KEENE, NH - UMass Boston Baseball's offense came to life in a doubleheader sweep of Keene State College on Saturday afternoon. Behind 19 total bases from Drew Metzdorf, the Beacons came from behind in both games, winning 7-5 in the first and 15-9 in game two to stay undefeated in conference play.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 7, Keene State College 5
UMass Boston 15, Keene State College 9

UMass Boston (15-9, 7-0 LEC)
Keene State College (13-15, 3-4 LEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game 1: UMass Boston 7, Keene State College 5
The Beacons opened the scoring in the first inning of Saturday's doubleheader courtesy of a sacrifice fly from second baseman Aidan Blake. The lead was short-lived, however, as Keene State's Jonathan Chatfield hit a three-run home run in the bottom half of the inning.

The two teams traded runs in the third inning to keep the Owls' lead at two, leading 4-2 through the end of the sixth inning.

The Beacons' seventh-inning rally started with Drew Metzdorf who crushed his second solo home run of the game to cut the KSC lead to one. Metzdorf's homer was followed by singles from Blake and Craig Corliss and a Nick Palma hit by pitch. With the bases juiced, Gianni Zarilli reached on a fielder's choice, bringing home the tying run and putting Beacons on both corners.

Bostyn Burris delivered the go-ahead RBI courtesy of a pinch-hit single, putting the Beacons ahead 5-4. The next batter, Mariano Jiminez, also delivered a single, bringing home Zarilli to put them up 6-4. Breon Parker capped off the scoring with a sacrifice fly that brought Burris home and extended the lead to 7-4.

The Owls scored one in the eighth and threatened with a runner on in the ninth but Sam Gray shut the door with a four-out save to give the Beacons a 7-5 victory in the opener. 

Game 2: UMass Boston 15, Keene State College 9
The Beacons' first deficit of the second game grew to 5-0 by the end of the second inning.

That disadvantage was quickly erased by a strong third inning from the Beacons that started with a familiar number-three hitter. Metzdorf's third home run of the day was a grand slam, giving him eight RBI on the day and cutting the KSC lead to one, 5-4.

The loud third inning continued when Blake tied the game at five with a homer of his own in the very next at-bat. The tie-breaking hit once again came from the bat of Burris who singled to bring home Zarilli for a 6-5 lead.

The Owls had a big inning of their own in store, re-tying the game and re-taking the lead in the fifth inning. By the end of the seventh, their lead had been stretched to two, 8-6. In the eighth, the two teams traded runs, keeping the KSC lead at two heading into the final inning. 

The ninth inning of the game turned a narrow lead for the Owls into a comfortable lead for the Beacons. The visitors batted around and every player that was not a pinch runner reached base during the inning. RBI hits from Burris, Parker, Justin Gouveia, Metzdorf, Blake, and Zarilli flipped the 9-8 deficit to a 15-9 lead.

Sam Gray once again shut the door for the Beacons, this time earning the win for his work in the eighth and ninth innings. UMass Boston completed the sweep with a 15-9 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• As a team, the Beacons tied their season best in both games, hitting two home runs for the second and third times
• Metzdorf ranks first in the LEC in OPS (1.236) and triples (7), as well as ranking second in total bases (67)
• The Beacons are the only team in the LEC that has yet to suffer a conference loss (7-0)
• The Beacons have hit 21 triples, no other LEC team has hit more than 13
• Baseball took a 30-29 lead in the all-time series with their 18th straight victory over Keene State

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will return to Monan Park on Tuesday afternoon for a 3 pm first pitch against in-state rivals UMass Dartmouth. They will be looking to avenge the loss to the Corsairs that eliminated them from the 2022 LEC tournament.