La Plume, Pa. – Keystone College clinched the top seed in next week's Colonial States Athletic Conference baseball playoffs by sweeping a doubleheader from Neumann University at Christy Mathewson Field on Saturday afternoon.  The Giants, currently #12 and #22 in a pair of national polls, improve to 29-9 overall and 14-3 in conference play and secure home field advantage in next week's conference tournament after posting 10-4 and 4-3 wins over the Knights (19-16, 11-6 CSAC).
 
Keystone will host the winner of Monday's game between Gwynedd Mercy University and Centenary College in a first round playoff game next Thursday.  The tournament will continue on Friday and Saturday with Neumann and Immaculata University also guaranteed a spot in the four-team field.  
 
Game 1
 
Neumann jumped out to a 3-0 lead in their first at-bats on Saturday on a three-run home run from Cody MacNair before Keystone cut its deficit to two runs in the bottom of the first inning when Louis Reyes (Port St. Lucie, FL/Treasure Coast) scored on an RBI groundout by Chris Triano (Greenwich, CT/Rye).
 
In the home third, the Giants loaded the bases before Triano placed a two-run single to right field to tie the game before Brandon Eady (Bowie, MD/DeMatha Catholic) scored on an RBI groundout off the bat of Tony Hunter II (Atlanta, GA/South Effingham) to give Keystone a 4-3 edge.
 
The hosts broke the game open by scoring six runs on six hits and one Neumann error in the bottom of the sixth inning.  Reyes hit a two-run single before Triano hit a two-run double down the left field line.  Nate Ross (Albuquerque, NM/La Cueva) followed with a two-run base hit to left center to give Keystone a 10-3 cushion.
 
The Knights closed out the scoring on an RBI single by Curt Yenchik in the top of the seventh.
 
Keystone starting pitcher Felix Baez (San Juan, PR/Colegio Presbiteriano de Puerto Nuevo) improved to 7-2 on the season, picking up the win by striking out 11 batters in six innings while yielding three runs on six hits.  Jeffrey Ledesma (Yonkers, NY/Norman Thomas) allowed one run on two hits in the seventh inning.
 
Triano went 2-4 with five RBIs, Reyes went 2-3 with a pair of RBIs, Ross drove in two runs, and Julian Lanfranco (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) added a pair of hits to lead the Giants' offense in the game one victory. 
 
Kristian DeLuzio suffered the loss for the visitors after yielding 10 runs on 10 hits while striking out three batters in 5.2 innings. 
 
AJ Koscelansky went 3-4 while Yenchik added a pair of hits for the Knights in the loss.
 
Game 2
 
Neumann took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning of Saturday's nightcap Tyler Thomas scored on an RBI groundout by Kye Williams and the Knights doubled their lead the following inning on a sacrifice fly from Kyle Weller.
 
Triano put Keystone in front, 3-2, with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the fourth inning, sending an 0-1 pitch just inside the left foul pole for a three-run home run.  The junior's home run was his team-leading ninth dinger of the spring.
 
Eady gave the Giants a much-needed insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo home run to left field to give the hosts a 4-2 edge. 
 
Chuck Trentler scored on a MacNair sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning before Yeison Andujar (Carolina, PR/Programa Educativo Alcance) got a game-ending double play to end the game, preserving the win for Jesse Arnold (Stuart, FL/Port Saint Lucie), who improved to 8-0 on the season. 
 
Arnold picked up the win after allowing two runs on five hits to go along with four strikeouts in six innings on the bump before giving way to Andujar, who notched his 10^th save of the season, a new single-season record for the Giants, despite allowing one run on one hit and two walks in the seventh inning.
 
Triano's three RBIs and Eady's 3-3 effort at the plate powered Keystone's offense in the game two win.
 
Zach Cooney suffered the loss for Neumann after being charged with four runs on six hits to go along with a pair of K's in a complete game effort. 
 
Trentler and Koscelansky had two hits apiece for the visitors in the nightcap.
 
Up Next
 
The Giants and Knights will close out the 2016 season tomorrow with a single, nine-inning game in Aston, Pennsylvania starting at 1:00 p.m.  Neumann needs a win to clinch the #2 seed in the CSAC playoffs and a first round home game