LITTLE RIVER, S.C. – Sophomore Liv Whittier continued her torrid start to the season with a pair of multiple hit games, going 4-for-5 with a triple on the day, as the Keene State College softball team split a pair of games for the third consecutive day at the Fastpitch Dreams Classic at the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex.  The Owls surrendered seven runs in the last two innings to fall to Worcester State University 9-1 before rebounding to pound the University of Maine-Farmington 13-3 (5 innings) behind a 19-hit attack.

Records

• Keene State:  3-3
• Worcester State:  6-1
• Maine-Farmington:  0-6

How It Happened – Worcester State
The Lancers scored two in the top of the first inning to take an early lead before KSC cut the deficit in the half in the fourth, but a six-run sixth blew open what was a close game and the Owls overall did not have many answers for Emily Bartlett, who allowed just one run and four hits while tossing a complete game with six strikeouts.  Keene State went down in order in two of the first three innings and four times overall in the game, but did have other frames with scoring chances that mostly went by the boards save for an RBI single from Grace Hallett in the bottom of the fourth that made it 2-1.  In the second, Mia Ferry began the inning with a double but could not advance any further after a pair of fly outs to left and a strikeout.  Following Hallett's run-producing hit in the fourth, she stole second to put the tying and go-ahead runs both in scoring position in a one-run game, but Bartlett struck out Lilah Demmy on three pitches and then Carissa Miller skied to center to keep the Lancers ahead.

Aside from the first inning, Miller was having an effective game, retiring Worcester State in order in the second before facing just four batters in the third.  She induced a pair of grounders in the fourth after the Lancers had a runner at second and one out to keep it a 2-1 game, and then had a quick fifth inning as well, easily working around a two-out single.

The tenor of the game changed in a big way in the sixth when Worcester State sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six times on seven hits to blow the game open.  They had three consecutive hits, including a leadoff double from Lauren Dube, to load the bases, and the first run came home with one out on a passed ball to make it 3-1.  Four more hits in a row followed, including an RBI single from Jacqui Schwalm and a two-run double for Emma Lanpher that extended the WSU lead to five runs.  Miller was then lifted in favor of Demmy in the circle, and the first batter she faced, Morgan Keefe connected for a two-run single that made it 8-1, one of her four hits on the day.

Bartlett (1-0) had no issues from there, retiring six of the final seven KSC hitters at the plate to earn her first win of the season.

Miller (0-1) took the loss for KSC, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits in 5.1 innings.  She did not walk a batter and struck out three.

Whittier stayed hot with a 2-for-3 afternoon at the plate.  Ferry was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk, but the Owls overall had just two other singles.

Four Lancers had multiple hit games, including Lanpher who was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored.

"We came out focused and didn't let their two-run lead bother us, fighting back to score one in the bottom of the fourth," said Keene State head coach Carrah Fisk Hennessey.  "Worcester got lucky with a left field foul line hit, a line drive up the middle, and a right field foul line hit in the top of the sixth…coupled with a handful of physical and mental defense errors and the game was blown open.  Carissa pitched well for the majority of the game and Lilah came in to finish it up nicely.  Liv did a fine job at the plate, too."

How It Happened – Maine-Farmington
The Owls bounced back in the later game to easily beat the winless Beavers, scoring five in the first, three in the second, and one in the third en route to a 9-0 lead that was never in jeopardy.  The Owls wound up scoring in all five innings and piled up a season-high 19 hits including four (and three RBI) from Hayley Townsend, and three from Molly Murray, Ferry, and Allison Adams.  Whittier went 2-for-2 and Hallett 2-for-3.  Ferry drove in five runs.

KSC led 3-0 before Maine-Farmington recorded the first out as Cote walked and Murray singled before a double-steal.  Cote then scored when the catcher's throw got away for the first run before Murray took third herself.  Whittier walked and then took second to put two in scoring position before Ferry, who got the start in the circle, helped her own cause with a hard-hit single to center.  Townsend's two-run double later in the inning scored Hallett and Ferry to make it 5-0.

After Ferry pitched a scoreless first with a pair of strikeouts, the Owls piled on four more runs against UMF starter Carleigh Schievink (0-5).  Cote and Murray again set the table, each singling to start the frame before Ferry moved halfway to the circle by hitting a triple to the right center gap for the sixth and seventh runs.  She then scored on Allison Adams base hit to left as KSC had an 8-0 lead four offensive outs into the game.

Pitching with a commanding lead, Ferry did not have much trouble navigating through Maine-Farmington's batting order despite occasional traffic on the bases.  Olivia Paradis singled to center with one out in the second, but was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning down eight runs.  The Owl sophomore picked up two more of her six strikeouts in the third despite UMF plating a run, and then set the Beavers down in order in the fourth.

Meanwhile, Keene State kept scoring every time they grabbed the bats, including in the fifth when the first three batters completed three fourths of the cycle as Whittier tripled, Ferry singled, and Adams doubled consecutively to push the lead to 13-1.

Ferry allowed a pair in the fifth on consecutive doubles with two outs to tarnish her line a little bit, but the Owls still wrapped up their third run rule win of the season.  She allowed eight hits and three earned runs over five innings while striking out six.

Schievink lasted 1.1 innings and was tagged for eight hits and eight runs.  She also walked two.  UMF's pitching staff did not record a strikeout in the game.  Maddie Pike (3-3, 2B, 2 RBI) and Mackenzie Dyer (2-2) had five of the Beavers' eight hits in the game.

"Mia pitched a heck of a game and drove in the five runs and Hayley made solid contact," said Fisk Hennessey.  "The energy was up and our team responded."
The Owls are hitting .405 as a team through six games.

"Overall our offense has been a bright spot," she said while adding that "playing clean defense makes a huge difference."

Up Next

• Keene State takes on the State University of New York-Polytechnic Institute tomorrow (Thursday, March 16) at 11:00 a.m. and Utica University at 3:00 p.m. in their second-to-last doubleheader in South Carolina.
• Worcester State has games with Castleton University (5:30 p.m.) and Albertus Magnus College (7:30 p.m.) on Friday, March 17 before they head back north.
• Maine-Farmington concludes Spring Break with matchups against Cairn University and Concordia University (Texas) on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., respectively.