Keene State wins LEC title
- Updated: May 12, 2025
RINDGE – One month ago, the Keene State College baseball team began awakening from an 8-13 start to the season with a conference sweep of the eventual No. 2 seed University of Massachusetts-Boston to move their LEC record over .500.
Now – one dominant 17-2 stretch later that in the process helped the Owls earn the top seed – they stand on top of the Little East Conference for the first time in 17 years. Shea Zina, Troy Brennan, Jake Jachym, and David Floyd combined to limit No. 3 seed Eastern Connecticut State University to four hits as KSC pulled out a 2-1, edge-of-your-seat victory in the Little East Conference tournament championship game on Sunday afternoon at Franklin Pierce University.
KSC (25-15) finished the tournament 4-0, impressively holding four teams to a combined six runs as the Owls emphatically returned to the top – using a resurgent pitching staff as the backbone of their success.
An RBI double into the left field corner by Evan Cali in the top of the fourth gave the Owls a 2-0 lead and proved to be the game-winning run, as KSC allowed three baserunners after Ray Leonzi smacked a home run to right in the fifth to cut ECSU’s (30-13) deficit to one run.
Jachym, named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after authoring a strong eight-inning performance against Rhode Island College two nights ago, helped get some of the biggest outs in the game. Head coach Justin Blood summoned the junior lefty with one down in the seventh after No. 9 hitter Dylan Jackson singled off Troy Brennan, and Jachym got Leonzi to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play. A 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth inning then helped set the stage for David Floyd, who notched his first save of the season, getting the first two outs easily. Ian Moser walked on a very close 3-2 pitch, but Floyd got J.T. Clark to bounce to Luke Anderson on the first pitch to send the Owls into a celebration not seen since 2008.
Zina started and pitched four one-hit innings, not allowing a run with three walks and six strikeouts as he kept ECSU off balance.
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