KEENE, N.H. 5/16/10 – Keene State College left little doubt who would win  the 2010 ECAC New England Softball Championship at Owl Athletic Complex on Sunday.

            The top seeded Owls collected 16 hits on the way to defeating fifth seed Bridgewater State College 12-2 in the first game of the championship round.

            Finishing its season with a 29-14-1 record, KSC had little trouble defending its title, winning its three games by average of nine runs.  The Owls defeated Brandeis to capture the 2009 championship.

            Bridgewater State, which concludes its season with a 21-21 record, advanced to the championship round after beating second seed Lesley University 5-1 in the elimination final.

            KSC Coach Charlie Beach said the tournament gave his team a chance to display its strength and versatility. “We were able to show the depth of our quality pitching staff.  We used three different pitchers and each one of them tossed a complete game.  The hitting speaks for itself and the base running was very good.”

            “We're disappointed we didn't get to go to the NCAAs, but these kids still love playing the game and that's very important,” he added.

            As far as building on the championship, Beach said “Anytime you enter a tournament and play under pressure, it makes your players better for a subsequent experience.”

            Keene State scored four runs in the second inning and never looked back.  The inning was highlighted by a three-run home run by sophomore Laura Chandler (Wakefield, Mass.).  It was her team-leading ninth home run of the season.

            Bridgewater State got on the board in the bottom of the inning on a RBI single by freshman Jennifer Shaw (Brockton, Mass.).

            The Owls added two more runs in the fifth and sixth innings.  Junior Katie Bradford (Lebanon, N.H.), the tournament's most outstanding player, and senior Stephanie Lavado (Wallingford, Conn.) had RBI doubles in the fifth and Bradford and freshman Nicole Dupuis (Fitchburg, Mass.) had run-producing hits in the sixth.

            KSC plated four more run in the seventh to break the game open.  Sophomore Haley Botti (Dracut, Mass.) and freshman Jessica Fiorenza (Wakefield, Mass.) each knocked in a run.

            The Bears got their second run in the bottom of the frame on a RBI single by pinch-hitter Casey Hill (Randolph, Mass.).

            Seven out of the eight Owl batters had two hits in the game.  Laura Chandler and Bradford each finished the game with three RBIs.

            Bradford batted .500 (6-12) in the three games with two home runs and nine RBIs.  “Starting with the Little East tournament, I bore down and played better under pressure.  I was slumping a little, so the home runs were nice,” said Bradford.  “Some people say it's second best, but it's still a great honor to be ECAC champs.”

            Senior Meghan Noyes (Stoughton, Mass.) had two of the Bears' seven hits.

            Sophomore Courtney Savoie (Stratham, N.H.) got the complete game win for the Owls to improve her record to 10-5.  She gave up two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

            The Owls' lone senior, Lavado said she will miss her teammates.  I'll miss the girls and miss playing, bit I come back to watch them,” she said.

            Senior Jamie Ducinski (Duxbury, Mass.), the BSC starter, took the loss.

            In the elimination game final, Bridgewater scored four runs in the third inning.  Junior Penny King (Hanover, Mass.) had a RBI double, sophomore Michaela Ferreira (Fall River, Mass.) and junior Tracey Sanko Windsor, Conn.) each had RBI hits in the inning.

           Sanko tossed a complete-game four hitter with four strikeouts and three walks to get the win in the circle.