(Game 1 Box) (Game 2 Box) 

            KEENE, N.H. - The Plymouth State University softball team broke an eight-game losing streak to Keene State College Tuesday afternoon with a 5-1 victory over the Owls in the first game of a Little East Conference doubleheader at the Owl Athletic Complex.

            The Owls apparently didn't take too kindly to that, however, and scored 10 runs in the first inning of the nightcap en route to a 16-1 victory.  PSU completes the day with records of 15-8 overall and 4-4 in the Little East, while Keene State is now 8-9-1 overall and 1-2-1 in conference play.

            PSU senior pitcher Courtney MacFarland (Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton) held Keene State to one run on four hits in the opener to improve her record to 8-4. She was perfect into the sixth inning, retiring the first 16 batters she faced before freshman Courtney Savoie (Stratham, N.H.) singled up the middle with one out to break up the no-hitter. Savoie later came home on a sacrifice fly for the Owls' only run.

            Senior Heather Bartolo (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton) delivered RBI singles for PSU in the second and sixth innings.  The Panthers also scored an unearned run in the third inning on a Keene State error, and sophomore Kortney Nedeau (Kennebunk, Maine) provided insurance in the seventh inning with a two-run home run to left center, her third of the season.

            The nightcap was all Keene State, starting with the double-digit first inning. The Owls sent 15 batters to the plate and recorded 10 hits, including two doubles.  The top six hitters in the KSC line-up all reached base twice in the inning, and six of the Owl runs came home with two outs.

            The Owls piled on two runs in the second inning on a two-run home run by senior Jenna Patnode (Surry, N.H.), and added four more in the third on a pinch-hit grand slam by freshman Haley Botti (Dracut, Mass.), just her second hit of the season.

            PSU managed its only run in the third inning on a RBI single by sophomore Melissa Caiazzo (Portland, Maine), one of her two hits in the game.

            The Panthers return home to host Framingham State on Thursday in a non-conference doubleheader at D&M Park (3:30 p.m.).  Keene State plays a twinbill Wednesday at Williams (3:30 p.m.) 

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