Softball Falls Twice To Keene State

Mueller & Sousa collect two hits each for Green & Gold

Fitchburg, MA. – The Fitchburg State University Softball team dropped a pair of non-conference contests to the Owls of Keene State College this afternoon from the Donna Lee Withington Memorial Softball Field as the Falcons fell 8-1 in the opener before dropping the nightcap by a score of 10-5.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 1, Keene State 8 (GM1)
Score: Fitchburg State 5, Keene State 10 (GM2)

Records: Fitchburg State (4-21, 2-2 MASCAC) I Keene State (11-5, 0-0 LEC)

How It Happened

Game One

Keene State opened the scoring in the top of second as freshman Abby Weiterman (West Bend, WI) and senior Liv Whittier (Gill , MA) walked with the bases loaded to bring in sophomore Kalee Keyser (Andover, NH) and sophomore Else Picard (Southington, CT) for the 2-0 edge.

The Owls upped the advantage to 3-0 in the top of the third with sophomore Abbie Monkevicz (Tiverton, RI) singling down the right field line before senior Lilah Denmy (Wayne, PA) laced an RBI double to left field, scoring Monkevicz.

Keene State extended the lead in the top of the fourth as Whittier, senior Carissa Miller (Lee, NH), Monkevicz and junior Morgan Rodrigues (Tiverton, RI) registered RBI's for the 7-0 edge.

Fitchburg State answered in the bottom of the sixth when freshman Ariana Baez (Methuen, MA) singled up the middle, moved to second on a fielding miscue and crossed the plate on an RBI single up the middle off the bat of junior Adria McKenzie (Lowell, MA), cutting the lead to 7-1. The Owls capped the scoring in the top of the seventh as Whittier drove in sophomore Emma Chenette (East Weymouth, MA), resulting in the 8-1 final

By The Numbers

• Baez led the way for the Falcons, going 1-for-2 with a run scored
• McKenzie finished 1-for-2 with an RBI
• Junior Madison Solt (Salem, NH) took the loss for Fitchburg State, giving up eight runs on 11 hits and three K's in the complete game effort
• For the Owls, Whittier hit 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored
• Sophomore Megan Strzegowski (Westford, MA) earned the victory for Keene State, allowing one run on two hits and one strikeout over four innings pitched

Game Two

Fitchburg State grabbed a 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the first when freshman Carolyn Brodeur (Ashby, MA) singled to left center, moved to second on a wild pitch before sophomore Jessica Mueller (Fitchburg, MA) walked, while senior Isabella Sousa (Charlton, MA) ripped a two-run double to right center, scoring Brodeur and Mueller.

Keene State took the lead in the top of third as Keyser laced a two-run single to center to bring in Miller and Weiterman before senior Molly Murray (Gorham, ME) added a two run single to center field that plated Rodrigues and senior Olivia Deerfield, NH) for 7-2 margin.

The Falcons cut the deficit to 7-3 in the bottom of the fourth with freshman Paige Konopka (Middlefield, CT) reaching on a single to right center, advancing to second on single off the bat of senior Ella Marshall (Gloucester, MA) before newcomer Emily Bennett (Gorham, ME) brought in Konopka with a single to center.

The Owls pushed the lead to 10-3 in the top of fifth when Murray blasted a two-run triple to left center, while Weiterman added an RBI double. The Green and Gold answered back in the bottom of fifth when Mueller doubled and scored on a throwing miscue, while junior Shaelyn Burns (North Attleboro, MA) drove in Sousa with a single to center field, resulting in the 10-5 final.

By The Numbers

• Sousa paced the Falcons, hitting 2-for-3 with a double, one run scored and two RBI
• Mueller added two hits, including a double and two runs scored
• Senior Mackenzie Leveille (Brooklyn, CT) suffered the setback for Fitchburg State, yielding ten runs on eight hits and two strikeouts over 4.1 innings of work
• For the Owls, Murray finished 3-of-4 with a triple, two runs scored and four RBI
• Freshman Olivia Souers (Westminster, MA) collected the win for Keene State, allowing three runs on eight hits and one K in four innings of work
• 24th meeting between the Falcons and Owls on the softball field with Fitchburg State 1-23 all-time when taking on Keene State

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Monday as they travel to Bridgewater State to take on the Bears for a conference twin bill, starting at 3:00PM.

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