PLYMOUTH, N.H. - The Western Connecticut State University Wolves were beaten twice today by the Plymouth State University Panthers in Little East Conference (LEC) baseball action this afternoon at Parish Field. WestConn falls to 8-23 overall and 1-12 in the LEC while extending its losing streak to seven games in a row. Plymouth State improves to 6-16 overall and 3-8 in the league. The Wolves will visit LEC rival Eastern Connecticut next on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
Trailing, 4-0, after five innings of game one, WestConn cut its deficit in half in the sixth thanks to a two-run homer by sophomore 1B
Thomas Keough (Farmington, Conn.). Junior OF
Peter Coniglio (New Milford, Conn.) walked and scored a run to bring the Wolves to within one at 4-3 in the seventh inning, but the Panthers scored three times in the eighth frame on an HBP, a double, and a home run. WestConn rallied in the ninth, as Coniglio singled and scored on a wild pitch, but it was not enough. Junior RHP Mac Grewal (Long Beach, N.Y.) struck out five and allowed six hits over 7-plus innings but also walked five and dropped to 2-4. Keough finished 3-for-4 and sophomore SS
Bryan Birkl (Farmingdale, N.Y.) had two hits for the Wolves offense.
Plymouth State kept its momentum and scored three runs in the first inning. WestConn scored once in the second on a single by junior
Josef Rosa (Fort Lee, N.J.) and an RBI single by Coniglio. In the fourth frame, sophomore OF
Charles Mulhall (Fairfield, Conn.) led off with a double, followed by yet another Coniglio single, and was driven home on a sacrifice fly by Birkl to make the score, 3-2. The Panthers answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, however.
Coniglio walked and scored on an RBI double by freshman C Eliot Kleinman (Nanuet, N.Y.) in the sixth inning, while sophomore OF
Jayson Hannah (Staten Island, N.Y.) singled and came home on a Keough double in the eighth to pull WestConn to within three at 7-4. Plymouth State tacked on three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to secure the sweep. Sophomore righty
Brian Mansfield (Lynbrook, N.Y.) took the loss and drops to 1-4. Coniglio, Kleinman, Mulhall, and sophomore 2B
Ryan Vallie (East Haven, Conn.) each had a pair of hits for the Wolves.
