Keene State Baseball swept its first three games of the season against Methodist University this past weekend in North Carolina. The Owls were coming into the season as the defending Little East Conference (LEC) champions and were looking towards a good start to the season.
The first game of the series was held on Friday, Feb. 27, and remained scoreless until the third inning of the game. Senior infielder Evan McCue was credited with an RBI after being assisted by fellow senior catcher Evan Cali on a double, giving KSC the lead 1-0. The Monarchs responded in kind to tie the game in the third (1-1), though they never took the lead at all during the game. During the fourth inning, the Owls managed to take the lead back (2-1).
An RBI from junior outfield/first base Lucas Rogers made it 3-1 in the fifth, though by the end of the sixth inning, Methodist had managed to tie the game up 3-3. Senior pitcher Troy Brennan managed to strike out senior infielder Keegan Megaro and senior catcher Parker Evans to end the sixth inning. Cali and McCue both had base hits to start the seventh, which led to a game-changing play. Senior first baseman Jonathan Chatfield hit a home run, which effectively sealed the game for KSC and brought its momentum back. The homer put the Owls up 6-3, and was Chatfield’s 18th home run of his career, moving him into fourth place on the all-time KSC list. The Owls added another RBI in the ninth to end the game and give them the win.
The next day saw a doubleheader to round out the series against Methodist University. The first game of the day saw Keene State keep the game almost completely out of reach, scoring seven points in the fourth inning alone. The game ended with a final score of 9-5.
Perhaps the most interesting game of the series was saved for last. Rogers hit an RBI that allowed the first points on the board in the third. Sophomore utility player Derek Finlay hit his first career home run during the fourth inning to put the Owls up 3-0 over the Monarchs. They would get one in the bottom half of the inning, but Finlay was able to add onto the score, followed by McCue in both the sixth to make the game 5-1.
The lead carried into the seventh, but Monarchs junior infielder Blake Freeman and Megaro managed to put two on the board respectively to make it 5-3. The next batter, Evans, hit a game-tying home run to make it 5-5. By the eighth inning, KSC had lost the lead and was down by one after first-year infielder Kade Bell scored on an RBI single made by junior infielder Brandon Mauger. In the ninth, the Owls managed to tie the game back up thanks to a score by first-year outfielder Rocoo Pavone. In the tenth, McCue hit another RBI, which allowed Finlay to score and seal the game for a Keene State win in the season-opening series on the road.
For their next set of games, Keene State’s Owls will travel across the country to the West Coast to play against California Lutheran University on Friday, March 6 at 5:00 p.m.
Nathan Eliopoulos can be contacted at
