GORHAM, Maine – Keene State College posted four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to battle back for a 4-3 victory over UMass Dartmouth in game nine of the 2026 Little East Conference Tournament at Ed Flaherty Park. The third-seeded Corsairs conclude their season with a 21-22 overall mark, while the second-seeded Owls are now 26-16 and will play in tomorrow's Championship Series against top-seeded Southern Maine.
 
The Corsairs and the Owls played three scoreless innings before UMass Dartmouth was able to get on the board, pushing across three runs in the top of the fourth. A single off the bat of senior center fielder and captain Brett Baker opened the inning and was quickly followed by a single to right from sophomore catcher Luc Nivaud. Rookie right fielder Sam Bradford sent a shot through the right side, bringing home Baker for the 1-0 lead.
 
A ground out followed for the first out of the inning, bringing up graduate student designated hitter Spencer Aubin as he singled to right, driving in both Nivaud and Bradford for a 3-0 advantage.
 
The score remained the same behind a dominant effort from senior hurler and captain Aidan O'Donnell, who struck out two batters in the bottom of the fourth and another in the fifth to keep the Owls off the scoreboard.
 
Into the bottom of the sixth, Keene State worked to rally back as O'Donnell – who had struck out Jonathan Chatfield to open the inning (eclipsing a career single-game high (6) – surrendered a double with two outs on the board. Despite that, the senior righty got Domminic Tagliaferro to strikeout looking for his eighth strikeout of the contest.
 
In the bottom of the eighth, the Corsairs went to the bullpen as Keene State gained momentum. With bases loaded, the Owls saw Lucas Rogers get hit-by-pitch to bring in a run for the 3-1 score. An advance by all runners on a wild pitch saw another run come in – closing the gap to 3-2 – as a walk to Tagliaferro loaded the bases once again.
 
Junior Dillon Harding got the first out on a strikeout, but a ground out to the shortstop saw another run come in to tie the game at 3-3.
 
On the next batter, a passed ball saw the runner come in from third, grabbing the lead for the first time in the game despite a close play at the plate.
 
In the top of the ninth, the Corsairs saw junior Nick Bartalini reach on an error, but three straight outs saw UMD's season come to an end as the Owls advanced to the Championship series on Saturday against Southern Maine.
 
The Corsairs saw Nivaud go 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Aubin was 1-for-2 with two runs batted in. Bradford also had a hit, a run scored and an RBI. On the mound, O'Donnell pitched a brilliant game over 7.0 innings, allowing no runs on just two hits with a career-high 10 strikeouts. Senior Seamus Marshall allowed three runs, while Harding surrendered one run with a strikeout.