KEENE, N.H. – The Westfield State baseball team left 16 men on base, falling to Keene State, 4-3, on a Monday afternoon in a non-conference game from Owl Athletic Complex in Keene N.H. Trailing 4-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Owls attempted to put a rally together, managing two runs in the inning, but were unable to drive in a fourth run in an eventual defeat.
The Owls drop to 12-9 on the season, while Keene State moves to 5-15 overall.
Westfield got off to a quick start thanks to senior Nick Martin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) who belted a leadoff home run to left field to put the Owls on the board, 1-0.
In the bottom of the third, Keene State scored their first run of the game on a passed ball, while also putting the go-ahead run on third with one out. Westfield starting pitcher Ryan Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) worked out of the jam with consecutive punch outs to keep the game tied at one apiece.
Westfield State left two runners on in the fourth inning, and in the fifth inning the Owls had their best scoring opportunity since the first. Martin singled followed by a double from first-year Samuel Palmer (Medfield, Mass.) to put runners on second and third with one out. Keene turned to the bullpen to call upon senior Joe Barter (Coventry, R.I.) who forced a strikeout, intentionally walked Ethan Day (Meriden, Conn.), and then got a pop-out to shortstop to leave the bases loaded.
A similar opportunity presented itself in the sixth inning where the Owls again loaded the bases with three walks, but were not able to deliver a timely hit as the game remained even at 1-1 into the seventh inning.
Donahue was terrific through the first six innings for Westfield State, holding Keene to just one hit while fanning eight hitters to give the offense a chance to build the lead. In the seventh inning, the right-hander ran into trouble. He gave up back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners with one down. He recorded his ninth strikeout in what was at the time the biggest of his outing. Junior Mark Barrett (Brooklyn, N.Y.) then drew a walk, setting up sophomore Eli Oliver (East Montpelier, Vt.) who put a crooked number on the scoreboard with a three-run double to center to put Keene ahead 4-1.
Westfield began the eighth inning with a rally from the bottom of order as Damien Maniscalco (Branford, Conn.) reached on a hit by pitch followed by a Devin Slattery (Ware, Mass.) single to put two runners on with two outs. Palmer stepped to the plate and lashed his fourth hit of the game down the left field line to score Maniscalco to trim the deficit to two runs. Slattery would come around to score on two wild pitches to make it a one run game. The Owls eventually loaded the bases again, and for the third time on the afternoon, the Owls failed to score a run with two outs and a man on every base.
Westfield reliever Luke Mathewson (Eastford, Conn.) held serve in the eighth as the Owls trailed by a run heading into the top of the ninth. Matt Motyka (Vernon, Conn.) got drilled by a pitch to put the tying run on base. A sacrifice bunt by Trey Faulkner (Springfield, Mass.) advanced pinch runner John Nickerson (Chelmsford, Mass.) into scoring position, but Westfield was unable to push the runner across, resulting in a one-run loss.
Martin and Palmer combined for seven of the Owls ten hits on the afternoon, with each of them recording an RBI in the contest.
Donahue (L, 2-1) took the hard-fought loss, covering 6.2 innings of work and allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits with nine strikeouts. Jack Lang (Malverne, N.Y.) picked up his first win of the season for Keene, while Will Dolaher (Melrose, Mass.) registered his first save of the year.
Westfield State will return home to face Worcester State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game on Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 P.M. from Hagan Field in Westfield, Mass.