WILLIMATIC, CONN. 4/26/2009 - A marathon day turned into an unforgettable day for the Keene State College softball team on Sunday. After splitting a key doubleheader against Eastern Conn., the Owls won a dramatic 9-8 victory over R.I. College in the resumption of a suspended game.

Starting the day by dropping a tough 2-1 game in 10 innings to Eastern Conn., the young Owls showed their resiliency by taking the nightcap 2-0. 

The split gave ECSU a 10-4 LEC record and KSC a conference mark of 9-4-1.  While Rhode Island College, which earlier in the day swept Western Conn. (5-3 and 6-1) had already clinched the LEC's top seed, the second and third spots still needed to be determined. 

The Owls' win in the second game literally put the wheels in motion for an unprecedented resumption of a suspended game.  Back on April 10 in Keene, the Owls and RIC played a doubleheader.  The Anchorwomen won the first game 6-3.  With the game knotted at six-all after eight innings, the nightcap was called due to darkness. 

In order to determine the second and the third seeds in the league, Jonathan Harper, the commissioner of the LEC, ruled that following its doubleheader, RIC must get on a bus and travel to Willimantic to finish its second game with the Owls.

After an emotional win over the Warriors, KSC waited about two hours for the Anchorwomen to arrive in Willimantic. 

Not wanting to stir the pot and get his young chargers too revved up, KSC Coach Charlie Beach said little to his team during the break. 

"We were relaxed and ready to play," said sophomore Ashley Annis (Gilford, N.H.), who would later play the role of hero for the Owls.  "They were chanting and singing getting of the bus and that got us fired up.  We wanted to prove who was better."

The game was resumed in the top of the ninth inning.  Even though both teams were rewarded with a runner at second to start the inning due to the tie-breaking rules, the Owls and the Anchorwomen were unable to score.

The 10th inning was a different ball game.  RIC, the three-time LEC tournament champs and defending regional winners, drew first blood.  With two outs, sophomore Donielle Mattoon, who opened the inning at second, came home on a RBI double  to center by sophomore Kayla Jandreau.  The next batter, sophomore Laura Kostenblatt reached on a throwing error, enabling Jandreau to score to put RIC up 8-6.

Annis said "Getting one run back was possible, but two runs were going to be much harder."

KSC began the bottom of the frame by exchanging junior Stephanie Lavado (Wallingford, Conn.) with the faster Jessie Williams (Jaffrey, N.H.) at second base.    Freshman Haley Chandler (Wakefield, Mass.) walked and sister Laura Chandler followed with an infield single to load the bases.  A fielding error on a ball hit by freshman Samantha Pratt (Bristol, Conn.) brought home Williams with the Owls first run. 

RIC erased a potential go ahead run when senior Allie D'Amato's (Bristol, Conn.) grounder was fielded by shortstop Mattoon who threw home to get Haley Chandler.  KSC suffered the same fate when the next batter Jenna Patnode's (Surry, N.H.) comebacker to the box resulted in Laura Chandler being tagged out at the plate. On the play, D'Amato advanced to second and Pratt to third.  The Owls tied the game (8-8) when Pratt came home on a wild pitch. 

With Patnode on second and D'Amato on third following the wild pitch, Annis stepped to the plate.  "I've been struggling the past couple of days, but I had a triple against their pitcher (Amanda Berard) when we faced her earlier this season, said a confident Annis.  "I knew I had to get a hit, there was no other option," she said.

Down two strikes, Annis did just that singling to left field to bring in D'Amato with the game-winning run.

"I didn't look at the ball," Annis said.  "All I could see was our first base coach Meghan McLoughlin jumping up and down. I can't describe the feeling."

This is what I hoping for at the start of the season, said Beach. "I felt the freshman would mature with playing time and we'd eventually put ourselves in position to make an impact in the tournament."

The Owls (22-12, 10-4 LEC) will certainly get their chance.    Winners of 14 of their last 16 games, KSC will enter the tournament as the second seed.  RIC (36-4, 13-1 LEC) will be hosting the tournament, which runs from Thursday -Saturday, for the fourth time in the past five years.

Freshman Ashley Clark (Brentwood, N.H.), now 6-3, got the win for KSC while Berard (12-2) took the loss.

Earlier in the day, Rachel Denny's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the tenth inning scored pinch runner Rosie Manzo to give Eastern a 2-1 win in Game 1. Molly Rathbun struck out a collegiate-high 15 batters for the second time in five games in the first game. Eastern tied the first game in the bottom of the sixth with an unearned run when Denny's two-out single was booted in the outfield, allowing Priscilla Alicea to score from first.

In the second game, Katie Bradford (Lebanon, N.H.) hit a two-out solo home run on a two-strike pitch to give Keene a 1-0 lead in the second, and Bradford walked and scored on an RBI single by No. 9 hitter Laura Chandler to make it 2-0 in the sixth.

Freshman Courtney Savoie (Stratham, N.H.)  pitched a complete-game two hit shutout  for Keene in Game 2, fanning seven and walking four. Eastern stranded two runners in the first and two in the fourth in the second game.