PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Keene State College softball team's power outage remained, and because of it, they came up short twice on the road, falling at Plymouth State University 5-1 and 6-0 in a Little East Conference doubleheader Saturday at D&M Park.

After losing two at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth this past Tuesday, the Owls (16-22, 5-11 LEC) knew they needed to win both games to have a chance at qualifying for the LEC tournament that gets underway next week.  Some scenarios via tiebreaker could have even vaulted the Owls as high as fourth place in a tightly packed middle tier of the league.  However, KSC was held to just three singles in both ends of the doubleheader offensively, and the Panthers (25-14, 9-7 LEC) used four crooked numbers across both games to ensure the No. 3 seed in the conference after the University of Massachusetts-Boston (No. 4 seed) was swept at top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University.

In the opener, the Owls broke the scoring ice in the top of the fourth in an unconventional way, as Elyse Picard was plunked to start the inning and moved to second on Abby Weiterman's infield single with one out.  Liv Whittier skied to left for the second out and both runners moved up, with Picard scoring on left fielder Avery Couch's errant throw.  PSU would get the third out of the inning on that play as Weiterman was caught between second and third, and the home team hit back with two runs in the bottom half to ultimately take the lead for good.  The inning began with Emily Bessette working a walk on a full count, and she was sacrificed into scoring position by Couch.  Mia Ly put runners on the corners with a base hit, and a sacrifice fly by Abbey Nezuch and single into left by Jade Guertin made it 2-1 Panthers.

KSC had just one baserunners after taking the 1-0 lead in the fourth – an infield single to short by Whittier with two outs in the seventh.  By then, Plymouth had put the game further out of reach by getting RBI singles from Bessette and Couch in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead after Lilah Demmy retired the first two of the inning).  Nezuch's leadoff walk in the sixth helped the home team add another insurance run, as she eventually scored on Kaity Montelongo's run-scoring single to right.

Plymouth outhit the Owls 8-3 and got a complete game effort by Kate McGrath (11-6) in the circle, who allowed one unearned run and three hits while throwing a complete game.  She did not walk a batter and struck out four.

Carissa Miller (3-6) took the loss for KSC, allowing three hits and two runs in four innings with one walk and two whiffs.

A pair of three-run innings, including one in the first, helped the Panthers finish off their first sweep of the Owls since 2021.  KSC got their first batter of the game on when Picard walked, but Emily Antrim sent down the next three in order.  The Owls did not have an inning with multiple hits, getting  a one-out single by Molly Murray in the second, a one-out single by Weiterman in the fourth, and a bunt single with one down in the sixth by Kalle Halvorsen.  None of those inning turned into runs, however, as KSC never had multiple baserunners on against Antrim, who walked one and struck out three in PSU's second complete game effort – this one a shutout – of the day.

The Owls helped along the Panthers' rally (which featured just one hit) in the first, as Kenzie Bessette reached on an error to start the inning and two batters later Couch's fielder's choice grounder resulted in no outs due to a muffed catch by Kalee Keyser on a throw to third, loading the bases with nobody out.  All three runs then scored on a pair of grounders and an error by Megan Strzgegowski when Guertin was stealing second in a first-and-third situation.

After Murray's one-out single in the second seemed as though it might spark a KSC response, Antrim struck out the next two batters (of her three on the day).

It remained 3-0 until the fourth when Plymouth doubled their lead, as Emily Bessette's double down the left field line scored Ariana Cray.  Two batters later, Ly poked a two-run triple to center to make it 6-0 before being thrown out at the plate trying to score on a Whittier to Picard to Weiterman relay.

Antrim took it from there, needing 113 pitches for the complete game.  Strzegowski (5-3) took the loss for KSC, allowing six runs (three earned) and seven hits in four innings.  She walked two and struck out two.

"Today was hard, it knocked us out" said Owls head coach Haley Chandler after completing her first season at her alma mater.  "But Lilah got her 300th career strikeout and that was a huge moment of pride for her, her coaches, her family, and her teammates.  This team adores each other and celebrates each others' achievements, and that is something you can't teach.  It was a really special moment.  Lilah's teammates have been counting down to 300 all season."

She is one of just seven in program history to reach 300 career strikeouts, most recently achieved by Molly St. Germain '19 with 332.

The Owls closed their season with seven consecutive losses in which the offense struggled, managing only nine runs in those games.  The streak began in the second game against Rhode Island College last Friday when KSC had a chance to sweep, but was held in check 5-3 in a 132-pitch complete game in their home finale on Senior Day.  The Owls then suffered a tough 3-2 walk-off loss at UMass-Dartmouth in the opener of two this past Tuesday, helping revive the Corsairs, who eventually grabbed the No. 6 seed after a 4-8 start to league play thanks to Rhode Island College's home sweep of Vermont State University Castleton today.  The Anchorwomen trailed 7-6 in the sixth before scoring in the bottom half of that inning and in the bottom of the eighth to walk-off with a win and set the tournament field.

Despite not making the tournament, KSC still improved their win total by eight and won six true road games (after having one the past two years).  They pitched to a 4.11 ERA and hit .263, with Murray (a senior) leading the way with a .353 average.  Whittier finished at .320, Halvorsen at .320, and Picard at .299.

"We talked a lot recently about 'moving the needle' of this program toward success," said Chandler.  "It stems from a Carol Hutchins' (former University of Michigan head coach and the winningest coach in NCAA softball history) quote about leaving the program in a better place than you found it.  And this year, they moved the needle.  We talked about it through some tears after today's games, and as long as we keep moving the needle, we will get there.  It will take time, but we will.  A big thank you to our seniors for being this coaching staff's first senior class."