'WILLIMANTIC, Conn. - Sophomore righties Lisa Cody (Webster, MA/Bartlett HS) and Katie Pensiero (Stamford/Stamford HS) allowed only seven hits and freshman shortstop Kim Church (Farmington/Farmington HS) accounted for two of the team's three runs with two home runs as the Eastern Connecticut State University softball team swept Keene State College 1-0 and 2-1 Saturday afternoon in a Little East Conference doubleheader at Howard Spector Field.

In the opener, Cody (6-3) pitched her second complete-game shutout of the year - a four-hitter with six strikeouts and no walks - and Church drilled a two-out walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning for the only run of the game. In the nightcap, Pensiero (4-4) twirled a three-hitter for her second complete game in seven career starts, Church tied the game with a sixth-inning solo home run, and sophomore first baseman Rachel Denny (East Haddam/Nathan Hale-Ray) ended the game with an RBI single with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. Denny, who led the team in RBI as a freshman, tops this year's team with 18.

Eastern (14-9, 5-1 little east) snapped Keene's (15-3, 2-2 little east) 13-game winning streak in the opener and with the sweep, has beaten the Owls a program-best three straight and four of six.  Keene was last year's ECAC New England Division III tournament champion and is ranked No. 1 in this week's New England coaches' poll.

Cody snapped a personal three-game losing streak in the first game. She  retired the final 16 batters she faced after giving up back-to-back hits in the fourth. In that inning, Eastern senior centerfielder Leigha Abair (East Hartford/East Hartford HS)  threw out pinch runner Nikki Lyons at the plate on a base hit to center field, keeping the game scoreless.

In the nightcap, Church's game-tying home run was her fifth (in nine games) and ties the Eastern season record and moves her into a seven-way tie for third all-time in that department, three behind Eastern Hall of Famer Mariann Shumbo's career total of eight.

Pensiero fanned four and walked three in the second-game win.  Junior Julia May's sacrifice fly in the third inning had scored leadoff hitter sophomore Jenna Patnode from third to give Keene a 1-0 lead before Church delivered the game-tying home run in the sixth. After the home run, Eastern freshman leftfielder Ashley Sullivan (Trumbull/Trumbull HS) doubled to chase Keene junior right-handed starter Ashley Nicholson and put the go-ahead in scoring position. Senior reliever Erin Fuoroli (6-3), the losing pitching in both games, escaped further damage by getting a strikeout and inning-ending foul flyout to right.

With the second game tied 1-1, Keene junior leftfielder Elizabeth Mroczka singled with with two out, but Pensiero got a swinging strikeout to end the inning. Senior third baseman Karen Taber (Deep River/Valley Regional HS)  singled leading off the bottom of the seventh, moved to second on Abair's sacrifice bunt, to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Denny's game-ending single to left.

Keene State is scheduled to host Springfield College on Monday (3:30 p.m.) Eastern visits Western Connecticut State University Tuesday at 5 p.m. in a Little East Conference doubleheader.

(Courtesy ECSU Sports Information)