Keene State Wins Second Home Game in As Many Days Behind Eaton and Others

KEENE, N.H. – Brendan Eaton had three hits including a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the seventh, three of his four RBI on the day, and was one of three Owls with multiple runs batted in as the Keene State College baseball team turned away Springfield College 11-9 in non-conference action on a sunny Wednesday afternoon at Owl Athletic Complex.

Records

• Keene State:  7-10
• Springfield:  6-9-1

Postgame Interview (Coach Blood)
Postgame Interview (Brendan Eaton)

How It Happened
Scoreless through the first four innings and with only two hits, KSC came to life offensively from there, scoring 11 times in their final four trips to the plate as they won on their home field for the second consecutive today, this time in a much higher-scoring affair.  The Owls' three-run fifth gave them a 3-1 lead, and they tacked on four more in the sixth and three again in the seventh against a parade of six Springfield relievers to open a 10-2 lead.  What seemed like a comfortable edge turned into a nail-biter, as KSC surrendered seven runs in the top of the eighth and then loaded the bases on three walks in the top of the ninth in an 11-9 game but wound up holding on.  The Owl pitching staff whiffed 11 in the game, including three from starter Jack Lang and reliever Sean Brennan, but also walked 10 – five in the last two frames – to aid Springfield's attempted comeback.  Three of the Pride's runs scored on wild pitches or passed balls, including the final one in the eighth that made it a 10-9 game after KSC had been comfortably ahead by eight runs.

The lead proved to be enough thanks to a productive day at the plate for Eaton and several other Owls, including Tuesday's star Jonathan Chatfield, who continued to sizzle by falling just a home run short of the cycle in a 3-for-4 effort that also saw him draw a walk, reaching four times.  He is now hitting .333 on the season and has a .452 on-base percentage.  Liam Conley (1-3, BB) drove in a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to get his team on the scoreboard and in front 2-1, while Alec Varano was 2-for-3 with a two-run single in the sixth that put KSC in front 7-2.  Josh Beayon finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, walk, and two runs scored.  He began the Owl barrage in the sixth with a gap double to left center that, at the time, made it 4-2 with an important insurance run.  It wound up being one of many insurance runs.  Keene State plated three more in the seventh when Eaton smoked a double over centerfielder Michael Lepere's head and off the fence to score Chatfield, Beayon, and Mark Barrett to make it 10-2.

Springfield had various threats throughout the game – ultimately stranding 13 on base – but many of those came as a product of the aforementioned free passes or, additionally, two leadoff hit batters and three overall.  The Pride had a bases loaded, no out threat in the fourth when Cadin Maynard was hit to lead it off, Ryan Sorgi singled up the middle, and Lepere's attempted sacrifice bunt actually wound up being a base hit.  However, the only run they could manage scored on a wild pitch by Lang.  Evan Cali entered in relief with two outs and did issue a pair of walks to fill the bases, but froze Jack Dunaisky to keep it only 1-0.  The Owl first year reliever (and also a catcher) left two more on in the fifth to keep it a one-run game, and wound up getting his first career win (one day after classmate Troy Brennan did the same) after KSC's offensive outburst.  Cali (1-0) struck out two and allowed 1.1 innings while allowing one hit.  He worked around three walks.

Down 3-1, the Pride drew within a run with a three-hit sixth that included an RBI double for Dunaisky that had the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, but Sean Brennan struck out Cole Zalegowski and Michael Barrett to end the inning and wound up punching out three in the frame.

KSC needed just two batters to get that run back as Chatfield and Beayon split the gap on each side of centerfield consecutively for doubles that made it 4-2, and after a Hudson ground out moved Beayon to third, Eaton scored him to a base hit up the middle.  That was the first of his four RBI, all of which came in a two-inning span.

Kyle Palardy pitched a clean seventh that included a solid 5-4-3 double play started by Chatfield and a strikeout of his own, and the Owls took firm control when the first four reached to start their half of the inning – three of which were brought home by Eaton, who now has a team-high 13 RBI on the season.

Ultimately, more or less every run KSC scored wound up being needed, but it was nonetheless a second consecutive home win and allowed the young Owls to win consecutive contests for the second time this season.
Colby Welch (0-2) started and took the loss for Springfield, going five innings and allowing three runs (two earned) along with five hits.  He did not walk anybody and struck out three.  The cavalcade of Pride relievers wound up giving eight runs, five of which left before pitching more than a third of an inning.

Maynard had a 2-for-4 day at the plate with three RBI, a walk, and two runs to pace Springfield's offense.  Luke DiMauro, who pinch-hit in the sixth, wound up going 3-for-3, but the Pride fell to 3-7 all-time in Keene and have dropped five of seven overall.

Around the Horn

• Eaton has 27 runs batted in over his last 45 games dating to the start of last season.
• KSC has won four of the last five in the series and is 14-7 against Springfield all-time.

Up Next

• The Owls open their Little East Conference slate with a doubleheader against Rhode Island College (11-7, 2-0 LEC) on Saturday, April 1 at 12:00 p.m.  Stay tuned to keeneowls.com for any further updates or notifications regarding schedule changes.  KSC has lost four straight to RIC, scoring five runs total in that span while allowing double-digits in every game.
• Springfield has a conference-opening twinbill at home against Babson College (7-7) on the same day (12:00 p.m.).