SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - April 21, 2008 -- Keene State senior
pitcher Ashlee Nicholson (Swanzey, N.H.)
became Keene State' s all-time leader in wins (47) with the
Owls 4-2 opening game victory over Springfield College at Potter
Field on Monday. The Pride came back to take the second game
10-2 in five innings.
With the split, Springfield is now 24-14 overall, while Keene
State is 19-9.
Nicholson, who gave up just one earned run, scattered seven hits
while fanning five and not giving up a walk to improve her record
to 10-4. Nicholson, this week's LEC player of the
week, surpassed the previous career mark set by Sue
Pranulis, who pitched from 1991-94.
Junior DP Katie Allenson (Clifton Park, N.Y.)
provided Nicholson with the support she needed at the plate. She
hit two home runs, including a two-run shot in the first inning,
giving the Owls a 2-0 lead, and a solo job in the sixth which
extended Keene State's lead to 4-2. Allenson was 2-for-3 in game #1
with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI's. She now has a team-leading six home
runs on the season.
Keene State took a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth when senior
shortstop Colleen Ferguson (Sussex, N.J.) walked, and then scored
on a double by senior 1B Kaity Conklin (Selkirk,
N.Y.).
Springfield countered twice in the bottom of the fourth on
RBI-singles by Wlosek, a sophomore catcher from Nutley, N.J., and
by sophomore shortstop Jaimie Moran (Manchester, Conn.).
Freshman righthander Sarah Pongratz (Winchester, Mass.) took the
loss for the home team, despite giving up just four hits. She
struck out four and walked three. For the Pride, junior
Danielle Spiro (South Windsor, Conn.) went 2-for-3.
Jessica Hillman and Michelle Wlosek hit back-to-back home runs
and Katie Anderson pitched a complete-game victory to lead the
Springfield to a 10-2 victory in the second game.
The game was mercied after 4 and 1/2 innings. Springfield scored
five runs in the first inning on four hits, a walk, and two big
errors. After one was out, junior CF Angie Atkins (East Haddam,
Conn.) singled. Hillman, a freshman first baseman from Seymour,
Conn., then doubled. Atkins then scored the game's
first run on a wild pitch. After the bases were loaded on a walk
and a single, Moran singled in the second run. After a force out at
the plate for the second out, two runs scored on an error by the
shortstop. Then another scored on a dropped pop-up by the second
baseman.
The Pride scored five more in the third. Sophomore RF Caitlin
Corry (Seekonk, Mass.) led the inning with a single. She was
sacrificed to second. Then SC exploded for four consecutive hits,
beginning with a single by senior 2B Denise Fumicello (Brockton,
Mass.) and an RBI-single by Atkins. Hillman then powered a
three-run home run to left-center, giving Springfield a 9-0 lead.
And that was followed by a shot to left by Wlosek, her 8th of the
season. And Springfield led 10-0.
Keene State had threatened, but was not able to cash in until
the fifth inning. Anderson, a freshman from Andover, Mass., was
hurling a shutout until there were two outs in the inning. Then,
with the bases loaded on two walks and a hit batter, sophomore
catcher Stephanie Lavado (Wallingford, Conn.)
singled for one run. Moments later, a second run scored on an
error, cutting it to 10-2. Another run would have extended the
game, but Anderson induced a pop-up for the final out.
Anderson allowed five hits in her five innings of work. She
struck out three and walked six. Atkins, Hillman, and Wlosek all
had two hits apiece for the Pride. As a team, Springfield finished
with 10 hits.
All five hits by KSC were singles, except a double by
Allie D'Amato (Bristol, Conn.)
Jessie Williams (Jaffrey, N.H.) took the loss for KSC. Her
record goes to 6-5 on the season.
Keene State returns to LEC play on Tuesday with a doubleheader
at UMass-Boston.
