Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

CASTLETON, Vt. – Olivia Albert struck out eight and allowed just one run in a complete-game effort to notch her first career win as the Keene State softball team shut down Castleton University 5-1, handing them their first loss of the season in the second game of a Saturday conference twinbill at Spartan Field.  CU took the opener 4-1 behind a four-run third.
 
Records

• Keene State:  1-5, 1-3 LEC
• Castleton:  5-1, 3-1 LEC

How It Happened – Game One
Behind four shutout innings from Katie Gallagher and Olivia Joy in relief of Machaila Arjavich, the first game belonged to the Spartans as they danced out of trouble early, built a 4-0 lead, and that proved to be enough in a 5-1 win.  The Owls were not without chances, especially early in the game, as Sara Cote led off the game with a single but was stranded at third.  In the third, Keene State loaded the bases with nobody out on an error, a single by Megan Blanchette, and a walk to Kate Fisher, but three consecutive fielder's choice grounders, two of which cut down runs at the plate, left the Owls with nothing in the inning.  Another grounder right to third in the third snuffed out a possible third inning two-out uprising after Olivia Albert and Alexis Blanchette singled.
 
The Spartans did not miss a chance in their half of the inning, scoring four times after two of the first three batters were retired sandwiching a double by Kate LaPan.  Arjavich helped her own cause with a big swing, a double that scored two to put Castleton on the board and just two batters later, Makenna Thorne did the same to make it 4-0.  KSC got a run back right away, as Kate Fisher took Arjavich deep and chased her from the game, but the Owls were sent down in order by Gallagher after she came in to pitch and did not have a hit in the final three innings.  Their only baserunners came in the form of an Alexis Blanchette walk to start the sixth and a two-base error by RF that allowed Cote to reach with one down in the seventh.
 
Fisher homered – Keene State's first of the season – and walked in the game, finishing 1-for-2.  Megan Blanchette (0-2) started in the circle and allowed four runs and six hits in 2.2 innings.  Her sister Alexis kept the Owls within reach, allowing just two in 3.1 innings of relief.  Gallagher (1-0) only allowed one walk in her three innings for the Spartans, striking out two, before Olivia Joy pitched a clean seventh save for the error to pick up her second save.
 
How It Happened – Game Two
After Castleton used a four-run third to take control of the opener, it was Keene State's turn to do the same in the nightcap as they snapped out of an offensive funk by putting up 10 hits in a 5-1 victory.  Albert (1-2) was strong in the circle, allowing only one run and five hits to go along with eight strikeouts in a complete game effort.  It was a strong, clean victory for the Owls, who did not commit an error, got a hit from seven different players, and handed Joy (3-1) her first loss of the season in the circle.
 
The Spartans did have an early chance in the first, loading the bases on a hit batter and two walks, but Albert fanned Kayla Fac to end the inning.  The Owl hurler got stronger as the game went on, notching a pair of strikeouts in the second and third frames, the latter of which was critical after her team had just staked her to a 4-0 advantage.  Singles by Faith Barbieri and Cote set the table with one out, and both eventually scored after KSC engineered some clutch two-out hitting, including a two-run single from Meghan Moran.  Albert then reached on a base hit before Alexis Blanchette plated two more with a nice piece of opposite field hitting.
 
Pitching with a four-run lead, Albert rolled through the middle innings, at one point retiring eight consecutive Spartans before Devin Millerick's single with two outs in the sixth.  She immediately responded by striking out Madison Hanna.
KSC tacked on an insurance tally in the seventh after three consecutive singles from Karissa Kenyon, Cote, and Kylie Frank for a 5-0 lead, which was plenty for Albert, a sophomore from Old Town, Maine. She barely missed a complete game shutout, as Jamie Boyle's base hit with two down scratched across Castleton's first run.  The next batter Miranda Fish bounced to second to lock up the Owls' first "W" of the season.
 
Cote went 3-for-4 with a run out of the top spot in Keene State's lineup while Moran and Alexis Blanchette each drove in two.  Albert helped her cause with a 2-for-3 showing at the plate.  Boyle had two of CU's five hits.
 
Around the Horn

• Cote continues to stay hot at the plate early in 2021, going 8-for-20 with a triple in six games.  She has a pair of three-hit efforts.
• Albert's eight strikeouts in the circle were easily a career-high.
• Keene State has won four of the past six meetings with Castleton.  The Owls took both in the only other doubleheader the two teams played as conference counterparts.

Up Next

• The Owls make a trip to league-leading and No. 7 nationally-ranked Eastern Connecticut State University (16-0, 6-0 LEC) for a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 13 at 3:30 p.m.  KSC's next six games are against teams with a combined record of 28-1-1 (10-0 LEC), as they take on the University of Southern Maine four times next weekend.
• Castleton visits Plymouth State University (4-4, 2-2 LEC) tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. for a pair of games.