KEENE, N.H. – Kalle Halvorsen notched a pair of RBI singles, Carissa Miller and Lilah Demmy combined for a shutout, and Morgan Rodrigues and Liv Whittier came up with key defensive catches late as the Keene State College softball team blanked Vermont State University Castleton 2-0 in a rare single Little East Conference game on a sunny Friday afternoon at the Owl Athletic Complex.

Records

• Keene State:  5-21, 1-7 LEC
• Vermont State Castleton:  10-12, 1-5 LEC

Postgame Interview (Coach Fisk Hennessey)
Postgame Interview (Kalle Halvorsen)

How It Happened
The Owls made good on what was originally supposed to be the second half of a doubleheader nine days ago, snapping a frustrating skid and winning for the first time since March 19 in South Carolina.  There were several near-misses in the slide, including a 7-5 defeat at Montclair State University on March 24, an 8-7 loss at Westfield State University on April 1 after KSC could not hold a lead, and on April 13 when the Owls led with one out left to get at Eastern Connecticut State University but saw the Warriors walk-off with a double following a close play at first that did not go in their favor.  Today, a strong pitching performance and a multi-hit game from Halvorsen provided a winning formula in a fast-moving game that was well under two hours in length.

The tone was set by Miller, who struck out the first batter of the game and then got out of a second and third, no out jam in the second to keep the game scoreless.  She also whiffed two in the third inning before then stranding a pair of baserunners as Samara Rideout flew out to center, preserving KSC's 1-0 lead they took in the bottom of the second when Abbie Monkevicz walked with one down and scored two batters later when Halvorsen lined a base hit to the left center gap.

Miller kept battling in the fourth, working around a leadoff walk and two-out single that put two on, as leadoff batter Allie Almond skied to right.  The Owls then tacked on another run in the bottom half in a similar fashion as they did in the second, with Grace Wallace working a leadoff walk and eventually scoring after consecutive singles by Hayley Townsend and Halvorsen with two outs.

Demmy entered in the fifth and worked around an error that kicked off the inning by retiring the next three in order on weak pop outs.  She did the same in the sixth, sending down the final three after an error brought the tying run to the plate. 

KSC had a chance to break the game open after they loaded the bases in their half of the fifth, as Demmy began with a single and Elyse Picard had a base hit of her own two batters later.  Wallace was then hit by a pitch with two outs, but Madison Gould – who had a strong outing in her own right – recorded one of her nine strikeouts to end the Owls' threat.

Two runs wound up being enough, anyway, as Demmy locked up her first save (and second career save) with some defensive help in the seventh inning as Rodrigues snared Almond's fly to left, a nice running grab that prevented the leadoff runner from getting on base.  Following a double from Brianna Belisle, Whittier flashed her own leather by making a diving grab in left center on Alexis Rogers' sinking liner.  Demmy then got Taylor Russell to ground to short to end the game, giving KSC their first home win in six tries – and a much-needed win for a younger team looking to find their footing down the stretch.

Miller (1-2) struck out four in four scoreless innings to earn the win.  Demmy allowed just one hit over three scoreless innings to earn her save.

Gould (6-6) took a tough loss, allowing five hits and two runs with nine strikeouts over six frames.

Halvorsen is now hitting .355 on the season, good for second among qualified players in batting average on the team.  Wallace leads the way, hitting at a .382 clip – both are underclassmen.  Picard (.351) and Whittier (.321) are also well over .300, with the former also recording one of the Owls' five singles on the afternoon.

Belisle had a multi-hit effort for Castleton, who has dropped six of seven.

Keene State has a conference bye on Saturday, but will visit Western New England University for a non-conference doubleheader on Sunday, April 21 at 12:00 p.m.