On a day when rosters were finalized and Laconia lost five valuable arms, former closer Kyle Owings (Spartanburg Methodist College) stepped up on the mound in a big way.
In his debut as a starter, Owings threw for a 5-3 win over the New Bedford Bay Sox Tuesday night in Laconia. He put together a season-high seven innings pitched, allowing three runs on four hits, while walking only one and striking out seven. He lasted just long enough to benefit from the Muskrats taking their first lead in the bottom of the seventh.
Owings, who was converted to a closer at Spartanburg Methodist, where Muskrats Manager Matt Williams is a pitching coach, had not started since high school. Still, he felt comfortable with the switch tonight.
“I go out there and do whatever they ask me to,” said Owings.
New Bedford scored all their runs over a span of two innings, by way of a wild pitch and a two-run home run. Owings ran into trouble with his curveball control in the third, hitting a batter, walking another, and throwing a wild pitch that scored a run and almost cleared the backstop.
“My hands were sweaty,” explained Owings. “I just needed the rosin bag.”
An inning later, following a Stephen Wells (BYU) single, Christian Griffiths (Stanford) launched a two-run blast to straight-away center. But that was all New Bedford would get. Rob Harding (Spartanburg Methodist) later relieved Owings, earning a save and striking out three over two scoreless, hitless innings.
Bay Sox shortstop Mike Johnson (Samford College) committed three errors on the night, two of which allowed runs to come across for the Muskrats. Niko Fraser (Elon) and Derek Trent (East Tennessee St) had the only runs batted in for the team. Trent’s gave the Muskrats the lead and Owings the win, singling in Evan Marzilli (South Carolina) with two out in the bottom of the seventh, after a past ball allowed Fraser to score and tie the game.
Fraser reached base three times, going 2-for-4 with a strike out, and RBI and a run scored.
New Bedford starter Sahil Bloom (Stanford) pitched just as well as Owings, settling for a no-decision after six innings, five strike outs, three hits, one walk, and no earned runs. Reliever Eric Swegman (University of Georgia) took the loss.
Laconia stays just three games behind Eastern Division-leading North Shore, in fourth place. They’ll need to work around Sanford and Newport to gain home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs. The Muskrats host Newport tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Follow the game on the NECBL Broadcast Network.
