KEENE, N.H. – After erasing all of a 5-0 deficit in the opener before falling on a seventh-inning solo home run, the Keene State College softball team was determined to not let that happen again in the second game.  And it certainly did not, as the Owls answered Vermont State University Castleton's early run with a crooked number, and then pulled away from a 3-3 tie with a run in the fourth and four in the sixth to post an 8-3 Little East Conference win on Thursday afternoon in their home-opening twinbill at the Owl Athletic Complex.  The Spartans were on their heels bigtime in the opener after seeing KSC score five times late, but Makayla Walsh's solo shot to left in the seventh helped them hold on for a 7-6 win.

Postgame Interview (Coach Chandler)

After playing their first 16 games away from their home field to start the season, the Owls (10-8, 1-1 LEC) showed their fans what their young squad has done all season so far – fight, and score runs with an offense that is hitting .329 with an .878 OPS.

Keene State saved one of their best offensive innings for last to lock up their victory in the nightcap, as they put up four runs on five hits.  With the Owls up one (4-3), Gianna Garofola and Jayme Kiley each reached on infield singles to start the inning.  Pinch-hitter Lily Mandel then put down an outstanding bunt and beat it out for a single to load the bases with nobody out, and KSC did not miss their chance, blowing the game open from there.  First it was Abbie Monkevicz who laced a single to center to make it 5-3, and pinch-hitter Morgan Rodrigues worked an excellent at bat and walked on seven pitches with the bases loaded to force home another with still nobody out.  Three batters later, Picard came through with what was likely the knockout blow, crunching a two-run double into the left center gap to put the Owls up 8-3.

That was plenty of run support for Megan Strzegowski (3-0), who fired four scoreless innings of relief, including inducing a pair of nicely turned double plays.  Castleton (11-6, 3-1 LEC) put the tying run on in the top of the sixth when leadoff batter Maddy Dudley walked, but she was immediately erased when Samera Rideout bounced into a 4-6-3 double play.  Strzegowski faced the minimum in that frame after Madison Gould hit a harmless fly ball to center, and KSC had all the momentum heading into their offensive uprising.

The Owls made all the plays they needed to and controlled the action while picking up their first conference win, answering the Spartans' run on a sacrifice fly in the first with three of their own in the bottom half as they pressured the visitors' faulty defense early.  KSC committed a costly miscue in the third to help Castleton tie it at three, including a bases loaded walk, but immediately got it back in the bottom half when Anna Gostkowski singled to begin the inning, stole second, and eventually scored on Abby Weiterman's single into left to put the Owls back in front.  Strzegowski then did masterful work to pitch out of a two-on, nobody out jam in the fourth by retiring Castleton's three, four, and five hitters consecutively after a leadoff double and hit by pitch.  The Owl hurler won an eight-pitch battle with Alex Brouillette for the second out and then got Walsh, the Game 1 hero, to bounce to second.  The Spartans put the tying run in scoring position in the fifth with two outs, but Strzegowski got Jordan Hill to ground back to her on a full count pitch to keep it 4-3.

KSC wore down Castleton's arms over the course of the doubleheader, with nine of their 14 runs coming in the fifth and sixth innings.  In the opener, Picard worked Gould for a 12-pitch at bat in the third that included seven foul balls – a few which may have had home run distance.  She would ultimately fly to center but later came through with a huge two-out, two-run blast to left in the bottom of the sixth to tie it 6-6 after Halvorsen had singled.  Picard also helped bring the Owls closer in the fifth, as she followed Gostkowski's single, steal, and an error with an RBI single that made it 6-2.  A wild pitch then moved two into scoring position before the dangerous Weiterman went the opposite way for a two-run single that made it 6-4 and brought the tying run to the plate.  KSC later had two on with one out, but a pop up and a ground out kept Castleton ahead – at least for the moment.  But the pendulum kept swinging the way of the Owls after Olivia Souers fired a 1-2-3 sixth including a looking strikeout of Brouillette.  Picard made good on that with her blast, but Walsh dampened the mood by answering with a solo shot of her own – only Castleton's second home run of the season as a team – on a full count pitch with one down in the seventh to put her team back in front 7-6.  Souers limited further damage and it seemed the lead was tenuous at best given the Owls' late offense and Gianna Garofola's leadoff walk before Cainen Avery sacrificed her to second.  However, Gould (6-1) finished a 135-pitch complete game by getting Kiley to bounce to second and Monkevicz to strike out as her team held on.  The Owls got 11 hits and six runs (five earned) off Gould while also working a walk and only striking out twice, but the Spartan junior made just enough pitches in the end.

Souers (1-3) was strong in the defeat, allowing just two runs (one earned) in 5.2 innings of relief of Ashley Connor (1.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB).

Gostkowski finished 3-for-4 with a double and Picard was 2-for-4 with the home run and drove in three.  On the day, Picard was 3-for-7 and drove in six runs.  She has a .412 batting average, 1.188 OPS, and 26 runs batted in this season.  Combined with Weiterman, the duo has driven in 53 runs.

Before Strzegowski in the nightcap, Jaelyn Boretti got a start and made her home debut, allowing three runs (one earned) and struck out three while waking two in three innings.  After KSC took the lead in their first trip to the plate, the first year from Salem, N.H. struck out the side in order.

Monkevicz finished 2-for-3 with an RBI in the win, and the Owls' offense also got one hit from the first six people in their batting order, with their three through five hitters combining to drive in six runs.

Keene State travels to take on Western Connecticut State University (7-13, 0-4 LEC) for an LEC doubleheader on Saturday (April 11) beginning at 1:00 p.m.