KEENE, N.H. – Evan Cali pulled a go-ahead two-run single down the right field line and Anthony DiGiacomo followed with an RBI double deep down the left field line as part of a four-run rally in the sixth as the Keene State College baseball team took down Wheaton College (Mass.) 5-4 in a non-conference game on Sunday afternoon at the Owl Athletic Complex.

The win is the Owls' sixth in their past seven games and moves them back to a season-best three games over .500 at 14-11.  KSC had started the season 3-0 with a sweep of Methodist University in North Carolina but lost a string of tough games and fell to as low as 4-8 before going 10-3 since, beginning with a conference sweep at Rhode Island College.  Included in the recent string of victories are triumphs over 17-8 Springfield College (score of 19-1), 17-5 Southern Maine (6-1), and now 17-7 Wheaton today.  The Owls also downed 15-11 UMass-Boston 11-2 in the second game of a conference doubleheader.  Perhaps KSC is gaining momentum?

For the second straight game, the Owls were mostly shut down on offense early in the game but came through late to get the job done.  Perhaps more importantly, KSC engineered big responses to Wheaton's run-scoring innings just as they did in Game 2 yesterday against the University of Southern Maine.  The visitors jumped out to a 1-0 advantage in the third when Brayden Lewis doubled, moved to third on a ground out, and then scored on Robbie Lamond's infield single to shortstop, only to see the Owls get the run right back in the bottom half as Jack Harmon singled into center with one out, stole second, and then scored on Derek Finlay's base hit into left.

It was again Finlay, who finished 2-for-4 with an RBI out of the leadoff spot today, who sparked what proved to be the game-changing uprising in the sixth as he poked a single into center to get the Owls going after Wheaton had plated a pair to take a 3-1 lead.  Lucas Rogers and Jonathan Chatfield then walked on a combined nine pitches to load the bases, but for a fleeting moment it seemed KSC might have been in for somewhat of a squander, plating only one when Domminic Tagliaferro bounced out to first where Collin Reilly had a brief misplay but got the ball to Dylan Matis for the out – likely his only play anyway.  But Cali, the designated hitter today with Harmon getting the start behind the plate, came through in a big way, lining a 2-2 pitch down the right field line to plate Chatfield and Rogers to put the Owls up 4-3.  Cali then stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch before DiGiacomo cleaned out an inside pitch into the left field corner to score him to add another.

Trey Kuzmeski breezed through the seventh for a big shutdown inning, including freezing Derek Babineau Jr. to end the frame on a full count pitch, but ran into trouble in the eighth as he hit Jeremy Aylward and walked Alex Vosburg to put the tying runs on base with nobody out.  Evan Jones then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt that turned into a base hit to fill the bases and put the Owls in a big jam, but Evan Levasseur calmed the fire quickly, getting Marcus Rodrigues to bounce into a 5-4-3 double play that carried DiGiacomo toward the second base bag.  It did bring in a run to make it a one-run game, but Levasseur got Lewis to fly to left to strand the tying run at third.  The first year Owl and Rhode Island native then locked down his first career collegiate save with a 1-2-3, ten pitch ninth that ended on pinch-hitter Logan Downey's harmless fly ball to left.

Cam Thomas made his season debut returning from an injury and sent Wheaton down quickly despite a two-out error, throwing 15 pitches.  Sean Egan (1-0) got the win, striking out a pair in the fifth before running into trouble in the sixth.

Blake Kamoen (0-1) got two outs for Wheaton, allowing two hits and three runs to get tagged with the loss.   The Lyons, who had won six of their last seven entering the day, used six pitchers including starter Cameron Hasenfus for three innings.  He allowed two hits and a run, striking out one.

KSC outhit Wheaton 7-4 and improved to 13-2 when holding an opponent to fewer than seven runs this season.

DiGiacomo finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.  He is now hitting .432 (19-for-44) this season with a 1.000 OPS, while Finlay currently sits at .393 with a 1.034 OPS and nine doubles.

The Owls have a pair of home non-conference games this coming week, hosting Mitchell College (21-8, 14-2 GNAC) on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. and the University of Hartford (13-9-1, 7-2 CNE) on Wednesday at the same time, before visiting Eastern Connecticut State University for an important conference doubleheader on Saturday.  KSC is one game out of first place in the Little East standings thanks to Saturday's 6-1 win over Southern Maine in Game 2.  After going a week between games, the Owls' off day Monday will likely be welcomed, as they have played six games – five in conference – in the past five days.