#21 Salve Regina baseball defeats Keene State, 8-4

KEENE, N.H. - A late comeback fell short as the Keene State College baseball team fell to Salve Regina University, 8-4, at Owl Athletic Complex on Thursday.

Records

• Keene State: 8-15
• Salve Regina: 20-4

How It Happened

Keene State, playing at home for the first time this season, got two hits apiece from Connor Walsh, Nate Rossi, and John Tarascio.  The Owls also used nine different pitchers. Michael Wasserman, Nate Pedersen, Brian Vieira, and Michael McDermott each tossed a scoreless inning. Brandon Heath (1-2) allowed a pair of runs and took the loss.

Dylan Ketch doubled in two runs to give Salve Regina a 2-0 lead in the third inning.  Two walks and a hit batsman loaded the bases for the Seahawks in the sixth, and Hunter Sleeper hit into a fielder's choice to bring in another run.  Riley Fusaro scampered home with another run while Sleeper was caught in a pickoff attempt.

A single run in the seventh and two more in the eighth expanded the lead to 7-0, but Keene State pulled three runs back in the bottom of the eighth.  John Tarascio led off by beating out an infield single, and the throw was off line to allow him to reach second.    After Nate Rossi was hit by a pitch, Mac Struthers singled to center to plate Tarascio.

Consecutive walks to Zach Rollins and Connor Longley forced in another run, and Walsh singled in another run with a hit through the left side.  The bases remained loaded, but Salve Regina reliever Tommy Seaver struck out Christian Bourgea to end the threat.

Christian Vargas' sacrifice fly made it 8-3 in the ninth.  Tarascio beat out another infield hit to open the bottom of the inning, and scored on Rossi's single to right center.  Rossi moved to third on Tom Meucci's groundout, and took third on a wild pitch before Struthers struckout to end the game.

Around the Horn

• It was the second meeting between the schools this year, after the Seahawks took a 7-3 decision in Rhode Island on March 26.
• Walsh's RBI was his team leading 18th of the season.  He also hit his team best seventh double.
• The later innings continue to be spark for the Owls' offense; KSC has outscored opponents by 11 runs (53-42) in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings this year.

Up Next

• Keene State returns to Little East Conference play by welcoming Western Connecticut State University on Saturday at noon.
• Salve Regina is off until Monday, when the Seahawks head to Amherst College.