BOSTON - Four teams remain in the hunt for the 2024 Little East Conference (LEC) Baseball Championship Tournament title following the second day of competition at UMass Boston’s Monan Park. The final game of the day would be the final game in the hall of fame career of University of Southern Maine head coach Ed Flaherty.
 
No. 3 UMass Dartmouth 6, No. 4 Southern Maine 0
By UMass Dartmouth Athletics

Powered by a dominant showing on the mound from junior pitcher Adam Maher, along with a big-time three-run homer from junior left fielder Chris Kustigian, the UMass Dartmouth baseball team defeated Southern Maine, 6-0, in first-round Little East Conference Tournament action on Thursday. The Corsairs move on to the second round where they will face Eastern Connecticut on Friday morning. Meanwhile, the Huskies will play again later tonight against top-seed UMass Boston.  

The Corsairs pitching duo of Maher and sophomore Aidan O'Donnell combined for a three-hit shutout of the Huskies. Maher picked up the win, allowing just three hits with seven strikeouts in 7.0 innings of work. O'Donnell picked up his third save of the season, taking over in the eighth inning and allowing no hits and struck out two.
 
After a scoreless first inning, it was UMass Dartmouth who struck first in the bottom of the second inning, starting with a leadoff double from senior third baseman Andrew Possi. Senior catcher Matt Tempone was walked, and with two outs, Kustigian blasted a huge three-run homerun over the left field fence to put the Corsairs up 3-0 early in the game.

UMD added a run onto their lead in the third inning, after a leadoff single from sophomore center fielder Brett Baker set him up to score on an RBI double from junior second baseman Devyn Vezina. The Corsairs led 4-0 after three innings of play. The pitchers on both teams restricted any more runs from coming in for the following four innings.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, UMass Dartmouth was able to stretch their lead to 6-0 with another pair of runs. The inning began with a leadoff single from freshman shortstop Cooper Wixon, who eventually scored on an RBI single from Possi. Grad student DH Joe Muzio, who was intentionally walked and advanced to third on the Possi single, was brought in on grad student right fielder Anthony Keefe's RBI single.

O'Donnell closed things out on the mound with a strikeout looking, as the Corsairs took the 6-0 victory in the first round of the Little East Conference Tournament. Southern Maine junior pitcher Clay Robbins shouldered the loss on the mound. He allowed four runs on eight hits with three strikeouts in 7.0 innings of work.

From the plate, the Corsairs were led by Kustigian, who went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run, thanks to his three-run homer in the second inning. Possi was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Baker went 2-for-4 with a run. Keefe and Vezina each went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
 
No. 5 Keene State 10, No. 6 Rhode Island College 9
By Keene State College Athletics

One day after dealing with a lot of rain, it was a different and much more welcome "Rain" that aided the cause on Thursday afternoon in an elimination game.  Tommy Ahlers had four hits including a home run and drove in six runs, Ethan Rainha delivered a go-ahead RBI single in the 11th inning, and Troy Brennan fired 4.2 scoreless innings of relief as the Keene State College baseball team stayed alive at the Little East Conference tournament, knocking out Rhode Island College 10-9 in a wild extra inning affair at Monan Park on the campus of the University of Massachusetts-Boston.  The Owls advance to Friday, where they will take on the loser of Eastern Connecticut State University and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth at 7:00 p.m.

Records

• Keene State:  21-21
• Rhode Island College:  16-19

How It Happened
It did not look great early for KSC, who fell behind 4-0 through two innings and allowed runs in each of the first four frames, including four in the fourth to fall behind 9-7 after they had rallied for a 7-5 lead.  However, David Floyd settled things down and Brennan carried on from there, entering in the seventh as the duo combined to keep Rhode Island College – playing as the home team – scoreless for the final seven innings.

This allowed the Owls to rally, scoring two in the eighth to tie the game and eventually one in the 11th as Rainha, a freshman, came up with the biggest hit of the season to that point.  The frame began with Harrison Mansfield walking Evan McCue, and Alec Varano followed with a sacrifice bunt to move him into scoring position.  Rainha then came through, bouncing a base hit up the middle that delivered the go-ahead run as KSC took their first lead since the fourth inning.  There was a chance for more as Evan Cali reached on a miscue on his bunt and Ahlers ripped a base hit into center, but Jonathan Chatfield lined out to first in what turned into a double play to keep it a one-run game.

Brennan, who has emerged into one of the Owls' more reliable back end arms, continued his surge, working around a leadoff infield single by Sean Helfrich to retire the next three in a row without him ever moving into scoring position.  A pair of fly outs had the Anchormen down to their final out, and Daniel Cascio bounced out harmlessly to first to end a game that lasted nearly four hours – the second straight day KSC has been at the field for that long after their first round contest against Eastern Connecticut saw a delay before the game, two during the game, and lasted over two and a half hours in actual game action.  Brennan has now allowed a run in 18.2 innings in KSC's wins this season, walking only four and striking out 12.  Since the Owls started 4-11, he has a 3-1 record, five saves, and a 2.55 ERA as they have gone 17-10 since.

Keene State has now 31 LEC tournament wins in their program's history since they joined the conference in 1997, with today their first since 2017.  But it did not come easily, as they had to notch their third win when trailing after seven.

After going down in order in the seventh, the Owls generated a threat against Stephen Sullivan in the eighth down 9-7 as Varano singled and Rainha, who entered as a pinch-hitter, walked.  Cali then greeted Jason Potvin with a base hit to load the bases with nobody out and KSC made good, tying the game at nine with consecutive sacrifice flies from Ahlers and Chatfield.

The teams were not without chances in the late innings.  In the ninth, Justin Wardwell doubled with two outs to put a runner in scoring position.  However, KSC opted to intentionally walk pinch-hitter Casio and then froze David Iannuccilli for a strikeout to send it to extras.  The Owls then wasted Ahlers' leadoff double and Chatfield's walk to begin their half of the 10th, but worked around a leadoff walk in the bottom half after Parker Camelo was thrown out trying to score from first with two outs on Cole Podedworny's double to left as Shea Zina fired to Otis Follet, who fired a perfect relay home to get Camelo by a lot to keep KSC's season alive – and it did not take them long to cash in.

Early, it did not seem as though there might be too much late drama, as Rhode Island College opened a 4-0 lead in the first two innings as Owls starter Camden Thomas struggled one start after his rookie season and career-best 11 strikeouts against Plymouth State University. After KSC left a pair on in the first, the first three Anchormen reached including an RBI double by Podedworny that put them on the board.  Helfrich followed with a sacrifice fly that made it 2-0, and after Keene State stranded a runner in scoring position in the second, Rhode Island College saw five straight reach with two outs in the second as they doubled the lead.

The offense continued to come fast and furious, as Ahlers' third home run since last Friday sliced the deficit in half in the top of the third, though RIC answered with a walk, hit batter, and single to center in the bottom half to make it 5-2.

The Owls finally broke through in the fourth with a crooked number against Anchormen starter Misael Laboy, who labored with command the entire game.  KSC loaded the bases with one out as Zina walked, Varano singled, and Hamilton Barnes was hit with a pitch.  A wild pitch brought home a run to make it 5-3, and Cali worked another free pass to reload the bases.  Ahlers, who has been a clutch hit machine, then came up with another, clearing the bases for a 6-5 lead and ending Laboy's day.  He later scored on a passed ball for a two-run advantage.

Just as quickly, Rhode Island College snatched the momentum back in the bottom half, answering with four runs, all of which were unearned thanks to a pair of KSC errors.  The inning likely should have ended on Wardwell's fly ball to right, but it was misplayed for the second error and the Anchormen instead were left with the bases loaded and one out in what was a 7-6 game.  A grounder to third then tied it, and RIC was not finished, going up 9-7 on Camelo's two-out, two-run single.

Keene State left three on base over the next two innings, including stranding runners at second and third with two outs in the sixth, but saved some of their most clutch at bats for the end.

"Troy Brennan and David Floyd did a great job out of the bullpen settling the game down," said Owls head coach Jutin Blood.  "Tommy Ahlers was Superman at the plate and Ethan Rainha made a couple big plays and had a huge at bat to drive in the go-ahead run."

"We've had two crazy days so far and are excited to keep playing postseason baseball."

Brennan (3-3) got the win, allowing five hits in his 4.2 scoreless innings.  He walked two and struck out two.

Mansfield fell to 2-3, the final of five RIC pitchers, as he allowed three hits and a run over the final 2.1 innings with two walks and one strikeout.

The starters did not factor into the decision, as Laboy allowed seven runs (six earned) in 3.1 innings with five walks and two whiffs while Thomas lasted 2.1 innings, allowing five hits and five runs.  He walked three and struck out two.

Offensively, Ahlers now has 42 RBI this season, tied for the 15th most in a single-season in program history (with Justin Hickman in 2002 and Erik Bergstrom in 2011).  Brennan also tied the school record for appearances in a season with 20 (Keith Simpson, 2016).

Cali (2-4, 3 BB, 2 R) and Varano (2-3, 2 BB, 2 R) also had multi-hit games for KSC at the plate.

Lucas McElroy had a five-hit game for RIC and Camelo was 3-for-5 and drove in three out of the No. 9 spot.  Helfrich finished with 3 RBI, but the Anchormen dropped seven of their final 10 after beating eventual No. 1 seed UMass-Boston 18-16 in the opener of a home doubleheader on April 21.
 
No. 1 UMass Boston 4, No. 4 Southern Maine 1
By UMass Boston Athletics

The UMass Boston baseball team defeated the University of Southern Maine 4-1 under the Monan Park lights on Thursday evening, as they will advance to the 2024 Little East Conference semi-final matchup on Friday, May 10at 3:30 against the winner of game six featuring the Warriors of Eastern Connecticut State and UMass Dartmouth.

Thursday evening's matchup against the Huskies was strictly business from the Beacons' bullpen, with senior Dillon Ryan opening on the mound. Ryan pitched for six innings and gave up no Huskies' runs on just three hits and only two walks. He punched out nine batters against the 27 he faced through 106 pitches. Ryan was relieved by sophomore Justin Defalco, senior Thomas Kierce, and graduate closer Tim Cianciolo. As a bullpen, the Beacons punched out 13 batters in 32 at-bats, and allowed just six hits as a defense for Ryan's sixth win in seven starts, and for Cianciolo's fifth save of the season.

From the dish, the Beacons went 10-36 led by senior Aidan Blake who batted 1.000 in four appearances with an RBI and a run scored for two of the Beacons' four runs in the evening. In three at-bats for senior Luke Leavitt, he recorded one hit and drew two walks including an RBI. Blake, along with senior Bostyn Burris, and first-year Brandon Gaer, each swung for extra bases in the effort with Blake recording two doubles, Burris recording a double of his own, and Gaer batting for an RBI triple.

The Beacons' defense shined bright among the Monan Park lights while holding the Huskies' bats scoreless through the first seven innings behind Ryan and DeFalco on the bump.  The first recorded Beacons' run came in the third inning off Blake's RBI single to left field to bring in Burris for the first run of the game. Gaer followed suit in the fifth inning with an RBI triple to clear Blake from second base.

In the seventh inning, Leavitt would work a clutch walk with the bases loaded to bring in junior Mariano Jimenez for the Beacons' third run. The final tally on the Monan Park Green Monster came off a Huskies' wild pitch to allow junior catcher Mike Meagher to come across to score for the fourth and final fatal run for the Huskies' 2024 campaign.