Box Score MANSFIELD, Conn. – The Keene State College softball team put the tying run in scoring position and the go-ahead run at the plate in the top of the seventh, but the big hit proved elusive, allowing a three-run fourth inning where two of Eastern Connecticut State University's runs were unearned to be the difference as the sixth-ranked Warriors advanced to the championship series of the Little East Conference tournament with a 4-2 win Thursday afternoon at Clyde Washburne Field.
Records
- Keene State: 8-23
- No. 6 Eastern Connecticut: 28-2
How It Happened
In by far the closest matchup between the two teams this season, the conference's No. 2 seed Warriors made enough important pitches at key times to stave off a sixth-seeded Keene State team that became noticeably pluckier late in the season. The Owls scored in the opening inning against an unbeaten pitcher in Carley Stoker, actually forcing her out of the circle and to first base for the moment before she later returned, but ECSU tied the game in the second on a grounder to first before taking their first lead in the fourth inning when three runs scored – none of whom reached on a hit. In a 1-1 game, Carolyn Biel was plunked to start the inning and pinch-runner Laura Zenk moved to third when Sarah Remillard sacrificed but wound up reaching on an error anyway. Alyssa Vilchez then reached safely on a fielder's choice, as ECSU filled the bases without a hit. That would wind up hurting the Owls, as
Cassie Woods' infield single made it 2-1 before Alexis Tyrrell's fly ball to left strangely turned into a double play when pinch-runner Taylor Darby did not get back to second, but scored another run regardless for a two-run Warrior edge. Brooke Matyasovsky followed with a double to make it 4-1, but that was Eastern Connecticut's only extra-base hit of the game.
Keene State, after leading 1-0 in the first on
Alexis Blanchette's RBI single up the middle, did make things interesting late. Facing Matyasovsky, who got the final two outs in the first before leaving and then coming back in the fifth, the hot bats of
Meghan Moran and
Olivia Albert each singled with one out in the seventh to put the tying run on base. Both advanced into scoring position when Blanchette bounced to first, but a day perhaps characterized by missed chances ended with one more, as a grounder to Remillard at second helped Eastern Connecticut – who is 19-1 at home – escape. The Owls outhit the Warriors 8-6, but left 10 on base. When they took their lead in the first inning, Eastern actually did well to allow only one, as KSC had the bases loaded with one out even after scoring, but could not push across any more runs. The Owls put a runner on base in every inning, but the only other damage they could muster came in the fifth when Blanchette plated her second run of the day on an RBI groundout to make it 4-2. In a 1-1 contest in the third, Moran and Albert both singled to put two on to start that frame, but the next three were retired, including a 5-3 inning-ending double play.
Albert was 2-for-2 at the plate and also walked twice to up her average to .308 on the season, and also turned in a fine start in the circle despite a tough-luck loss. She allowed six hits and four runs (two earned) in six innings while striking out a pair. Moran finished 2-for-3 and hit .305 herself on the year.
Stoker improved to 15-0, allowing two runs, both earned, and four hits in 3.2 innings. She walked four and struck out two. Matyasovsky picked up her first save after pitching 3.1 scoreless innings while allowing four hits. Besides her double at the plate, the Warriors – a top-ten home run hitting team in the country – were limited to five singles in the game, but it wound up being enough. Albert held Eastern to two of their four lowest hit totals of the season in her two outings in Mansfield.
Around the Horn
- The Owls finished with a team batting average of .269, which steadily rose over the second half of the season. Five qualified players (Grace Hallett, Kate Fisher, Albert, Sara Cote, Moran) finished with averages over .300, with Hallett's .316 showing leading the team. KSC hit .352 (32-for-91) in the three conference tournament games and had 57 hits in their last six games.
- Albert finished the season on a five-game hitting streak and struck out 13 over her final 18 innings in the circle where she allowed seven earned runs.
- KSC allowed 48 unearned runs on the season, nearly a quarter of the total runs they allowed. Two of ECSU's four runs today were unearned.
Up Next
- Keene State will look to add a strong recruiting class to this younger group that built as this (unusual) year went along in preparation for the 2022 campaign.
- Eastern Connecticut will play a best-of-three LEC championship series against the University of Southern Maine in Gorham on Saturday. The first game starts at 1:30 p.m., with the other two to follow (Game 3 if necessary). USM got through their home pod by beating the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth 10-8 this afternoon. Eastern Connecticut would seem to be in fine shape for an at-large NCAA bid regardless of the result two days from now.
