Mansfield, Conn. – Felix Baez (San Juan, PR/Colegio Presbiteriano de Puerto Nuevo) allowed just three hits and struck out 11 batters over eight innings of work to lead #4 Keystone College to a 5-2 victory over #5 Suffolk University in the opening round of the NCAA New England Regional on Wednesday.  The Giants, who scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning and three more in the sixth inning, improve to 34-9 with their seventh win in a row and will take on Keystone will play #8 Salem State University, a 7-4 winner over #1 Wheaton College, at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday in a winner's bracket game. 
 
The Giants and Vikings met in Florida in March during the spring break trip for both teams with Keystone prevailing in a slugfest, 14-13.
 
Keystone took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning of Wednesday's opening game of the tournament as Alex Herceg (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to allow Nate Ross (Albuquerque, NM/La Cueva) to trot home with the game's first run before Julian Lanfranco (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) brought home Billy Nelson (Moscow, PA/North Pocono) with a single through the left side.
 
The Giants extended their lead to 5-0 with three runs in the home sixth inning.  Nelson came home on a bunt by Lanfranco coupled with an error before Tony Hunter II (Atlanta, GA/South Effingham) came home when Louis Reyes (Port St. Lucie, FL/Treasure Coast) reached on another miscue by the Rams.  Ross then push Keystone's advantage to five runs by bringing home Lanfranco with an infield single.
 
Suffolk (33-12) cut its deficit to three runs by plating two runs on a Keystone error in the top of the eighth inning.  The Rams then loaded the bases in the ninth inning, but Yeison Andujar (Carolina, PR/Programa Educativo Alcance) stranded the potential tying run on base with a game-ending strikeout to close out his 11^th save of the season while preserving the win for the Giants.    
 
Baez improved to 9-2 on the year without allowing an earned run in the strong, eight-inning outing in which he did not allow an extra-base hit.  The senior right-hander now has 112 strikeouts on the season, just two shy of matching Rob Rogers's single-season record of 114 set in 2013.  Andujar extended his Keystone single-season save record with a scoreless ninth inning despite allowing one hit and two walks while picking up one K.
 
Ross, Nelson, and Hunter had two hits apiece to lead Keystone at the plate with Nelson scoring two runs and Lanfranco picking up a pair of RBI in the win.  The Giants outhit the Rams 10-4 for the game while Suffolk committed three errors to one for Keystone.
 
Kyle Turner suffered the loss on the mound for the Rams after surrendering five runs on eight hits while striking out eight batters in six innings on the hill before giving way to Chuck Gibson, who allowed a pair of hits in a pair of scoreless frames.
 
Rob Marks led Suffolk, who will take on Wheaton in an elimination game on Thursday morning, with a pair of hits in the loss.