MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – First year Gianna Garofola will have a hard time forgetting her first career home run, and the Keene State College softball team will likely point to the win that followed as an example of what their potential is over the rest of the season and in future years.  The Owls wound up plating 11 runs over the first two innings as they drubbed Middlebury College, who entered with just one loss on the season in 16 games, 13-6 in the opener of a non-conference doubleheader in Vermont on Wednesday.  The hosts would rebound by scoring three in the third, two in the fourth, and five in the fifth to win 10-2 in the nightcap.

KSC (9-6) used two big swings and a lot of discipline at the plate to stun the Panthers (16-2) quickly right off the bat, as Kalle Halvorsen singled and Elyse Picard walked early to load the bases with nobody out.  Reigning Little East Conference Player of the Week Abby Weiterman then plated the first run when she pulled an RBI single into left for a 1-0 lead.  It seemed the Owls might miss a chance for a big inning when the next two were retired, but Garofola made sure they would not with a towering grand slam to left for her first career long ball that made it 5-0 seven batters in as KSC chased Panthers starter McKenna Lont (5-1) quickly after Abbie Monkevicz followed with a double.  Emily Ye did not fare much better, as Anna Gostkowski greeted her with an RBI single into right that made it 6-0.  KSC then used patience to generate a threat in the second as Picard and Weiterman walked to begin the frame.  Cainen Avery then bunted and advanced both safely when Picard beat the throw to third.  Jayme Kiley then worked a walk with the bases loaded for a 7-0 lead before Ye retired the next two, but the Owls did major two-out damage for the second straight inning when Ashley Connor took another bases loaded free pass, forcing Middlebury to use their third pitcher of the day in the second inning.  It was not a friendly welcome for Mia Gilham, either, as Gostkowski cleared the bases with a three-run double to make it an 11-0 rout in the second inning.

Connor, who got the win to improve to 3-1, faced just one batter over the minimum over the first three innings in the circle, including getting a double play ball to end the first before a 1-2-3 second that included a comebacker to her and a strikeout.

Middlebury got on the board in the fourth on Jen Westphal's two-run double down the left field line and Olivia Fleming followed with a run-scoring double of her own to make it 11-3, but KSC was never seriously threatened, tagging the Panthers' pitching staff with season-highs in runs and hits allowed.  KSC also worked 11 walks, raising their season total to 76.  They have reached base as a team at a .444 clip and have a .915 team OPS, recording 38 extra-base hits (to their opponents' 21).

Garofola made it a five-RBI day with an RBI single in the fifth that scored Picard to make it 12-3, and Gostkowski took the final of four consecutive walks in the seventh to make it 13-6.  Olivia Souers pitched two one-hit innings including a 1-2-3 seventh to lock up a strong victory for the Owls, who will enter their home-opening doubleheader and the beginning of their conference slate on Saturday with a 9-6 record.

Connor (3-1) got the win, allowing seven hits and six runs (three earned) in five innings.  She walked three and struck out three.

Offensively, Gostkowski and Garofola each drove in five runs while going 4-for-8.  Gostkowski also walked twice and Garofola once.  Avery and Monkevicz also notched multi-hit efforts.

Lont recorded just two outs for Middlebury, allowing four hits and six runs.  The top two in the Panthers' order, Kristyn Carroll and Livy Schultz, had four of their eight hits.

KSC's momentum was slowed in the second contest by Emily Dowd and an offense that got going later in the game to pull away.  Scoreless into the bottom of the third, Middlebury put up three to take their first lead of the day as Schultz cracked a two-run shot to left after Carroll was plunked to start the inning.  Dowd then had a two-out RBI single to make it 3-0.  The duo again helped generate a pair of runs in the fourth, as Carroll tripled and Schultz singled to each bring home runs for a 5-1 Middlebury lead, and the hosts had all six batters reach in the fifth while scoring five times to make it a run-rule victory.

The Owls were not without chances to make it a different outcome early, though, as Kiley walked and Morgan Rodrigues reached on a bunt single to put the first two on in a scoreless game in the top of the third.  Both advanced on a passed ball, but Dowd then struck out the next three consecutively to prevent the Owls from scoring, leaving two in scoring position.  After the Panthers scored the three runs in the third, KSC got a walk from Picard and single from Weiterman to begin the fourth to quickly bring the tying run to the plate.  It was on base with one down after Avery walked, and then in scoring position in a 3-1 game after a wild pitch, but Dowd again got out of it without the inning exploding as she got a strikeout and a grounder to short.  Picard's single to third in the fifth brought home a run to make it 5-2 and she moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, but Dowd got the dangerous Abby Weiterman to fan to end the inning and KSC could not stop the bleeding in a tough fifth inning.

Jaelyn Boretti (1-2) started and took the loss for the Owls, allowing five hits and three runs over three innings.  Dowd improved to 6-0, allowing two hits and five runs in the five-inning complete game, walking three and matching a season-high with nine strikeouts.  She lowered her ERA to 1.79.  As a team, Middlebury has a team ERA of 3.38, but the Owls tagged them for 15 earned runs in 12 innings.

"Getting a road split against a team like Middlebury, who only had one loss on their season so far, was a huge step for us," said KSC head coach Haley Chandler, who is in her second season leading her alma mater.  "We had freshmen step up in some big spots too.  Ashley Connor pitched her best game so far and Gianna Garofola hit a grand slam.  The second game was hard, but just another opportunity to learn."

KSC is 5-5 all-time against the Panthers in 10 meetings, eight of which have come in Vermont.

The Owls will make their 2026 home debut on Saturday when they welcome Vermont State University Castleton (9-5, 2-0 LEC) for a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 p.m.  The Spartans have won four in a row, sweeping Western Connecticut State University on the road last Sunday and Union College in a non-conference doubleheader Monday before they travel to face Norwich University tomorrow.  KSC beat Castleton 1-0 and 7-2 at Spartan Field last year.