SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Four Springfield College pitchers combined to allow just one unearned run and strike out 15 over 13 innings as the Pride swept the Keene State College softball team by scores of 3-0 and 8-1 (six innings) Wednesday afternoon at Potter Field.  The games were originally scheduled to be played at Owl Athletic Complex, but were moved to Massachusetts due to unplayable field conditions and saw KSC play as the home team.

Records

• Keene State:  8-6
• Springfield:  13-3

How It Happened – Game One
Single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings proved to be enough as Gillian Kane and Emily Gell combined to hold the Owl offense to just two singles, both in the third inning.  By that point, Springfield had built a 2-0 edge on run-scoring singles by Breannah McCann and Sam Witmer, and that lead was never in much jeopardy.  Megan Blanchette began the KSC half of the third with a single to third base and was followed by a base hit from Kylie Frank, but Blanchette was called out due to interference, snuffing out a possible chance with two on and nobody out.  Instead, the inning ended quickly with a pop out and a ground out, and Keene State never got another baserunner, seeing the final 14 set down in order, five by strikeout.  Gell entered in the fifth with a 3-0 lead and struck out five in three spotless frames to pick up her second save after Kane (7-1) allowed two hits and struck out three over the first four innings.

Alexis Blanchette (0-1) and Carissa Miller combined for a solid pitching performance, allowing three runs and seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts over the seven innings, but the Owls would up being blanked for the third consecutive game.  Blanchette allowed three runs and six hits over four innings before Miller covered the last three, allowing just one hit and one walk with one strikeout.

McCann finished 2-for-3 with an RBI for Springfield.  Kristen Acocella walked, tripled, and scored twice, while Mackenzie Doyle went 3-for-3 with a run out of the top spot in the Pride's lineup.

How It Happened – Game Two
The Pride used their offense to build a 4-0 lead after the top of the second and blew the game open with a four-run fourth as they used a 16-hit attack overall to hand KSC a fifth consecutive loss since an 8-1 start with an 8-1 final.  The Owls got a pair of runners on via walk in the first two innings, but did not get their first hit in the second contest until the third inning, when Molly Murray singled to left.  She was followed by what KSC hoped would be a rally-sparking triple from Sara Cote that made it 4-1, but the inning ended on a grounder and Springfield answered by putting up four runs on six hits in the very next frame.  Ava Fernandez hit a triple of her own to kick off the top of the fourth and scored when the next batter, Maggie Britt, singled to left as the Pride immediately got that run back.  They did not stop there, as ultimately the first five that came to the plate got a hit, extending KSC's deficit to 7-1.  Even the first out for Springfield was a productive one, as Acocella's sac fly lofted to right tacked on another run.

The Owls got leadoff hits in each of the next two innings as they searched for any way to get back into the game, but neither advanced any further than second as the Pride's pitching staff, which now sports a 1.70 team ERA on the season, was in control throughout.  Ashley Pugliese went the first three innings, allowing one run on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts, before Logann Carey (3 H, 0 R, 4 K) pitched the final three frames in the circle.  The game was called after six innings.

Lilah Demmy got the ball for KSC, allowing 10 hits and seven runs (six earned) in three-plus innings of work.  She walked one and whiffed two while throwing 78 pitches.  Carissa Miller wound up tossing the final 2.2 innings, not allowing a run.

Cote reached all three times at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a triple, walk, and an RBI, to pace the Owl offense.  Murray and Mia Ferry each went 1-for-3, while Miller was 1-for-2.

The top five in Springfield's lineup combined to go 11-for-17 (.647) in the game, with Alli Olsen finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs and Katie Leacoma 3-for-3 with a triple, an RBI, and a run.  Witmer drove in three as the Pride won their fifth straight while handing the Owls a fifth consecutive defeat.  KSC had scored 69 runs in their opening nine games (8-1), but has two over their past five contests.

Around the Horn

• Cote is hitting .421 (16-for-38) on the season with two doubles, three triples, and 12 RBI.  She has a .320 batting average over her past 42 games spanning last season and the 14 games this year.
• Miller has a 2.08 ERA and 24 strikeouts over her first 33.2 career innings.
• The Pride have won four straight in the series – giving them a 16-13-2 lead – since KSC swept them in a 2016 twinbill in Keene.

Up Next

• Keene State will hope to break out of an offensive slump tomorrow afternoon (Thursday, March 31) when they travel to Western New England University (7-6) for a rescheduled doubleheader that begins at 3:00 p.m.
• Springfield opens NEWMAC play with a pair of games at Emerson College (12-4) on Saturday, April 2 (1:30 p.m.).