) Tuesday (March 24) at 3:00 p.m. and Springfield College on Wednesday, March 25 for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch.  KSC's home opener is slated for next Saturday (March 28) against the University of Massachusetts-Boston.