The baseball team entered last Sunday's doubleheader at No. 17 Keene State College with positive momentum after a 5-4 win at home against Bridgewater State University last Friday. Two extra-inning losses later, the Judges face a critical point in their season.

Keene State senior shortstop Ryan Jones' walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning gave the Owls an 8-7 comeback victory in the second game after rookie left fielder Bobby Doyon's three-run walk-off home run gave the Owls a 6-3 win in the first game. The Judges won against Bridgewater State 5-4 last Friday and at Tufts University 3-2 last Tuesday, but lost at Worcester Polytechnic Institute 13-12 last Wednesday. They are now 11-10 this season.

"We probably should have won both games," first baseman Drake Livada '10 said. "They're a really good team. It would have been two big wins for us, and to lose both games the way we did in extra innings was really tough on the team."

The Judges led 7-2 in the fifth inning of the second game and 3-0 in the fourth inning of the first game, but were unable to close out the Owls either time.

"We've lost a bunch of one-run games, and being able to capitalize on those opportunities is a key element we need to focus on for the rest of our games," relief pitcher Pat Nicholson '11 said.

In the second game, the Judges had a five-run fourth inning, fueled by a two-run home run by catcher Artie Posch '10 and an RBI triple by captain and shortstop Malcolm Cone-Coleman '08. The runs gave the Judges a 5-2 lead, and they added two more runs to their lead in the sixth inning.

"Everyone hit the ball well. The wind was howling out to right field, and we were able to take advantage of that by hitting a home run and a couple of triples," assistant coach Bryan Lambert '05 said.

Starting pitcher Drew Brzozowski '10 allowed just two runs in the first five innings but struggled in the sixth inning, giving up a three-run home run to senior outfielder Greg Ford that made the score 7-5.

Pitcher Pat Nicholson '11 relieved Brzozowski, but after retiring the last two batters in the sixth inning, he allowed two more runs in the bottom of the seventh to even the score.

After the Judges failed to score in the top of the eighth, Ford led off the bottom of the eighth with a long fly ball to right fielder Dave Almeida '09.

But Almeida slipped, and the ball dropped, allowing Ford to reach third base. Nicholson induced a groundout on the next play, but with the infield pushed in, Jones laced a 3-2 pitch between first and second base to give the Owls the win.

In the first game, the Judges once again struck first, scoring all three runs in the third inning, the third of which came on third baseman Drake Livada's '10 RBI single. But after hurling three scoreless innings, starting pitcher Rocco Toppi '08 gave up three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on two fielder's choices and an error.

"[Toppi] was great for the first three innings, but he started getting tired in the fourth and lost control of the strike zone," Lambert said.

The score remained tied at three until the bottom of the eighth inning. With one out, pitcher Kyle Ritchie '08 hit sophomore catcher Anthony Cipolla with a pitch and then walked rookie designated hitter Tyler DiPrato.

After a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third base, Ritchie threw three balls in four pitches to Doyon before Doyon belted a fastball over the left-center field fence for the victory.

Nicholson said Keene State's plate discipline was instrumental to its comeback.

"They had a few good at-bats in a row, which, as a pitcher, takes a little away from you," he said.

"After you make one quality pitch, it's really hard for a pitcher to make three or four quality pitches in a row, especially with two strikes."

Lambert also said the team's offensive strategy became more passive in the later innings.

"They just need to get to the point where every inning is like the first inning and they go up there swinging the bat," he said.

The Judges have games next week against Johnson and Wales University Thursday at 3:30 p.m., Western New England College Friday at 3:30 p.m. and at home against Bowdoin College Sunday at 1 p.m.


-Mike Prada contributed reporting.