Keene State Tops Fitchburg State 10-4 And 15-1

Beach earns 600th career victory with doubleheader sweep over the Falcons

FITCHBURG, Mass. (March 31, 2011) – The Fitchburg State softball  team dropped a pair of games to Keene State College this afternoon, falling 10-4 in game one and 15-1 in game two. With the sweep, Keene State head coach, Charlie Beach earned his 600th career victory.

Keene State 10, Fitchburg State 4

In game one, Keene State scored ten runs on ten hits en-route to a 10-4 win. Junior Haley Chandler (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield) led the way for the Owls, hitting 2-for-3 with  three RBI, while sophomore Kayla Joyce (Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) collected one hit,  three runs scored and a pair of RBI. Freshman Molly Dussault (Ware, N.H./John Stark Regional) and sophomore Nicole Dupuis (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) were also solid, combining for four hits, two RBI and scored three runs.

Keene State jumped out to a commanding 7-0 lead after five innings of play, using an RBI single by Dussault and a two-run laser from Chandler, but Fitchburg State cut the Owls lead to three (7-4) in the sixth. Sophomore Jill Moses (Dedham, Mass./Dedham) connected for her first homerun of the season, a three-run shot to left field, while junior Kelly Cummings (Natick, Mass./Natick) chipped in with an RBI base-hit.

Keene State held off the Fitchburg State comeback however, totaling three runs in the seventh for their tenth victory of the year. Junior Courtney Savoie (Stratham, N.H./Exeter) picked up the win for the Owls, allowing four earned runs on four hits (5 K's) in 5.2 innings of work. Senior Nicole Monroe (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex) suffered the loss, surrendering seven runs (two earned) on six hits (4 K's) in 4.2 innings of work.

Keene State 15, Fitchburg State 1

Keene State completed the sweep in game two, scoring 15 runs on 15 hits over five innings of play. The Owls grabbed an 11-1 advantage after just three complete innings, keyed by a two run homer by Sara Stocklinski (Newton, N.J./Kittatinny Regional) and a two-run triple by Jessica Firenze (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield).

Moses scored the lone run for the Falcons in the second, going 1-for-2 in the contest, but Keene State registered four more runs in the fourth inning to cap its scoring at 15-1. Stocklinski improved to 6-0 on the year for Keene State, allowing one unearned run on one hit (9 K's) in five innings, while junior Allison Cousins (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) suffered the loss for the Falcons.

Fitchburg State (6-9, 0-0 MASCAC) returns to action Saturday afternoon as it travels to Salem State at 1 p.m. Keene State (11-5, 0-0 LEC) will visit UMass Dartmouth on Saturday at 1 p.m.