Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 KEENE, N.H. – Fans that expected to come watch two softball games on Thursday afternoon instead got to see the equivalent of three instead, as the Keene State College softball team and the University of Massachusetts-Boston tangled for a combined 21 innings and for nearly six hours. No late lead was safe, either, as the Owls erased a three-run deficit in the tenth in the opener to post a 7-6 win in 11 innings. KSC led 4-2 in the sixth in the nightcap only to see the Beacons scored three times and eventually, after seeing their lead also disappear, post a 6-5 victory in 10 innings to salvage a split of the Little East Conference doubleheader at the Owl Athletic Complex.
Records
- Keene State: 5-13, 1-1 LEC
- UMass-Boston: 14-4, 1-1 LEC
Records
- Keene State: 5-13, 1-1 LEC
- UMass-Boston: 14-4, 1-1 LEC
Postgame Interview (Coach Fisk Hennessey)
Postgame Interview (Carissa Miller)
How It Happened – Game One
The Owls got the league schedule off on the right foot after emerging with a victory in a rollercoaster affair that saw both teams lead by three runs, getting to Beacons starter Bri Melchionda, who entered at 8-0, for six runs. KSC took a 3-0 lead by scoring three times in the third, but UMB answered with two in the very next half inning and then tied the game in the sixth. They had a chance for more in the frame as after the tying run scored on a grounder to the pitcher, two singles and a walk loaded the bases, but
Lilah Demmy struck out Melchionda to keep it 3-3. UMass-Boston also had a bases loaded chance with two down in the ninth after a one-out walk and a two-out free pass and single, but
Carissa Miller got Jordan Toomey to fly to right to keep it tied.
After the teams combined for three full innings of zeroes, the Beacons appeared to gain firm control for the first time in the game by scoring three times in the tenth on an RBI double from Haley Tilberry, a run-scoring ground out from Melchionda, and a wild pitch that scored Sydney Sanden, but their 6-3 lead did not last very long. Already with a runner placed on second due to the tiebreaker rule starting in the tenth,
Molly Murray laid down a bunt single to put two on right away, and
Sara Cote followed with a two-run double that was smoked to center to make it a 6-5 game.
Liv Whittier followed with a base hit to left to put runners at the corners and, after
Mia Ferry struck out,
Grace Hallett's grounder to first did the job and plated the tying run as the marathon contest – which took over three hours – would stretch to an 11th frame after Miller lined out to Toomey at first to end the inning. She would then work a critical scoreless inning in the top half, with help from her own defense. Lauryn Bethea sacrificed the tiebreaker runner to third with one out but Tam Landry then popped into a double play, with Miller making a lunging grab on a squeeze bunt that was popped up and firing to Cote who was covering third to double off Amauri English by a mile.
Keene State won the game only three pitches into the bottom half of the 11th as Miller advanced to third on reliever Emily Doble's wild pitch on her first offering of the game. After a foul ball,
Amanda Cerretani skied to shallow right where English made the catch and quickly fired home. Miller, who was placed on second to begin the inning, was not initially going, but when the throw was airmailed past the Landry and rattled around being the plate, she scampered home and beat a diving tag attempt from the Beacons' catcher for the entertaining victory.
It was a hard fought one for the Owls, who overcame walking 11 Beacons. UMB left 16 on base and also committed five errors, four from the fourth inning on. KSC posted a clean defensive game, not making a miscue, and that may have made all the difference in the end. The Owls were able to take the 3-0 lead in the third after Cerretani was plunked and
CC Chadwick doubled before Murray's sacrifice bunt turned into two runs when Bethea threw the ball away. Whittier made it 3-0 with an RBI grounder.
Lilah Demmy got the start for the Owls in the circle and allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. She walked seven and struck out four. Miller (1-6) picked up the win with five innings of relief that saw her allow three runs (two earned) on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
Doble (4-4) took the loss – quickly – for UMB, allowing an unearned run in three pitches. Melchionda pitched 10 innings (and 137 pitches), allowing six hits and six runs (two earned) with one walk and eight K's.
Chadwick finished 2-for-4 at the plate for KSC, while the top three in the Owl order (Murray, Cote, and Whittier) combined to go 4-for-13 with two doubles, three RBI, and a walk.
Landry paced UMB's offense from the bottom of the lineup, finishing 3-for-6 with a home run and two runs batted in, but the Beacons, who had won six of seven entering, also saw their three-game winning streak ended.
How It Happened – Game Two
If one marathon game was not enough, perhaps two was. The nightcap had a more sour ending, however, for the Owls, as a tenth inning run for the Beacons stood up against a KSC rally in the bottom half for a 6-5 final. Keene State, which led 3-1 after three but trailed 5-4 in the seventh before forging one more tie, seemed to be in a good position in their half of the 10th despite being down a run as Ferry was placed on second to start the frame and
Allison Adams came through with a hard-hit line drive to center. However, Sanden fired a strike to the plate from center to throw out Ferry trying to score the tying run in what could have been a runners at the corners with nobody out situation, and Doble retried the next two on a strikeout and a grounder to short to preserve the win and salve the split for UMB.
It was a better final play for Lauren Miner in the 10th than it was three innings prior, as the Beacon shortstop had a chance to end the game, but threw the ball away on Adams' grounder as KSC tied the game 5-5. Whittier had singled and moved to second on an earlier miscue.
Ultimately, UMass-Boston's three-run sixth inning (all with two outs, and all unearned runs) that turned a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead proved to be a huge factor in deciding the game, as before that the Owls seemed to be in command. That inning started very harmlessly, with Miller getting a routine grounder to first and a weak popup to second around a walk to quickly set the first two down. However, a miscue on a grounder to short pushed the door ajar, and the Beacons took advantage. Kaylee Bruce followed with a walk, and then a two-run single to left center from Adrianna Fusco – who had been 0-for-2 with two strikeouts – tied the game and left two runners still in scoring position after she moved there on the throw in from the outfield. Sofie Richland then recorded an infield single to push across the go-ahead run and change the momentum of the game entirely.
Early, thanks to a two-run and four-hit performance from
Mia Ferry (0 BB, K) in the circle, the Owls seemed to be in command after they retired the Beacons in order in the first and then scored in their half on a Cote sacrifice fly. She did even better the next time up, cracking a two-run homer to left center in the third after Murray had singled in front of her for a 3-1 lead. UMB got one back in the next half inning on a double from Miner and eventual RBI ground out from Toomey to make it a one-run game, but the Owls answered in the fifth when the hot-hitting Murray (triple) and Cote (single) again teamed up to produce good things for KSC, and a 4-2 lead. The Owls had a shot with two on and two out to break the game open more, but could not, and ultimately stranding nine runners was costly in the end.
Miller (1-7) pitched effectively, but was charged with a tough loss after allowing four runs (none earned) and five hits in six innings of relief. She walked three and whiffed seven.
Doble (5-3) picked up the win in the nightcap after losing the opener, allowing five runs (four earned) on 11 hits. She walked one and struck out six while throwing 149 pitches.
Cote was 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBI to pace Keene State at the plate, while Murray was 3-for-5 with a triple and three runs. Adams (3-5) also had a three-hit performance as KSC outhit UMB 11-9.
Five of the Beacons' nine hits went for extra bases (four doubles, home run), including a 3-for-5 day for Miner, who hit both a double and a long ball.
Around the Horn
- The Owls have five different qualified players hitting over .300 on the season. Murray is hitting a team-high .367.
- Miller's seven strikeouts in Game 2 were a season high. She has fanned 15 in her last 14.2 innings.
- KSC has won three of four at home against UMass-Boston and 25 of 28 all-time. The Owls lead the all-time series 42-10.
Up Next
- The Owls have a pair of conference road doubleheaders upcoming, beginning with two at Castleton University (4-8, 1-1 LEC) on Saturday, April 8 starting at 1:00 p.m. The Spartans have yet to play at home this season, and have scored one run in their last four games while being shut out in their last three. Castleton has lost five of six.
- UMass-Boston hosts LEC opponent University of Southern Maine (6-10, 2-0 LEC) on the same day for two, also at 1:00 p.m.
