KEENE, N.H. – Derek Finlay hit a two-run home run off a tree branch in left field and Trevor Snow had a pair of hits, but it was a mostly quiet day for the Keene State College baseball team as they lost to Babson College 9-4 in non-conference action Sunday at the Owl Athletic Complex.

The Owls (20-14) scored first as Snow and Evan Cali led off with hits before a pair of grounders plated Snow, but did not get another runner on after the first until the bottom of the fifth and at that point had lost control of the game, with the Beavers (20-14) scoring one in the third to tie it, two in the fourth, three in the fifth, and two in the sixth.  Camden Thomas pitched three innings and allowed just one unearned run in his third start of the season, but Babson got to Mason Pingree in the fourth as the first three Beavers got hits including a two-run single by Gabe Harmon out of the eighth spot in the lineup that gave the visitors their first lead.  After the Owls went down in order against Connor Doan in the fourth, Babson began their half of the fifth with five consecutive singles against George Young including three straight ground balls that found their way through holes in the infield to balloon their lead to 5-1, with Dante D'Avanzo's two-run single being the biggest blow.  A passed ball in the ensuing at bat brought home another.

Down five, KSC quickly got two back in their very next trip to the plate as Lucas Rogers singled and Finlay followed with a blast to left that bounced off two tree branches and back onto the field to make it 6-3.  But it was not a day that the Owls gathered much momentum, as their two innings with runs wound up being the only times they strung together consecutive hits.  KSC allowed runs for a fourth consecutive inning in the sixth, as Ryan Grace's two-run double to left center answered Finlay's home run and made it 8-3.

Evan McCue doubled to begin the seventh and eventually scored on Snow's RBI single on an 0-2 count, but KSC never got any closer, as Jack Harmon worked a full count before fouling to third to send the inning against Doan.  A miscue by the Owls in the eighth helped the Beavers get that run right back, and Bourke Reid tossed a 1-2-3 bottom half on 15 pitches.

It marked KSC's first string of consecutive losses since dropping a pair to Arcadia on March 18.  They had moved to a season-best eight games over .500 with yesterday's 6-2 victory over the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth on the road – a win that kept them very much in the race for first – but then were two-hit in a 5-2 loss in the nightcap and have now posted six runs over their last 18 offensive innings.

Pingree (2-4) allowed three hits and two runs in the fourth inning and took the loss.

Doan allowed seven hits and four runs over seven innings, improving to 4-0.  He walked one and struck out three.

Babson moved to 3-2 against Little East Conference teams this season, having split with the University of Massachusetts-Boston (lost 11-1, won 5-3), lost to Rhode Island College at home (10-7), and defeated UMass-Dartmouth on the road (15-11).

Eleven of the Beavers' hits were singles, but KSC also walked five from the mound.  Dylan Ellison allowed one unearned run over 1.2 innings, whiffing two, and Trey Kuzmeski threw 1.1 scoreless frames.

The Owls host Worcester State University (14-16, 12-7 MASCAC) on Wednesday (April 29) at 3:00 p.m.