KEENE, N.H. 5/15/10 – Top seed Keene State is just one win away from defending its ECAC New England crown after posting decisive semifinal wins over #5 Bridgewater State (9-2) and  second seed Lesley University (10-0) at Owl Athletic Complex on Saturday.

            Keene State (28-14-1) will play the winner of the Bridgewater State/Lesley game at 12 p.m. on Sunday.  A victory would give the Owls back-to-back titles.  If a second game is needed it will be played at 2 p.m.  Bridgewater and Lesley will begin play at 10 a.m. with an elimination game.

            Against Bridgewater State, Keene State took a 2-0 lead in the second on a two-run single by freshman Jessica Fiorenza (Wakefield, Mass.).  They added single runs on the third and fourth innings and broke the game open with a four-run fifth inning.  Junior Heather Harold (Newtown, N.J.) had an RBI double and sophomore Haley Botti (Dracut, Mass.) brought home a run with a single in the fifth.

            Junior Katie Bradford (Lebanon, N.H.) hit her first home run of the day, a solo shot, in the sixth.

            Sophomore Courtney Savoie (Stratham, N.H.), Bradford, and Botti each had two hits. 

            Junior Tracey Sanko (Windsor, Conn.) picked up two hits for the Bears (19-19).

            Sophomore Sarah Stocklinski (Newton, N.H.) got the complete game win (5-3) for KSC. She gave up two runs on four hits with season high 10 strikeouts and two walks.

            Sanko took the loss for BSC.

            Keene State used the long ball and the four-hit pitching of sophomore Emily Albin (Bethel, Conn.)  to defeat Lesley University 10-0 in its second game of the day.

            The Owls took a 4-0 lead in the second.  Following consecutive singles by Savoie, Stocklinski, and Harold, Botti walked to bring in the first run.  Fiorenza added a two-run single down the left field line and Bradford had an RBI single up the middle.

            KSC erupted for six more runs in the seventh.  Harold, had a two-run home run to left, her second of the season and Bradford hit a grand slam, a line shot over the left field fence.  It was her second home run of the day and eighth of the season.

            Keene State finished the game with 15 hits. Bradford, Savoie, Stocklinski, and Fiorenza each had a couple of hits.

           Albin struck out six to improve her record to 10-1.

          Sophomore Cassandara Knox (Sea Cliff, N.J.) took the loss for the Lynx (26-12).