KEENE, N.H. 4/15/11 - Sophomore Kayla Joyce (Bridgewater, Mass.) knocked in the go-ahead run in a come-from-behind 4-3 first game win and hit a home run that put the Owls on top in a 3-1 nightcap victory, leading Keene State to a sweep over Amherst College in non-conference softball action at Owl Athletic Complex on Friday.
Winners of four straight and 11 out of its last 12 games, Keene State improves to 20-6. Amherst falls to 13-11.
"It was just another day at the office for Kayla," joked KSC Coach Charlie Beach after the doubleheader.
In the opener, the Lord Jeffs went up 3-0 in the second inning with sophomore Reilly Horan (Darien, Conn.) delivering a two-run single.
Sophomore Nicole Dupuis's (Fitchburg, Mass.) first home run of the season, a two-run blast over the left field fence in the fourth inning, cut the Owls' deficit to 3-2. Keene State added two more runs in the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. Dupuis brought in one run with an infield single and Joyce single to left center to score the winning run. "I was just trying to help my team by getting the run in," said Joyce. "
Keene State finished the game with 11 hits. Juniors Haley Chandler (Wakefield, Mass.), Sara Stocklinski (Newton, N.J.), sophomore Jess Fiorenza (Wakefield, Mass.), Dupuis and Joyce each had two hits in the game.
After a rough second inning, junior Emily Albin (Bethel, Conn.) settled down to get the win (8-2). She pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Junior Samantha Pratt (Bristol, Conn.) got the final two out to get her fifth save of the season.
Sophomore Molly Dussault (Weare, N.H.) contributed with her glove and bat in the second game. She made a nice over-the-shoulder grab to save a run in the first inning and doubled down the left field line in the second to give KSC a 1-0 lead.
After Amherst tied the game in fourth on a single by sophomore Theresa Kelly (Los Angles, Ca.), Joyce put the Owls ahead 2-1 with her fifth home run of the season, an opposite field solo shot that just made it over the fence in right-center field. "I wasn't sure it was going over," said Joyce.
Dupuis had two of Keene State's six hits in the second game.
Stocklinski gave the Owls a solid start to improve her record to 9-0. She went six strong innings, giving up one run on six hits while fanning six. Pratt pitched a perfect seventh inning to notch her second save of the doubleheader and her sixth of the season.
Keene State host Rhode Island College in a key Little East Conference doubleheader on Saturday (1 p.m.).
