MANSFIELD, Conn. – Graduate righty Nathan Furino (East Haven) extended his innings streak without allowing an earned run to 20 1/3, and senior leadoff hitter Zach Donahue (South Windsor) drove in five runs as the No. 20 Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team won its 18th straight game, 11-1 in seven innings, against Keene State College in a Little East Conference game at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.
Furino (3-0) got out of an early first-inning jam and went on to allow five hits and one unearned run without a walk or strikeout, leaving with two out and two on in the seventh and in charge of an 8-0 lead. Furino has not allowed an earned run since surrendering a leadoff home run in the second inning of a 14-2 win against Johnson & Wales University at the Marietta College Invitational on March 14.
Donahue, junior centerfielder Ray Leonzi (Trumbull) and senior rightfielder Jason Claiborn (Prospect) all extended long on-base streaks as Eastern (19-5, 7-0 LEC) downed Keene State (11-13, 3-1 LEC) for the eighth straight time and improved its home record to 9-0.
Donahue reached three times and scored two runs to extend his streak to 19 games, while Leonzi and Claiborn each reached four times, with Claiborn scoring each time from the No. 9 slot in the order. Leonzi and Claiborn have reached in 13 straight.
Donahue drove in a run with a ground ball in the second, hit a two-run home run in the fourth – his fifth of the season and tenth of his career – walked and scored in the sixth and singled in two runs in the seventh; Leonzi had a single, two walks and a hit-by-pitch; while Claiborn tripled in a run in the second, was hit in the fourth, reached on an infield single in the sixth, and walked in the seventh.
In the team's 12-hit attack, senior leftfielder Josh Cofrancesco (Southington) also contributed a pair of RBI singles.
Furino allowed consecutive singles after retiring the first two batters on the first but got a ground ball to senior third baseman Tiernan Lynch (Easton) to end the threat. Furino later retired ten straight before the leadoff batter in the seventh reached on an infield error. Furino got a pair of fly balls to Leonzi with two out and two on in the inning before leaving in favor of sophomore lefty AJ Rooks (Coventry), who gave up an RBI single before stranding two with a swinging strikeout. Furino threw 54 of his 77 pitches for strikes.
Leading 8-1, Eastern ended the game with three runs in the seventh on three hits and two walks, Cofrancesco's RBI single on the first pitch he saw from reliever Joe Schlehuber chasing home Claiborn with the 11th run.
Claiborn's two hits moved him to within nine of 200 in his four-year career while Leonzi's third-inning single gave him 95 in his Eastern career.
Eastern hosts Anna Maria College Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. in a non-conference game.