Baseball Walks off With 6-5 Win Over Keene State

Northborough, Mass. – The Framingham State University baseball team rallied for four runs in the bottom of the tenth to erase a 5-2 deficit and secure a 6-5 walk off victory over Keene State College in non-conference action this evening at the New England Baseball Complex.     

With the win, the Rams improve to 4-9 on the year, while the loss drops Keene to 8-8 on the season.

Keene State took a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the tenth inning, but the Rams started the frame with three straight walks to load the bases with no outs.  Senior RJ Gray (Lowell, Mass.) followed with a bouncer down the first base line that was misplayed allowing the run to score from third.  Freshman Anthony Venuti (Braintree, Mass.) followed with a two run single to center knotting the game at 5-5.  Freshman Aaron Rios (Stratford, Conn.) followed with the game-winning single to center to secure the victory.

Keene State had taken their first lead of game in the top of the tenth as they capitalized on three Framingham errors to score three runs.

The Rams grabbed the lead early in the contest on an RBI single from junior Kyle Pileski (Bristol, Conn.) in the first inning and a run scoring fielder's choice off the bat of Rios in the bottom of the fourth.

The Owls tied the game with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth.  Billy Hartmann plated the first run with a single down the leftfield line that scored Joe Libby who had singled and advanced to third on a pair of failed pick off attempts.  Christian Bourgea followed with a double to deep center tying the score.

Both teams had their chances in the closing innings, but neither could push a run across. The Owls had runners on the corners with one out in the top of the eighth, but Brendan McDonough (Chelmsford, Mass.) was able to start a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning.

The Rams had a chance in the bottom of the inning when junior Ryan Wardwell (Hudson, Mass.) led off the inning with a double. Pinch runner Aaron Williams (Brockton, Mass.) moved to third on a wild pitch, but was stranded there.

Sophomore Al Wallach (Nahant, Mass.) started for the Rams and did not factor in the decision despite going seven innings and allowing two runs, one earned, on six hits with a pair of strikeouts.  Freshman Christopher Melnik (Mahopac, NY) earned the win tossing a third of an inning.

The Rams are back in action tomorrow when they travel to Babson College at 3:30 p.m., while Owls travel to Western Connecticut for a Little East doubleheader beginning at noon.