KSC Shuts Down Bantams 4-1 In Second Game After Dropping Opener 9-2

HARTFORD, Conn. – Sophomore Phil Nichols tossed six shutout innings, freshman Hamilton Barnes had two hits and an RBI out of the top spot in the lineup, and fellow classmate Evan Cali notched his first career save as the Keene State College baseball team fought back for a split at Trinity College (Conn.) with a 4-1 victory in the second of two games Sunday afternoon at Murren Family Field/DiBenedetto Stadium.  The Bantams scored eight times in the first two innings of the first game and prevailed 9-2.

Records

• Keene State:  1-1
• Trinity (Conn.):  1-1

How It Happened – Game One
The Owls scored in the top half of the first when Brendan Eaton singled home Cali, who worked one of two walks off Trinity starter Kody Perry to start the game, but the Bantams answered by sending ten men to the plate in the bottom half of the inning and scored four times to take a three-run lead.  After a leadoff walk to Tyler Bernstein, KSC starter Brendan Muhs (0-1) surrendered three consecutive hits including a two-run double for Jack Ryan.  Sean Meth followed with an RBI single for a 3-1 Trinity lead.  The Owls surrendered a fourth run after an error and a bases loaded walk came in a three-batter span.

After a 1-2-3 top half of the second against Perry, the Bantams chased Muhs three batters into the bottom half of the inning after two singles and a walk.  Facing reliever Shea Zina, senior captain Colin Mann one with a single to make it 5-1.  A hit batter, fielder's choice, and double-steal that included Mann's swipe of home tacked on three more as the Owls faced a deep hole.

Trinity made it 9-1 in the third after Bernstein tripled and Jack Mathews skied to right to bring him home, but otherwise was nullified from there by Zina and Jack Lang, with the latter allowing just one hit in four scoreless frames.

However, KSC could not get much offense going against either Perry or Ian Brown.  The Owls did work eight walks in the game, but had just three hits and fanned 10 times.  Their only run after the first came in the seventh when Nathaniel Hudson, Junior Santos, and Wyatt Daft all walked with one out before Cali scored Hudson with a sacrifice fly to make it 9-2.  Josh Beayon popped out to second to end the inning and strand two, and the Owls did not mount any substantial rally in either of the final two innings against Brown, who earned a save.

Perry (1-0) got the win, allowing two hits and one run.  He walked four and struck out six.  Brown allowed one hit and one run while issuing four free passes.  He whiffed four.

Muhs took the loss after allowing six hits, three walks, and seven runs (six earned) in one-plus innings.

Hudson finished 2-for-3 with a walk for the Owls while Eaton was 1-for-4 with an RBI.  Cali's sacrifice fly marked his first career RBI.

Seven of Trinity's nine hits came out of the top four spots in their order, with Bernstein, Mathews, and Meth all going 2-for-4 and scoring twice.  Ryan drove in two and was 1-for-3 with a walk.  Mann reached base all four times as the Bantams outhit KSC 9-3.

How It Happened – Game Two
Coming off a freshman season where he showed grittiness and potential on the mound, Nichols got off to a strong start in 2023 to help the Owls bounce back in the nightcap.  He faced one more than the minimum through three after inducing a 5-4-3 double play in the first, and was not in any kind of jam until the bottom of the fourth when Mathews singled and Ryan walked to start the frame.  William Frain then took a free pass of his own to load the bases with one out in a game Trinity trailed by four runs, but the Bantams came up empty as their biggest threat of the game was by the boards.  The hosts got a pair of singles in the sixth with two outs still down 4-0 and saw both advance into scoring position on a wild pitch, but Nichols got Mann to fly to right to end the inning.

The Owl starter was lifted with one out and one on in the seventh and reliever Liam Conley – in his first career pitching performance – got Andrew Tuozzolo to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to quickly end the inning.  The eighth was a little rockier for the Marlow, N.H. native as Bernstein walked, Yoshi Omi-Jarrett singled, and Meth walked to load the bases with one out, but he limited the damage to just one run on a grounder to short by Frain.  Conley then struck out William Sawyer to send KSC to the ninth up 4-1.

"Nichols was great today…exactly what we needed and what he is capable of," said Owls second-year head coach Justin Blood.  "Conley and Cali made their first college appearances on the mound and pitched confidently and effectively."

Keene State was put in a good position early in the nightcap after they put up four runs across the second and third innings to play from ahead.  In the second, Zina and Hudson each worked walks before a fielder's choice from Jonathan Chatfield moved Zina up to third.  Chatfield and Zina then executed KSC's own double steal to open the scoring.

After quick bottom of the second for Nichols, the Owls piled on three more in the third to take a 4-0 edge.  Tommy Ahlers started the inning with a walk and then stole second – one of five stolen bases in six tries for KSC in the game – before scoring on Barnes' RBI double.  The KSC leadoff man later swiped third and scored on a single from Eaton, making it 3-0.  Hudson made it 4-0 with an RBI base hit of his own two batters later.

"First and foremost, we were so happy to be out on a field competing today," said Blood.  "You work all year to get to this point and I'm thankful we had an opportunity to play a well-coached opponent at a good facility."

As far as the debut of a team that features 21 freshmen on the roster?

"I'm not sure we recover like we did today a year ago," said Blood.  "Zina and Lang played a big role in calming the day down (in the first game) and allowing us to get our footing."

Nichols (1-0) picked up the win after scattering five hits in six innings.  He walked two and had a strikeout.

Michael Aceto started and took the loss for the Bantams, allowing two hits and three runs while walking three and striking out one in two innings.

Barnes finished 2-for-4 with a double, walk, two steals, and a run in his collegiate debut.  Eaton added an RBI single and a walk, while Hudson was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk.  Those three combined to go 7-for-17 (.412) on the day.

"We had a couple guys that had good at bats today, but I'm very confident that we will have a handful of lineup combinations that can score runs," said Blood.  "We just need to figure out which combos compliment each other best and give us a chance to defend at the level we need to."

Mathews (2-for-4) was the lone multi-hit performer for Trinity, who was held without an extra-base hit.

Around the Horn

• The teams played for the fifth and sixth times in series history this afternoon (after just being added to the schedule on March 2), with now four of the games decided by three runs or less.
• Nine different Owls made their KSC debut today, including Barnes, Chatfield, Cali, Zina, Ahlers, Evan McCue, Ryan Mooney, Otis Follet, and Alec Varano.
• Keene State was 5-for-6 stealing bases on the day, all in the second contest.  They also worked 15 walks at the plate.
• The teams, who were both playing their season openers on a relatively seasonal early March day in New England, combined for just one error on the day.

Up Next

• Keene State heads south for Myrtle Beach next weekend and will open their Spring Break trip to the Ripken Experience with a doubleheader against Framingham State University on Sunday, March 12 at 9:00 a.m.  The Rams open their season tomorrow and play two games this week.
• Trinity hosts Nichols College (3:00 p.m.) on Saturday, March 11 in the third of seven consecutive home games to start their season.  Their original opener scheduled for Saturday against Montclair State University was cancelled due to weather.