KEENE, N.H. – A walk-off in game one and an eight-run fourth inning in game two led Keene State College to a Little East Conference sweep over softball Friday evening at the Owl Athletic Complex.
THE BASICS
GM1: UMass Boston 1, Keene State College 2 (8 innings)
GM2: UMass Boston 0, Keene State College 8 (5 innings)
UMass Boston (3-10, 3-10 Little East Conference)
Keene State College (7-21, 6-10 Little East Conference)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The opener was a tight affair from the first pitch. The Owls struck first on the scoreboard as they plated the first run of the twinbill in the bottom of the second. The Beacons were able to tie the score at 1-1 in the top of the fifth as they capitalized on Keene State errors.
Neither team plated a go-ahead run through the next two and a half innings. In the bottom of the eighth, the Beacons would get two quick outs. However, with back-to-back singles they would earn the walk-off victory.
Lauryn Bethea (Springfield, Mass.) led the Beacons with two of the team's eight hits.
Brianna Melchionda (Marshfield, Mass.) was handed the loss despite a seven-strikeout performance. She would allow just the two runs, one earned, while only walking two batters.
The second game saw the two teams exchange half innings with neither producing any runs on the scoreboard. That all changed in the bottom of the fourth, when the Owls bats took over. They would score eight unanswered runs, before closing out the Beacons in the top of the fifth to secure the sweep.
The Beacons combined for five hits, with Melchionda recording two. Of the eight runs scored by the Owls, only two were earned.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Since May 2016, the Beacons are now 5-4 against the Owls
- Friday's sweep marked the first for Keene State over the Beacons since April 2016
- Melchionda's 7.2 innings in game one marked a career long for the freshman hurler
- She has now recorded seven or more strikeouts in three straight starts
WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will travel to nationally-ranked Eastern Connecticut State University tomorrow for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.