KEENE, NH – Junior shortstop Zach Donahue (South Windsor) drove in three runs with the 98^th and 99^th hits of his 80-game career and junior leftfielder Mason Balmer (North Haven) doubled and hit a two-run home run as the No.8-ranked defending national champion Eastern Connecticut State University rolled past Keene State College, 11-0, in eight innings in a Little East Conference game Tuesday afternoon at the Owl Athletic Complex.
 
Eastern's (24-5, 9-1 LEC) fifth straight win this year, sixth straight and 19^th in its last 21 games against Keene (13-16, 3-5 LEC) moves it a game ahead of the University of Massachusetts Boston (17-10, 7-1 LEC) atop the conference standings, which was beaten by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 7-2 at home Tuesday. The Beacons share second place with Rhode Island College (20-10, 7-1 LEC), which hosts Eastern Saturday at noon in a doubleheader.
 
Two-time defending LEC regular-season champion Eastern got its sixth shutout this year behind the combined effort of junior right-handed starter Nolan Lincoln (Londonderry, NH) and relievers Nicholas Furino (East Haven), Andre Jose (Windham) and Tim Pfaffenbichler (Windsor Locks), who gave up four singles and two walks while fanning two.
 
Lincoln (6-1) allowed two singles without a walk with two strikeouts. In his last two (scoreless starts), he has given up only five singles and no walks while fanning three in nine innings.
 
Junior DH Alejandro Soriano (Hartford) improved his season batting average to .409 (in 44 at-bats) by collecting three hits in Eastern's 14-hit attack. He also walked, scored three runs and drove in a run, with Donahue and Balmer each adding two hits. Senior catcher Matt Malcom (East Lyme) had his first sacrifice fly of the season and also walked in the sixth inning to extend his on-base streak to 11. The multiple RBI game was the sixth this year for Donahue.
 
Eastern visits Manhattanville College Wednesday at 4 p.m. in a non-conference game.