FT. MYERS, FLA. 3/21/02 - The Keene State College softball team improved its spring week record to 7-1 with two wins on Thursday at Ft. Myers, Fla.  The Owls defeated Suffolk University 12-3 in their opener and came back to defeat Cazenovia (N.Y.) College 8-0 in six inning game later in the day.

Doubles by Jan Rissacher (Voorheesville, NY), Shauna Mullen (Hooksett, NH), and Caroline Kurkowski (Niskayuna, NY) gave KSC a 2-0 lead against Suffolk.  The Owls broke the game open with a six-run second inning that included a three-run home run by Kurkowski.

Kurkowski had two hits and four RBIs in the game.

Rissacher went 2-for-3, and Mullen finished with two hits and two RBIs. KSC had 10 hits in the game.


Freshman Stephanie Cater (Cohoes, NY) gave up just one hit and had four strikeouts in three innings of work got the win.  Jennifer Smith (Salem, NH) pitched the final two innings.

The Owls banged out 12 hits in their second game against Cazenovia.  KSC wasted little time taking the lead. They went up 1-0 on a RBI hit by Carter in the first.   After scoring two more runs in the second, KSC added three more in the fourth on RBI hits from Rissacher and Jennifer Norman (Penacook, NH). Melissa Provost (Ludlow, MA.) capped the scoring with a solo home run in the fifth inning.

Norman went 3-for4 with two RBIs, while Cater, Provost, and Nikki Foote (Hudson, NH) had two hit each.

Missy Zimmerman (Leyden, MA.) tossed a complete game two-hitter to pick up her second win on the trip. She also had four strikeouts and no walks.

The victory against Cazenovia was a good gauge for us," said KSC Coach Charlie Beach.  "It was a good regional win against a solid team that went to post-season last year." 

Beach is getting a contribution from everyone in his line-up.  The second game in particular was a great team effort," he said.  "We're clicking in all facets of the game right now."

The schedule gets a little tougher for the Owls the rest of the week.  They face Grinnell University and Wisconsin-Oshkosh tomorrow and wrap up with a game against Oneonta State on Saturday.