The La Roche College baseball team dropped their opening game of the NCAA Mideast Regional falling to Keystone 5-2 on Thursday evening. The Redhawks will play Friday, May 19 at 1:15pm against the loser of Cortland State vs. DePauw.

La Roche junior pitcher Regis Sauer got the start and sent Keystone down in order in the first. Sauer snagged a comebacker in the first at bat and followed with a strikeout, groundout.

The Redhawks went hitless in the bottom half of the inning and Keystone followed with a second inning lead off triple. Sauer struck out the next batter and got a chopper to Lemley who gunned out a runner trying to advance home.

Sauer used a flyout to center to get out of a two-out two-on jam in the third. The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the fourth but Sauer limited the damage stranding runners at second and third. He got a groundout to freshman shortstop Elmo Trickett who took a tough hop to end the threat.

An error in right allowed Keystone to take a 2-0. They added another on a passed ball.

La Roche rallied with a run in the fifth. Mitchel Yard drew a four pitch walk and scored on a  Shane Roebuck triple to the right field gap.

Senior infielder Ian Velez threw out a runner trying to score in the sixth. Keystone still advanced runners to second and third but a chopper to the mound kept it a two run game.

The Redhawks were threatening in the sixth when Velez doubled and took third on a passed ball. A groundout ended the inning.

Keystone tacked on a run in the seventh but senior outfielder Luis Navedo made a game saving grab along the wall to keep it close.

Freshman Tre Thomas entered the game in the eighth and sent Keystone down in order.

The Redhawks took the momentum into the bottom of the inning and added another run. Sophomore catcher Joe Professori came through with a 2-out triple and scored on a Velez single up the middle.

Thomas got a bases loaded strikeout to end the top of the ninth but Keystone increased their lead to 5-2. La Roche went down in order in the bottom of the inning to end the game.

Sauer threw seven innings and allowed 4 runs (3 ER) on 11 hits while striking out 6. Velez went 3 for 4 with a double and RBI while Roebuck had an RBI double. Yard and Professori both scored runs.