'KEENE, N.H. 4/15/02  –  Stephanie Carter (Cohoes, N.Y.) pitched five hit ball over six innings and the Owls collected 13 hits to lead Keene State College to a 5-1 victory over rival Plymouth State in the second game of a Little East Conference softball doubleheader played Tuesday in Keene.

Plymouth State edged KSC 3-2 in the first game.  Adriene Harvey's (Nantucket, MA.) had a tie-breaking two-run homerun in the sixth inning and Kim Jeffs (Stoughton, MA.) finished with 16 strikeouts to lead the Panthers.

Caroline Kurkowski (Niskayuna, N.Y.) second home run of the day, and third of the season, gave KSC a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning of the second game.  The Owls added three more runs in the fifth on RBI hits from Kerry Marsh (Meriden, N.H.) and Shauna Mullen (Hooksett, N.H.).  Marsh, who went four-for-four in the game, also clouted her second home run of the season in the top of the seventh.

PSC only run came in the bottom of sixth on a run-scoring hit by Annie Metz (North Chelmsford, MA.).

Carter struck out three and walked two to improve to 4-1.  Jeffs (13-3) took the loss for PSC.

Kristin Balles (Bedford, N.H.) RBI double in the second put the Panthers ahead   1-0 in the first game.  Kurkowski tied the game with a solo blast in the bottom of the fifth.  Harvey, who had three hits in the game, broke the tie with a two-run home run in the top of the sixth.

Missy Zimmerman (Leyden, MA.) (2-3) suffered the pitching loss for KSC.

Keene State (12-5, 2-2 LEC) plays a LEC doubleheader at Eastern CT on Wednesday.