MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Sophomore Jack Lang pitched 6.2 innings of effective relief after being pressed into duty in the first inning and the Keene State College baseball team followed up one of their more productive offensive days yesterday with six more multi-hit efforts at the plate on Tuesday in an eventual 11-5 victory over Wells College at the Polo Grounds replica field as part of the week-long Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach.

Records

• Keene State:  3-3
• Wells:  5-6

Postgame Interview (Coach Blood)

How It Happened
It was not the best of starts for KSC, who went down 1-2-3 in the top half of the first and then saw starting pitcher Joe Schlehuber walk three and record one out before being lifted as Wells took a 2-0 lead.  However, behind Lang, who threw 72 pitches and pitched from the first through the seventh while getting 10 ground ball outs, the Owls had more than enough time to catch up offensively – and that they did.  The game was tied by the third inning at 2-2, and although the Express retook the lead in the bottom half with one run, KSC scored nine times in a three inning span from the fifth through seventh to zoom out in front 11-3 and turn the game into a runaway.  A day after a 9-3 victory over Salem State University that saw the Owl lineup produce 14 hits and five multi-hit efforts, they awakened in the middle innings today and wound up topping both marks.

Keene State tied the game at three in the fifth on an RBI single to right from Otis Follet, and then took their first lead an inning later when Hamilton Barnes singled to left to score Evan Cali, who waked and stole second to start the inning.  Cali reached base five times, going 3-for-3 with a pair of walks and two runs.   It was also another productive day for Barnes, who was 2-for-5 with two RBI, a run, and a stolen base.  The Owls were not done in the inning, going in front 6-3 on a two-run double down the left field line that stayed fair for Nathaniel Hudson, his first extra-base hit of 2023.  The Owl junior picked up his second straight two-hit game and is 7-for-20 to start the season.

Lang scattered baserunners over his time on the mound, allowing four hits and hitting four batters, but induced three double-play balls, including in the first inning to stop the bleeding after Wells had taken a 2-0 lead on a walk and sacrifice fly and still had the bases loaded and just one out.  He had a pair of important shutdown innings, as he sent down the Express in order in the fifth after KSC tied it, and then easily worked around a leadoff hit batsman in the sixth by setting down the next three including looking strikeout of Jonathan Haines.

The Owls piled on in the seventh against a pair of Wells relievers, scoring five times and batting around.  Evan McCue began the inning with a single to deep short before Cali walked.  Doubles machine Tommy Ahlers followed with another to plate McCue, and then Barnes followed by lacing a single to center as KSC went in front 8-3.  A pair of fielder's choices, including one off the bat of Josh Beayon where the Express could not get any outs on the play, brought home two more before Follet added another run-scoring single onto his ledger for an 11-3 advantage.  That would prove to be more than enough against a Wells lineup that had only six singles from six different people in the hits column on this day.  Haines drove in a run that briefly gave his team a 3-2 lead back and walked, reaching twice on the day, while Zach Young was 1-for-4 with a bases loaded walk.  Keene State doubled four times in the game and stole four bases, while the Express did not have an extra-base hit.

In addition to Cali and Barnes, Hudson finished 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI and a run at the plate.  Follet was 2-for-6 and also drove in two, while McCue was 2-for-4 with an RBI, a walk, and a run.  Ahlers made it five hits (three doubles) in his last seven at bats in a 2-for-4 effort where he also scored twice.

After Schlehuber went one third of an inning and allowed one earned run while walking three, Lang (1-0) allowed two earned runs and four hits over his 6.2 relief innings.  He did not walk anybody and struck out a batter.  Kyle Palardy pitched the final two innings, marking his collegiate debut, and allowed one unearned run with one walk and one whiff.

Chase Sebastian (0-1) got the final out of the fifth for Wells to keep it a 3-3 game, but then did not retire a batter in the sixth and allowed three runs while walking another batter to be charged with the loss.  Starter Ethan Zimmerman threw 87 pitches in 4.2 innings, allowing seven hits and three runs.  He walked four, struck out two, and uncorked three wild pitches.  The Express in total needed 190 pitches to get through the nine innings, over 21 per frame, as the KSC offense continues to gain more experience and find the right combinations.

Around the Horn

• The Owls have hit nine doubles in the last two games after recording four in their first four.  They have 10 more doubles than their opponents overall on the season.  KSC has also taken 32 free passes, including at least six in a game four different times.
• Barnes has four two-hit efforts in the first six games of his career including two doubles and five RBI.  Ahlers is 6-for-13 in four games.
• KSC has a 3.65 team ERA through six games.
• It was the first ever meeting between the two schools.

Up Next

• Keene State plays a pair against their third Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference opponent of the trip, Worcester State University (2-2), tomorrow (Wednesday, March 15) starting at 3:00 p.m. at Griffith Field in Myrtle Beach.  The doubleheader will feature two seven inning games, and can be watched on the Owls Media Network.  Jake Jachym is scheduled for his first collegiate appearance on the mound in the opener.  The Lancers downed Suffolk University 11-3 and the University of Scranton 4-0 to start their season, but then fell to the Royals 5-3 and to McDnaiel College 15-2 in their next two contests.  Their Monday game against the State University of New York at Plattsburgh was cancelled due to rain, forcing them to go two straight days without games on the trip.
• Wells closes their South Carolina trip with a matchup against Suffolk (2-3-1) tomorrow with a 12:00 p.m. first pitch.