GORHAM, Maine--For the first time in 12 years, the Keene State College softball team are the regular season champions of the Little East Conference.  The Owls won their third LEC regular season title with a 1-0 win in the opener of an LEC doubleheader at the University of Southern Maine.  The Huskies took the second game 3-2.

Records

• Keene State: 20-14, 11-3 LEC
• Southern Maine: 23-12-1, 8-6 LEC

Up Next

• The Owls will be the No. 1 seed and will host the entirety of the LEC tournament.  The championship begins with a single game at Owl Athletic Complex against No. 6 seed Eastern Connecticut State on May 3 at 4:30 p.m. The Owls posted a road sweep (4-0, 3-2) of the Warriors on April 16.    
• The rest of the tournament sees No. 2 seed UMass Dartmouth host No. 5 seed UMass Boston and No. 3 seed Southern Maine have a visit from No. 4 seed Western Connecticut State.  The tournament then resumes starting on Friday, May 6, when all five teams will come to Keene for the rest of the double elimination tournament.

How It Happened - Game One

• The Owls, who also won the regular season title in 1999 and 2004, got yet another standout performance from Mariah Crisp in the circle.  The senior ace struck out eight and scattered three hits.  She now sits 21 strikeouts from 700 for her career.
• KSC got the only run of the game in the top of the first.  Kayla Votto reached on a bunt single, stole second, and scored on Morgan Fallon's double to left field.
• That was all the support Crisp (13-6) needed, as she set down the first nine batters she faced before allowing a double to Mary Caron to lead off the fourth.  Crisp then resumed mowing hitters down, setting down the next eight in a row.
• USM had the tying run on third in the bottom of the seventh, as Courtney Davis singled up the middle to lead off the frame, and pinc runner Brittany Plowman moved all the way to third on a bunt and a groundout.  After Jen Lynch walked, Crisp got Kay McKay to foul out to catcher Heather Pelletier to end the threat and the game.
• Sammi Goode was nearly Crisp's equal in the circle, striking out 10 and allowing just five hits.  In addition to Votto and Fallon, Olivia Indorf, Kristin Boduch, and Brittany DaMota each had singles.

How It Happened - Game Two

• The Huskies scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to walk off with the win in the nightcap.  KSC managed just four hits off Amber Kelly and committed three errors.
• The game was scoreless until the fifth inning, when the Owls scored twice.  Jen Galavotti led off with a walk, and moved up to third on a single from Indorf and a USM error.  Shae Crosby's groundout moved Indorf into scoring position, and a fielder's choice off the bat of Molly St. Germain brought in Galavotti.
• Brittany DaMota's groundout moved up both runners, and Stephanie Long slapped an RBI single to bring in Indorf for a 2-0 lead.
• The Huskies halved the deficit in the bottom of the fifth as Caron hit a one-out double and scored on Davis' triple to right field.  The Huskies then won it in the bottom of the seventh as an error and two singles loaded the bases, and Davis singled through the right side to send in a pair of runs.
• St. Germain was tagged with the loss, striking out three in 6.1 innings of work to fall to 6-7.  Amber Kelly had a complete game, four strikeout performance to pick up the win.