NEW BRITAIN, Conn.--The Keene State College softball team, playing for the first time since March 21, earned a split of their Little East Conference doubleheader with Western Connecticut State University on Saturday.  The Colonials took the opener 3-1, while the Owls notched an 11-9 win in the nightcap.

The games were played at Central Connecticut State.

KSC is now 6-8, and 1-1 in the LEC.  The Colonials are 10-8, and 1-1 in LEC play.

Game One

Western moved out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on singles by freshman Jenna Gaudioso, senior Julia Bocek, and junior Michaela Roche, scoring Gaudioso and Bocek.

The Colonials extended the lead to 3-0 in the top of the third when pinch-runner sophomore Alexandra LaFemina scored an unearned run on a pair of Keene State errors.

Keene State got one run back in the bottom of the third when freshman Brittany DaMota hit a one-out double and scored on an RBI single by sophomore Kayla Votto.

The Owls best chance came in the top of the sixth as Sara Bracken drew a leadoff walk, and pinch runner Kathleen Remick advanced to third on a wild pitch and a ground out, but was left stranded. 

Mariah Crisp went the distance for Keene State, striking out two.  DaMota (3) and Votto (2) had all five of KSC's hits.

Game Two

The KSC bats came alive, mashing out 16 hits and scoring in every inning but the third.  Heather Pelletier was 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI, and Stephanie Long was 3-for-3 and drove in three runs.  

Morgan Fallon and Katie Newell each had a pair of hits.

Each team pushed across one run in the first inning, and Western held a slim 3-2 lead after two innings of play.

After Keene State went quietly in the top of the third, Bocek led off the Western half of the inning with a double down the left field line.  Roche then homered over the fence in right to push the Western lead to 5-2.  Freshman Kayla Nowak scored an unearned run for the Colonials when she doubled and then scored on a passed ball, giving Western a 6-2 lead after three innings.

Senior Rachel Boynton led off the top of the fourth for Keene State with a triple and the Owls had runners at second and third with one out after Votto was hit by a pitch and stole second.  Lead-off hitter Stephanie Long then slapped a single through the right side of the infield to drive in both runners and cut the Western lead to 6-4.

In the top of the fifth, Western starter Emily Cintorino got the first Keene State batter to ground out, but then gave up singles to five of the next six Owl hitters.  Keene State pushed across three runs to take the lead and Sabith replaced Cintorino on the mound for Western.  Sabith recorded the final out, stranding three KSC runners on base, but Western trailed 7-6.

A passed ball and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Boynton made it 9-6 KSC in the sixth, and the Owls added two more on an RBI double from Heather Pelletier and a double steal that brought Pelletier home.

Maegan Rodriguez doubled to lead off the bottom of the inning, but was left on third base by KSC reliever Lindsey Musco.

Musco picked up her first win of the season, tossing the final two innings and notching two strikeouts.  Ashlee McGan started and allowed two earned runs in innings of work.  Crisp relieved and allowed one hit in two innings.

KSC is slated to make their home opener in a non-conference doubleheader against Westfield State University on April 9 at 3:30 p.m.

(Parts of this story courtesy WCSU)