LITTLE RIVER, S.C. – Sophomore pitcher Lilah Demmy was the star of the day on Thursday, tossing her first career no-hitter on only 53 pitches as the Keene State College softball team drilled the State University of New York-Polytechnic Institute 9-0 in the opener of two games at the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex as part of the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic.  It marked the program's first no-no since Mariah Crisp struck out 14 of 15 batters against Baruch College seven years ago in a 25-run win.  The Owls dropped the second contest 12-4 to Utica University, splitting a pair of games for the fourth consecutive day.

Records

• Keene State:  4-4
• SUNY Poly:  5-4
• Utica:  7-0

How It Happened – SUNY Poly
Prior to the story becoming Demmy in the circle, it was initially the Owl offense as KSC scored two in the first, five in the second, and two more in the third to take a commanding lead as they handed the Wildcats by far their most lopsided loss of the season.  They had lost their previous three contests by a combined five runs, including a 3-1 setback to Susquehanna University in the game prior.

An offense that has had their team batting average consistently remain over .400 on the week despite some occasional pitching struggles, Keene State got two-hit games from Molly Murray, Sara Cote, and Grace Hallett as well as singles from four others.  Hallett drove in three runs on the day while Mia Ferry plated two and now has a team-best 12 RBI.  She singled and walked while also scoring twice.

SUNY Poly starter Caitlin Reilly (0-3) did not fool many Owls, lasting 2.1 innings while allowing ten hits and nine runs (five earned) while walking two and striking out one.

Murray got the Owls off on the right foot, poking a single through the left side and into left field to get the game started, and she moved up on strong situational hitting from Cote and Liv Whittier before scoring on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead in the first.  Hallett roped a two-out double to left later in the inning to double the lead, and KSC was far from done, scoring four more times in the second for a 7-0 advantage.  Amanda Cerretani started that frame with an infield single to deep short and was moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on an error.  Cote singled and Whittier walked after that to keep the line moving, and Ferry plated a pair with an opposite field single to right.  Hallett piled on another double to left center for good measure immediately after, and the Owls were rolling at that point.

The only baserunners against Demmy for the Wildcats came in the first when Ava Faragon walked with one out, Kelly Powell took a free pass with one down in the second, and when Powell was plunked to start the fifth.  SUNY Poly never had multiple baserunners on at the same time, and hit into many routine outs, though the Owl outfield was busy and made all the plays, including in the third when each of the three spots made a catch.

KSC took a 9-0 lead in the top of the third on four consecutive singles, including two of the bunt variety from Kelle Halvorsen and Murray before Cote sent a ball to left for the eighth run.  Halvorsen scored on a wild pitch later in the inning.

Demmy (2-0) faced only 18 batters and needed only 53 pitches in the no-hitter.  She walked two and struck out three.

"We played a solid game," said Keene State head coach Carrah Fisk Hennessey.  "The defense was perfect, the offense was hot, and the energy was up and loud.  Proud of Lilah for her first collegiate no-hitter.  Grace called a great game, and we had some defensive web gems by Sara at short and Amanda in right."

The game, which started at 11:26 a.m., lasted just one hour and six minutes on a pleasant weather day – made even more pleasant by Demmy, the Wayne, Pa. native that has a 2.14 ERA in 16.1 innings this year with 15 strikeouts.

How It Happened – Utica
Unfortunately for the Owls, any budding momentum might have been halted by the Pioneers, who forced KSC to settle for a split for the fourth consecutive day.  Keene State was playing catch-up right away, as they fell into a 7-0 deficit through two innings and overall allowed runs in four of five frames.  The Owls got as close as four (7-3) in the fourth with still plenty of time to go as Ally Adams singled to left to plate two in the third before Whittier stayed hot with a line drive single to right an inning later, but Lauren Paul smoked a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to restore a 9-3 Utica lead.  It widened to 10-3 on a strange play where a Brooke Catlin flied to right with runners on second and third on what appeared to be a sacrifice fly.  However, KSC appealed that the runner on second (Abriana Wadley) never tagged up and the umpire called her out when Carissa Miller threw to Cote, but the run counted anyway.  Either way, the Owls struggled to overcome the early deficit, which has plagued them in their four losses as they have allowed 20 runs combined in the first and second innings of the defeats.

Offensively, it was still a productive game for KSC, who finished with 11 hits (Utica had 13).  Murray was 2-for-4 and scored a run, while Cerretani was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Hayley Townsend 2-for-2.  Whittier was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run, and is now hitting .611 (11-for-18).  Adams singled to drive in the two runs and also walked, though KSC did strand nine runners on base including two in the third and fourth innings while they chipped the deficit from seven down to three.

The Owls had a golden chance to score right away in the game, as Murray singled to lead off the game and Cote reached on an error before both moved into scoring position on Whittier's grounder to second, but luck bit KSC when Ferry smashed a line drive to third that found the glove of Alyssa Barbato at third, who dove and tagged third for the double play.

The huge inning for Utica came in the second, when they ballooned a 1-0 lead to 7-0 against KSC starter Miller, though only three of the runs scored on a hit – two on a grounder that found its way into right off the bat of Cassidy Doiron that made it 6-0.

Miller (0-3) allowed nine hits and 10 runs (eight earned) in four innings while walking two and striking out three.

Paul and Doiron each drove in three for Utica, who had multi-hit games from five different people in support of Kylie Murray (1-0), who allowed 11 hits and four runs (three earned) in five innings while getting the win.  She walked one and whiffed three.

"Consistency will come with improved focus and energy pitch-by-pitch, out-by-out, and inning-by-inning," said Fisk Hennessey.  "We continue to barrel up (balls offensively) and (this) game was competitive until we lost our focus on the play at hand and there were couple of hops and hard hits mixed in there.  We get back to business in games nine and ten of our trip tomorrow and need to own it, fix it, flush it, and move on."

Around the Horn

• KSC is hitting .407 as a team with 18 doubles in eight games.  Six people have at least two doubles.  Ferry leads the team with four, Hallett has three.
• The Owls have allowed nine runs or more in all four of their losses and three runs or fewer in all four of their wins.
• The meeting with SUNY Poly was the first in program history, and the only other against Utica came in 2015 in Florida, an 8-7 loss.

Up Next

• Keene State closes their second Myrtle Beach trip with a pair of games against Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham (5-2) at 3:00 p.m. and Mount Aloysius College at 5:00 p.m. on St. Patrick's Day Friday (March 17).
• SUNY Poly is off until Wednesday, March 29 when they host Utica for a doubleheader that starts at 3:00 p.m.
• Utica ends their Spring Break trip with games against fellow LEC opponent University of Massachusetts-Boston (6-1) and Lycoming College (5-1) at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., respectively, on Friday.