The Keene State Baseball team’s bats came alive as it walked away with both wins in its Saturday doubleheader against Little East Conference (LEC) rivals University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston) on April 11.
The Owls came into the game in rough shape, having dropped their last four contests. To worsen that, they were winless in their last 19 games against the Beacons, a figure that dated back to 2014. However, on Saturday, they put an end to that streak and did so in style, winning the first game 10-0 and the second 9-5.
For the first game, it was junior Jake Jachym who took the mound for Keene State. He delivered, pitching a complete eight-inning shutout with only 75 pitches while allowing just four hits and striking out one. His work on the mound allowed the Owls to find their bats, which they did in the third inning.
Junior infielder Evan McCue sparked the offense with an RBI single before coming around to score on junior outfielder Jonathan Chatfield’s base hit. Senior outfielder and pitcher Shea Zina’s sac fly made it 3-0, and the Owls piled on four more in the sixth, with McCue lacing a double and patient plate appearances pushing runs across. Junior infielder Alec Varano delivered the dagger in the eighth with a two-run single as Keene State cruised to an eighth-inning mercy rule victory over the Beacons.
Game two had a similar theme, with good pitching being key in both victories. For this game it was sophomore Camden Thomas on the mound. Thomas pitched a hitless six innings, walking six and striking out seven. His dominant performance kept the Beacons at bay while the Owls wasted no time in putting runs on the board.
Keene State came out swinging, building a commanding lead behind big bats and smart base running. McCue set the tone in the first with an RBI double, and junior outfielder Tommy Ahlers followed with a double of his own to make it 2–0. The third inning saw a scoring surge as the Owls tacked on four more, highlighted by back-to-back RBI doubles from Ahlers and Chatfield. Junior infielder Otis Follet launched a solo homer in the sixth, igniting the bench, and sophomore outfielder Ethan Rainha delivered the knockout blow in the seventh with a two-run double to push the lead to 9–0.
Junior Troy Brennan and sophomore George Young closed out the affair on the mound for the Owls. The pair allowed five runs in the final two innings as UMass Boston mounted a late-game rally, but the Owls’ early offensive explosion proved too much to overcome.
The wins bring the Owls to 10-13 and 3-2 in conference play while the Beacons sit at 17-10 and 6-3 in the LEC. Next up, the Owls will host Western Connecticut State University for a doubleheader on Monday, April 14. Keene State will be looking to grab consecutive sweeps to move its way up the LEC standings.
Elías Stowell Alemán can be contacted at
estowellaleman@kscequinox.com
