FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Keene State College softball team scored five runs in the opening half inning of Thursday afternoon's doubleheader and that proved to be a good omen as the Owls wound up sweeping Fitchburg State University by scores of 10-6 and 4-2 in non-conference action at Coolidge Park.

Records

• Keene State:  14-22
• Fitchburg State:  15-20

How It Happened – Game One
KSC unleashed a five-run rally in the top of the first and piled up 14 hits thanks to multiple from five different people as they had their most productive game at the plate since March 15.  Megan Blanchette led the way with three hits, going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI and two runs, while Faith Barbieri, Molly Murray, Meghan Moran, and Liv Whittler all also chipped in two hits with Moran doubling, tripling, and driving home three.  The top eight in the Owl order all recorded a hit, and the team total of 14 matched a season-high that came in the season opener against Franciscan University (Ohio) in South Carolina on March 14.

The first seven Keene State batters to step to the plate reached in this one, with Moran's two-run double four batters in giving the Owls a 2-0 lead.  Blanchette followed with a run-scoring single for the third run before a two-run error later in the frame made it 5-0.  Fitchburg starter Hayley O'Brien did not record an out of her own doing until CC Chadwick's foul pop.  The only out over the opening seven batters as KSC put up three runs came when Barbieri was thrown out at third following Murray's single.

The Falcons got one back in the bottom half of the first, but KSC remained well in control, getting it back on Blanchette's RBI double in the second that made it 6-1.  The Owls headed toward a possible run-rule shortened win after a pair of runs in the fourth and one in the fifth widened their edge to 10-1.  Chadwick recorded an RBI single, Kylie Frank a sacrifice fly, and Moran a triple to right center to account for those runs.  FSU prolonged the game by putting up a pair in the bottom of the fifth to get within seven and then put up three in their last ups in the bottom of the seventh to get within 10-6, but it was too late at that point.

Alexis Blanchette (1-5) tossed a complete game in the circle for the Owls and struck out eight to get the win.

O'Brien (0-3) allowed nine runs (seven earned) and 11 hits in 3.1 frames to take the loss.

Audrey Johnson paced FSU's lineup by going 2-for-4 with three runs batted in.  Six different Falcons struck out.

How It Happened – Game Two
The nightcap was far closer and far lower scoring, but Keene State pulled out the victory and the sweep by plating a pair of sixth inning runs that gave them the lead back, and they relied on the arm of Carissa Miller to close it out.  The Owls again got out to an early lead, going up 1-0 in their first trip to the plate after Murray tripled and scored on an error off Cote's grounder to first.  However, this time around Fitchburg limited the damage and took their first lead of the day in the bottom of the second when two walks and a miscue loaded the bases with nobody out prior to Ella Marshall's two-run single that plated a pair of runs that ended up being unearned.

Down 2-1, Keene State quickly erased the deficit in their next trip up when Barbieri reached on an error to lead off the third and eventually scored a on a sacrifice fly by Moran, who drove in four on the day.  That wound up being all the scoring for a while as the teams traded zeroes despite having a fair number of chances (both stranding nine on base in the game).  The Owls nabbed a lead again in the sixth with clutch and situational hitting.  Emma Bartlett and Chadwick began the inning with singles before both advancing into scoring position.  Barbieri's grounder to shortstop two batters later produced the go-ahead run for a 3-2 lead, and Murray (who was 5-for-9 on the day) plated Chadwick with a base hit up the middle.  That was enough for Miller in the circle, who fired an important 1-2-3 sixth before working out of a seventh inning where Fitchburg put the tying run on base.  She retired two of the first three in that inning, but Johnson singled up the middle with two outs to make things interesting for a moment as the winning run came to the plate, but Isabella Sousa lined out to Cote at short to lock up KSC's sweep.  It marked the Owls' first pair of victories on the same day since they downed New England College 9-4 and 2-0 on the road on April 3, two days before Little East Conference play began.

Murray (3-4, 3B, RBI, R, SB) and Chadwick (3-3, R) did the heavy lifting for Keene State's lineup, recording a combined six of their nine hits.  Barbieri, Murray, and Moran each plated a run.

Miller (6-8) had a solid outing, allowing two unearned runs and five hits in a seven-inning complete game effort.  She walked four and struck out seven.

Stefanie Poulin fell to 1-3 with the loss, allowing four runs (two earned) on nine hits in her seven frames.  She whiffed one.

Offensively, the Falcons were held to five singles, two of which came from Sousa, as they lost their sixth straight, ninth in the last 10, and dropped to 8-8 at home.

Around the Horn

• Murray notched her 11th and 12th multi-hit games of the season and raised her batting average to .356, the second highest on the team.
• KSC has won 20 of 21 against Fitchburg all-time, with the only loss coming in Florida in 2018.  Before that, the teams had not played since 2012 in Keene.

Up Next

• Keene State wraps up their season Saturday (April 30) at Rhode Island College (10-14, 4-10 LEC) in a Little East Conference doubleheader that begins at 3:00 p.m.  Owls head coach Carrah Fisk Hennessey needs one more victory to reach 100 for her KSC career.  The Anchorwomen are 8-4 at home, but have dropped four straight overall and are already eliminated from postseason contention.
• Fitchburg State's final regular season twinbill will take place at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (5-28, 2-10 MASCAC) on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.