GORHAM, Maine 4/20/13 – The Keene State softball team split a Little East Conference doubleheader against Southern Maine at Towers Field in Gorham, Maine on Saturday. 

Keene State won the opener 3-0 in eight innings thanks to late game heroics from power-hitting senior Meryl Ragaini (Seymour, Conn.), who hit a three run home run in the inning.  Freshman pitcher Mariah Crisp (Greenland, N.H.) turned in another strong performance in the circle, tossing a one-hitter with 14 strikeouts.

Southern Maine fought back for the split with a 2-1 win in the second game.  Keene State stands at 15-10 overall and 5-3 in the LEC. Southern Maine is now 7-27 overall and 2-8 in the Little East Conference. 

In the opener, Crisp, who improved her record to 12-3, was outstanding for the Owls. Her 14 strikeouts was one shy of her season high of 15 set against UMass-Dartmouth on April 6.  She now has 143 Ks on the season, 50 shy of the school record of 193 set by Lindsay Blood in 1999. Crisp had a perfect game until the bottom of the eighth when it was broken up by USM senior Katei Davis' (Woburn, Mass.) double to right center field.

Jesse Hutchins (Sebago , Maine) was the Huskies' hard luck loser, taking the loss allowing three earned runs on seven hits.  Hutchins held the Owls' bats to just three hits over the first seven innings, before Keene State came alive in the eighth with four hits.

With the score deadlocked at 0-0, freshman Stephanie Long (Salem, N.H.) started the Owls' in the eighth with a lead-off single.  Long advanced to second on a wild pitch, before Hutchins recorded USM's first out with a pop up.  A single from senior Jessica Fiorenza (Wakefield, Mass) set up the Owls with runners at first and third and one out, before Ragaini hit her team-leading sixth home run of the season to put Keene State up 3-0 heading to the bottom of the eighth.

Crisp continued her outstanding effort for the Owls to deliver the victory. After allowing the lead- off double to Davis, Crisp retired the next three Huskies' batters in order all by strikeout.    

Senior Stefanie Stockwell (Buxton, Maine) spun a four-hit gem with eight strike outs to lead the Huskies to the win in the nightcap.

Stockwell allowed just one earned one in seven solid innings for the Huskies yielding just four hits and a walk.  Three of her strikeouts game in the final inning with the Owls threatening with runners on first and second, while the Huskies clung to a narrow 2-1 lead. 

The Owls struck first to grab a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.  With two outs, junior Molly Dussault (Weare, N.H.) and sophomore Katie Newell (Shoreham, N.Y.) tagged Stockwell for back-to-back doubles to left field.  Newell's double hit the left field fence and drove in Dussault for the Owls' lone run of the game.   After a walk, Stockwell was able to get out of the inning with a foul ball pop out.

USM pulled even with Keene State in the bottom of the third.  With one out, Hutchins reached first on a fielding error and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Lillian Cooper (Lamoine, Maine). Hutchins advanced to third on a wild pitch, before Stockwell drove her in with an RBI single to center field.

Both teams were scoreless over the next two and a half innings and the score remained tied at 1-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth.  Stockwell led off the inning with a walk and took second on a sacrifice bunt from freshman Nicoel Nutter (Westbrook, Maine).  The speedy Stockwell came around to score on a drop fly ball deep in the outfield to put USM ahead 2-1.  With a runner on second and one out, Keene State starter Newell was lifted in favor of Crisp  Crisp quickly retired the next two Huskies' hitters to end the inning.

The Owls made things tense in the top of the seventh as senior Nicole Dupuis (Fitchburg, Mass.) led off the inning with a single.  Stockwell retired the next batter with her sixth strikeout of the game, before Dussault collected her second single of the game with a hit to shallow center field to put runners at first and second with just one out.  However, Stockwell was up to the task fanning the next two batters she faced for the win.

Newell took the loss for the Owls despite a solid pitching effort.  Newell allowed two runs – both unearned – on two hits and a walk in 5.1 innings, while recording eight strikeouts. 

Keene State hosts Rhode Island College on Sunday (1:00 p.m.) in a LEC doubleheader.