MANSFIELD, Conn. – Senior centerfielder Ray Leonzi (Trumbull) reached four times and scored four runs and senior catcher Hank Penders (Wethersfield) drove in six runs – four coming on a seventh-inning first-pitch grand slam – as the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team improved to 10-1 in its last 11 games with a 12-7 Little East Conference victory over Keene State College Wednesday afternoon at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.
After Keene (8-13, 1-2 LEC) junior first baseman Jonathan Chatfield's fifth home run of the season – a two-run shot with two outs in the fifth – off winning pitcher Dan Driscoll (Waterford) pulled the Owls to within 5-4, Eastern answered with three runs in the sixth and four on Penders' fourth home run of the season in the seventh to take an eight-run lead into the ninth.
Averaging over 12 hits a game, Eastern (17-5, 5-1 LEC) collected 17 hits – its sixth game of at least that many this year – off five Keene pitchers to post its 12th straight win over the Owls. The pre-season coaches' favorite to win the LEC regular season, Eastern moved a half-game ahead of the University of Massachusetts Boston (15-7, 5-1 LEC) atop the conference. Keene is schedule to host UMass Boston Friday in a noon doubleheader.
Trailing 2-1, Eastern went ahead for good against Keene with two runs in the third after there were two out and none on, and made it 5-2 by scoring two more in the fourth again after there were two out and none on. In both the third and fourth, Eastern strung together three straight hits with two out to score twice in each inning.
In the third, senior cleanup hitter Alejandro Soriano (Hartford) and senior shortstop Preston Cosme-Cruz (Bridgeport) doubling around senior rightfielder Josh Cofrancesco's (Southington) single – and a wild pitch to score twice.
In the fourth, No. 9 hitter Teige Kimbler (Albany, NY) got it going with a two-out bunt single, and Leonzi (double) and Penders (single) followed with run-scoring hits.
Leonzi doubled and scored the first run of the game in the first inning, had the RBI double and scored in the fourth, added a run-scoring single and scored in the sixth, and walked and scored ahead of Pender's grand slam in the seventh. In the last two games, Leonzi has reached seven times with five hits (three doubles), a walk and hit-by-pitch, scored six runs, drove in four and stole two bases. He is batting .398 – second to Soriano (.422) – with 31 runs, 12 extra-base hits, 28 RBI, a .667 slugging percentage and .509 on-base percentage and is perfect on 43 outfield chances.
With two hits, Soriano extended his hitting streak to 15. He has had a hit in 21 of 22 games and has reached safely in all 22. Leonzi has reached base in the last 21 games after going hitless in the season-opener and Penders has been aboard at least once in each of the last 16 games.
In his sixth start of the year, Driscoll (4-0) allowed six hits and four earned runs, fanning eight and walking two and getting all three outs on strikeouts in both the second and third innings. Including six wins and a save at Mitchell College in 2022, Driscoll is 22-7 in his four-year career with two saves and 260 strikeouts against 57 walks.
In relief, junior lefty AJ Rooks (Coventry), senior lefty Nicholas Furino (East Haven) and senior righty Tiernan Powers (Haddam Neck) combined for three hitless innings. The trio allowed only two baserunners – both reaching on two of Eastern's six errors. Making his first appearance of the season (second of his career), junior righty Andrew Merrill (South Paris, ME) allowed one earned run in closing out the game in the ninth.
In its next outing, tentatively scheduled for Saturday at noon, Eastern hosts the University of Southern in a conference doubleheader.