Port Charlotte, Fla. - Keystone College opened their annual spring break trip to Florida with a pair of victories on Wednesday to improve to 5-1 on the season. The Giants jumped out to a big lead early to defeat Heidelberg University 7-5 in the opening game before edging out Salem State University in a slugfest in game two, 14-13.

Game 1 vs. Heidelberg

In Wednesday's opener against Heidelberg (3-8), Keystone raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and held off the Student Princes, who are currently receiving votes in national top-25 poll, the rest of the way to pick up the win.

Keystone scored four runs on six hits in the top of the first inning to jump out to a 4-0 lead as Nate Ross (Albuquerque, NM/La Cueva), Alex Herceg (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial), Billy Nelson (Moscow, PA/North Pocono), and Robbie Nardelli (Eynon, PA/Valley View) all delivered RBI singles. Heidelberg cut their deficit in half in their first at-bats on a two run double, but the Giants extended their lead to 5-2 in the visitor's fourth when Louis Reyes (Port St. Lucie, FL/Treasure Coast) came home on an infield base hit off the bat of Ross.

Keystone pushed their lead back to four runs in the top of the sixth inning when Brandon Eady (Bowie, MD/DeMatha Catholic) scored on a wild pitch, but the Student Princes got a run back in the home half of the frame on an RBI single. The Giants answered right back in the seventh when Joseph Santana (Union City, NJ/Juan Pablo Duarte) singled to center to plate Nelson to give Keystone a 7-3 advantage.

Heidelberg attempted a comeback in the bottom of the ninth and plated a pair of runs, but Yeison Andujar (Carolina, PR/Programa Educativo Alcance) stranded the potential tying runs on base by ending the game with a strikeout to pick up his second save of the season as the Giants secured the win.

Keystone starter Danny O'Neill (Lake Hiawatha, NJ/St. Mary's Rutherford) picked up the win after allowing three runs on five hits to go along with three strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Jesse Arnold (Stuart, FL/Port Saint Lucie) fanned three batters in two scoreless innings while Preston Hartvigsen (Escondido, CA/San Pasqual) allowed two runs on two hits while picking up the first two outs in the ninth inning.

Ross went 3-4 with a pair of RBIs to lead the Giants as the plate while Eady, Nelson, Nardelli, and Chris Triano (Greenwich, CT/Rye) collected two hits apiece for Keystone, who outhit Heidelberg by a 14-11 margin.

Game 2 vs. Salem State

Keystone saw a four-run lead and two three-run leads disappear in game two against Salem State (4-4), took a five-run advantage into the ninth inning, and held on for the one-run victory.

The Vikings took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second before Keystone answered back with four runs in the bottom half of the frame. Santana got the scoring with an RBI single and Brady Barr (Bowie, MD/Bowie) drove in a pair with a base hit before Santana came home on a groundout by Reyes. Salem State got a pair of runs back in the visitor's third before Nelson made it a 5-3 game in the home third by scoring on a wild pitch.

The Vikings tied the game with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth before the Giants build a 9-5 lead with three runs in the home fourth and another in the fifth. Ross hit an RBI single and scored on a wild pitch after Herceg drove in Triano with a sacrifice fly. Triano drove in Keystone's ninth run with an RBI double in the fifth.

Salem State stormed back with four runs in the sixth inning to tied the game at nine-apiece, but Keystone answered with a four-run seventh to take a 13-9 lead. Triano had an RBI base hit, Nelson drew a bases-loaded walk, and Herceg added a two-run single. Reyes gave the Giants an all-important insurance run the following inning with an RBI single as the Vikings plated four runs in the ninth inning before Andujar came on to get the final two outs while again stranding the tying run on base for his second save of the day.

Keystone starter Felix Baez (San Juan, PR/Colegio Presbiteriano de Puerto Nuevo) took a no-decision after allowing five runs on six hits while striking out five batters in four innings of work. Jeffrey Ledesma (Yonkers, NY/Norman Thomas) picked up one K in an inning of work before handing the ball over to Dan Maguire (Ocean Township, NJ/Ocean Township), who pitched three scoreless innings with two strikeouts to pick up the win. Junior Bautista (Haina, Domincan Republic/Christiana) went 2/3 of an inning before Andujar came out of the pen to close out the game.

Triano led the Giants with three hits while Nelson, Herceg, and Barr had two hits apiece with Herceg driving in a team-best three runs.

Salem State starter Stephen Keskindis took a no-decision after surrendering eight runs on nine hits in 3.1 innings while Steve Leavitt took the loss with five runs against in 3.1 innings on the hill. Michael Raymond closed out the game on the mound for the Vikings, who were paced offensively by Richard Fecteau's four hits.

Keystone will play a single game on Thursday against Nichols College starting at 12:00 p.m. in Port Charlotte.