Softball

The Keene State College softball team had a nice week winning four of six games the week of April 18 to April 24.

According to keeneowls.com, the Owls started out the week on Tuesday, April 19, at Owl Athletic Complex against in-state rival Plymouth State University. KSC swept the Panthers taking game one 3-1 and game two 6-0.

In game one, senior Mariah Crisp threw a complete game allowing one run on five hits, walking one and striking out five hitters.

KSC fell behind in the fourth inning when the Panthers scored on Abrie Davis’s RBI double to make it 1-0. Keene State then made it a 3-1 ballgame scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Junior Jen Galavotti gave KSC the lead for good with her go ahead two run home run to make it 2-1. KSC then tacked on one more on senior Stephanie Long’s RBI single to make it 3-1.

In game two, Keene State got off to a great start as Long scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the first inning to make it 1-0. In the second inning, sophomore Olivia Indorf smashed a two run home run to make it 3-0. First-year pitcher Molly St Germain helped her own cause hitting a solo home run to make it 4-0 in the second as well.

In the third, Keene State scored two more runs on wild pitches to make it 6-0, as that is all they would need. St Germain was brilliant on the mound throwing seven shutout innings. St Germain allowed just two hits, walked two and struck out five.

The Owls then hosted Amherst College on April 20, at home and split the doubleheader. Keene State fell in game one with a score of 12-3 in five innings. In the nightcap, KSC turned to their ace Mariah Crisp. She threw seven shutout innings and struck out seven while allowing three hits.

The lone run of the ballgame scored in the bottom of the sixth when senior Morgan Fallon drove in the only run with an RBI single to make it 1-0. Keene State then returned to action to close out the week on Sunday, April 24, at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

KSC split their doubleheader with the Corsairs. Keene State took game one behind Crisp’s seven-inning effort. Crisp struck out 13 hitters in the victory, and allowed one run and two hits.

Keene State took the lead early in the second inning on sophomore Shae Crosby’s RBI single, and then tacked on one more on sophomore Brittany DaMota’s RBI triple to make it 2-0.

The Corsairs struck back striking for one run in the third as Emily Colton drove in a run via an RBI double to make it 2-1. That would be all the scoring, as Crisp shutdown the Corsairs the rest of the way.

In game two, the Owls fell to the Corsairs in 4-3 in nine innings. Keene State once again jumped out first in the fifth inning to go up 2-0 when Votto and Fallon each drove in runs. In the seventh, Votto struck again and made it 3-0 Owls with an RBI single.

Tim Smith / Photo Editor

The Corsairs then plated three runs in the bottom of the seventh on three straight hits to tie the game at 3-3. The game remained tied until the ninth when the Corsairs won the ballgame 4-3 on Gracie Trudeau’s walk off single.

The Owls once again went to Crisp on the mound and she went 8.2 inings in the loss.

Keene State will close out the regular season on April 30, at the University of Southern Maine. The first pitch for game one of the doubleheader is at 1 p.m. As of April 25, KSC is 8-2 in conference play and have a two game lead for first place.

Baseball

The Keene State College Baseball team finished the week of April 18 to April 24, with a 2-5 record and went 1-3 in Little East Conference play.

The Owls started the week falling on the road on Monday, April 18, to Western New England University 6-3. The Owls were unable to protect a 3-2 lead that they held heading into the seventh inning.

Keene State then returned home on April 19, and took on Plymouth State University in a conference play. The Owls took down the Panthers 11-4 behind a strong pitching performance from junior Michael Crimi.

Crimi went 6.1 innings and allowed two runs just one earned, on four hits, walked three and struck out five to get the victory. Keene State outhit the Panthers 14-6 in the win.

Junior Trevor Chapin paced Keene State’s offense. Chapin had three hits including a double and drove in two runs. First-year outfielder Devin Springfield had three hits and drove in three runs in the victory as well.

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff

Senior Eddie Dionne came in the eighth inning with the tying run on deck, and picked up his first save of the season before the Owls broke open the game.

Keene State was home once again on April 20, and fell 6-0 to Westfield State University. Keene State offense could not get anything going as they had five hits and committed three errors.

Senior Kevin Guild started and took the loss going 3.2 innings and allowed three runs and he allowed a run in the fourth inning.

Keene State then returned to conference play on Saturday on the road against the University of Massachusetts Boston. However, Keene State lost 2-1. Senior Cody Dube fired seven strong innings allowing just two runs, one earned, and struck out seven hitters.

However, the Owls could not get anything going offensively as they mustered only four hits. The lone run of the ballgame for KSC was driven in by first-year infielder Mac Struthers.

In game two, Keene State bats came to life in the 6-5 loss in 11 innings. KSC got another strong pitching performance from junior Alan Schiff. Schiff tossed 6.2 innings and allowed two runs and struck out six hitters. The Owls bullpen could not preserve the lead as the Beacons scored a run to tie the game at 3-3 in the seventh inning off senior Keith Simpson. The teams then battled until the 11th inning before Keene State broke through for two runs.

Senior Vinny Parilla was able to give KSC the lead in the 11th with a two run double to make it a 5-3 ballgame. However, Keene State could not hold the lead as Dionne in his third inning of work allowed three runs in the bottom half of the frame.

KSC closed out its long week of baseball with Tufts University at home on Sunday, April 24. Keene State split with Jumbos winning in walk off fashion in game one 3-2. However, in game two Tufts beat KSC 9-7.

Keene State fell behind early as starter sophomore Tim Coppinger allowed two runs in the Top of the first inning. After that, Coppinger was able to work out of trouble through 4.2 innings. Junior Jeff Lunn picked up the win throwing 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Keene State was down 2-0 until the sixth inning when Struthers tied up the game with a two run single to make it 2-2. In the seventh, first-year first basemen Connor Longley hit an RBI single to give the Owls a 3-2 win.

However, in game two the Owls bats did not get anything going until late in the ballgame. KSC fell behind 8-0 until they finally struck for four runs in the bottom of sixth inning to make it 8-4. The Jumbos then plated one run in the top of the seventh to go ahead 9-4. Keene State was able to plate three runs in the bottom of the seventh. However, Longley, game one’s hero, ground out to end the ballgame as the winning run.

Keene State will be back home for conference play this weekend, hosting the University of Southern Maine at noon at Owl Athletic Complex.

Brian can be contacted at bclemmenson@kscequinox.com

The Keene State College softball team finished off its week with a statement, sweeping Eastern Connecticut State University on the road on Saturday, April 16.

The Owls swept the Warriors, a preseason favorite, behind two complete games thrown by senior Mariah Crisp. Keene State won game one 4-0 and won game two, a one run game, 3-2.

Game 1:

Keene State set the tone early in game one as senior Heather Pelletier drove in two runs with a two run single in the top of the first inning. Senior Stephanie Long, who singled to get it started, scored along with junior Kayla Votto, who reached on an error to make it 2-0 on Pelletier’s hit.

The Owls then added some insurance in the third inning when senior Morgan Fallon hit a two run home run to put KSC up 4-0.

Keene State out-hit the Warriors 11-3 and the Warriors did not get their first hit until the fourth inning when Danielle Robillard singled. After that, Crisp allowed just two more hits.

Tim Smith / Photo Editor

Crisp’s final line in game one would be seven innings pitched, no runs on three hits and she walked one and struck out six.

Keene State’s offense was paced by Long, Pelletier, Fallon and first-year Kristin Boduch, who all contributed with two hits each.

Game 2:

The second game featured far fewer hits by the Owls as they finished with four hits and were out hit six to four. Keene State, however, took advantage of Eastern Connecticut’s sloppy defense as the Warriors committed two errors.

Long, once again, got it started for the Owls as she singled and later came around to score on an error in the top of the first to make it 1-0.

The Warriors offense struggled to get anything, despite getting one hit a piece in the first, second and third innings. Each time, the runners were left stranded.

That set the stage for Keene State to grab another single run in the fourth. Once again, the Owls got the leadoff hitter on base as Fallon led off with a double. Sophomore Shae Crosby drove Fallon in to make it 2-0 with two outs.

After holding the Warriors off the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth, the Owls then struck for a single run in the fifth inning that proved to be the difference. In the top of the fifth, sophomore Brittany DaMota came around to score on a wild pitch to make it 3-0.

In the bottom of the sixth inning with the Owls up 3-0, the Warriors finally got something going. They got their first runner into scoring position in the nightcap. Emily Komornik was able to reach on a Keene State error and then Samantha Rentz hit a two-run homer to make it a one run ballgame at 3-2.

In the bottom of the seventh, Crisp issued a leadoff walk, but was able to work around that as Eastern Connecticut left the tying run in scoring position after a sacrifice bunt.

Crisp finished game two allowing two runs, one earned run, walking one and recorded four strikeouts.

Long paced the offense with two hits, while Fallon only base hit was a double and Crosby’s single was only RBI in the game for Keene State.

Keene State finished the week with a 3-1 mark overall as they split with Westfield State on April 14, on the road. As of April 18, the Owls are 11-11 overall and 5-1 and tied for first in the Little East Conference.

Brian Clemmenson can be contacted at bclemmenson@kscequinox.com

The Keene State College baseball team finished its week of play at 2-2. Keene State went 1-1 in nonconference play and split their Little East Conference doubleheader against Rhode Island College on April 16 at home.

The Owls started the week with a nonconference loss on Wednesday, April 13, with a 10-2 loss to Fitchburg State University at the Owl Athletic Complex.

In that game, Keene State was outhit 11-6 and also committed four errors. KSC senior starting pitcher Kevin Guild only recorded one out in the ballgame and allowed four runs in the first inning to take the loss.

After four innings, the Owls were down 6-1 as they plated a run when first-year shortstop Mac Struthers drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Sophomore Christian Bourgea drove in the second Keene State run in the bottom of the ninth inning to make it 10-2. Bourgea finished with two hits.

On April 14 the Owls hosted Springfield College and fell behind early 8-0 after the second inning. However, the Owls scored 12 unanswered runs to come back and get the victory.

Luke Stergiou / Senior Photographer

Keene State plated four runs in the third, one in the fourth and two in the fifth to pull within one run to make it 8-7. Struthers was able to tie the game up with an RBI single.

Keene State then waited until the eighth inning to plate the deciding run, putting up a five spot in the inning. Senior Billy Hartmann was able to single after the first two men reached base and Struthers, who, led off with a single, scored to tie the game at 8-8.

One batter later, junior Trevor Chapin drove in the deciding run as senior Joe Libby scored to make it 9-8.

The Owls bullpen was solid, just allowing one run over eight innings of work. Junior Jeff Lunn threw 3.1 shutout innings to pick up his first career win.

In conference play on April 16, the Owls beat Rhode Island College 2-1 in 11 innings in game one. Senior Cody Dube went eight strong innings and took a no decision. Dube allowed one run on five hits, walked none and struck out a career high 11.

Keene State fell behind early when Rhode Island College plated a run to make it 1-0 in the second inning. The game would remain that way until the sixth inning when Chapin drove in the tying run with a single to make it 1-1. Three solid scoreless innings from senior Eddie Dionne setup Chapin for a big hit once again.

With two outs in the bottom of the 11th, Chapin drove in Bourgea with an RBI single to give the Owls a walkoff 2-1 victory.

In game two, 5-3 loss, the Owls were able to jump out to an early lead 3-0 after the first inning. Sophomore Devin Springfield drove in the game’s first run with an RBI single to make it 1-0. One batter later, senior Vinny Parilla’s RBI groundout made it a 2-0 advantage. Then with two outs in the inning, sophomore Dan Sarah drove in the third run of the inning with an RBI single to make it 3-0 Owls.

In the top of the third inning, Rhode Island College was able to grab a run back to make it a 3-1 game with a sacrifice fly. However, the Anchormen were not done as the plated three runs in the top of the fourth. Ed Apice hit an RBI double to make it a 3-2 ballgame. Then one batter later, Tyler Rains hit a two run homer to give the Anchormen a 4-2 lead.

Owls’ starter Alan Schiff went 4.1 innings and took the loss he allowed four runs, two earned, six hits and walked two.

Senior Keith Simpson came on in relief and kept the Owls in the ballgame throwing 4.2 innings allowing one run, on three hits, walked one and struck out three.

As of April 17, the Owls are 11-13 overall and 2-4 in LEC play. The Owls played three consecutive games from April 18 to April 20, before two off-days. Next, Keene State is home on April 23, as they host Tufts University in a doubleheader. The first pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Brian Clemmenson can be contacted at bclemmenson@kscequinox.com

The Keene State College softball team brought out brooms on Saturday, April 9, sweeping the Rhode Island College Anchorwomen in its first home Little East Conference doubleheader of the season.

According to keeneowls.com, KSC defeated RIC 5-3 in game one and 7-6 in game two. In game one, the Owls offense got off to a hot start plating three runs in the first inning and then single runs in the second and third.

In the circle, senior Mariah Crisp threw a complete game striking out ten hitters and with her fifth strikeout of the ballgame recorded her six-hundredth career strikeout.

Tim Smith / Photo Editor

The only offense that the Anchorwomen could muster was three runs in the top of the fifth inning. However, Crisp settled down and was able to get out of the jam.

In game one, senior Morgan Fallon led the way with two doubles offensively and drove in two runs. Junior Jen Galavotti had three hits, including a homerun and drove in three runs.

The Owls handed the ball to first-year pitcher Molly St. Germain, who went four innings. St. Germain allowed two runs on six hits and struck out two hitters to pick up the victory.

Keene State fell behind early when RIC plated a first inning run. However, KSC scored three runs in the second to take a 3-1 lead on sophomore Brittany DaMota’s RBI hit. Then junior Kayla Votto followed it up with a two-run single. The Anchorwomen answered back a single run in the top of the third to make it 3-2.

In the bottom of the third inning, sophomore Shae Crosby hit a two-run home run to give the Owls a 5-2 advantage. Keene State was not finished as Fallon hit a two run in the bottom of the fourth to give the Owls a 7-2 advantage.

The Anchorwomen refused to go quietly as they plated four runs off Owls first-year pitcher Leah Rowe over her two innings of work in the fifth and sixth to make it a 7-6 game.

The Owls turned to Crisp in the seventh inning and she shut the door striking out two hitters in the top of the seventh inning to earn the save.

With the sweep, Keene State improves to 3-1 in LEC play and as of April 11, their overall record is at 8-10. The Owls return to conference play this weekend on Saturday, April 16, at Eastern Connecticut State University for doubleheader. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Brian Clemmenson can be contacted at bclemmenson@kscequinox.com

After a long layover, the Keene State College baseball team got back on the diamond and fell in three of its four Little East Conference games this past weekend.

East Conn Doubleheader:

The Owls traveled to Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday, April 9, and were swept by the Warriors. Keene State fell in the first game with a score of 3-2 behind a strong starting pitching performance from senior Cody Dube.

Dube was unhittable to start the game, striking out seven of the first nine hitters he faced. Dube allowed his first hit in the bottom of the fifth.

The Owls were able to take an early 2-0 lead in game one on senior Vinny Parilla’s opposite-field two-run single in the top of the first. After that, the Owls’ offense went silent for the rest of the ballgame.

Colton McRacken / Equinox Staff

The Warriors tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth inning after Ryan Hood drove in a run with an RBI single and plated another run on a passed ball. The score would remain tied at 2-2 until the eighth inning.

D.J. Scavone had the game winning hit in the eighth inning with an RBI single to make it 3-2.

Keene State fell in game two by a score of 8-2. Once again KSC got the early lead scoring single runs in the third and fourth innings. The big blow in game two came off the bat of Alex Zachary of Eastern Connecticut as he hit a grand slam in the fourth inning to put the Warriors up 4-2 for good.

Junior Michael Crimi started for the Owls and allowed six runs over four innings of work and took the loss.

West Conn Doubleheader:

KSC returned home to Owl Athletic Complex on Sunday, April 10, to take on Western Connecticut State University. The Colonials batted as the home team in both games, as their field in Danbury, Connecticut was not playable.

The Owls took game one by a score of 7-3 behind a strong start from junior Alan Schiff. Schiff’s start helped the Owls snap a nine-game losing streak in conference play going back to last season.

Schiff threw seven innings and allowed three runs, striking out six. The Owls fell behind in the first inning 1-0. However, the responded with single runs in the third and fourth innings as sophomore Christian Bourgea hit an RBI double to tie the game up in the third. In the fourth, junior Dan Quinn hit a sacrifice fly to make it a 2-1 game.

Keene State then plated three runs in the top of the fifth inning when first-year player Devin Springfield drove in a run via a bases loaded walk. One batter later, first-year player Connor Longley hit a two run single to make it 5-1 Owls advantage.

The Colonials then plated two runs in the sixth inning to make it 5-3 on a two-run home run off the bat of Chris Callahan. Keene State then plated single runs in the seventh and ninth innings.

KSC got solid work from the bullpen as sophomore Nick Nowak pitched a scoreless eighth inning and senior Eddie Dionne threw a scoreless ninth inning.

In game two the bats for both teams came alive as Keene State fell 14-8. Both teams combined for 32 hits in the game and the Owls used seven pitchers.

After five innings of play Keene State was down 7-2. However, the Owls bats came to life to with a six-run sixth inning sending 11 men to the plate to take an 8-7 lead. In the inning senior Joe Libby drove in two runs. Also first-year player Mac Struthers drove in one run, as did Connor Longley. Junior Trevor Chapin joined the RBI parade as well.

The Colonials responded right back in the bottom of the sixth, scoring three runs and then adding four more in the seventh inning to win the nightcap 14-8.

The losing pitcher for the Owls was junior Nate Pederson, as he allowed three runs in 1.1 innings of relief.

Keene State 1-3 in LEC play will return to conference play this weekend against Rhode Island College at home on Saturday, April 16. First pitch for game one of the twin bill is scheduled for 12 p.m.

Brian Clemmenson can be contacted at bclemmenson@kscequinox.com

The search for Keene State College’s new athletic director is almost at the finish line.

According to Chair of the Search Committee and Associate Physical Education Professor Dr. Wanda Swiger, the search is winding down. “I feel pretty confident that we will fill the search and have an athletic director in place by July 1,” she said.

Swiger said that all three finalists have been on campus. The first finalist is Dr. Kristene Kelly, who serves as the Faculty Athletic Representative at Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Kelly’s biography on saintaugfalcons.com stated that she is also the chair of the Department of Business, Management and Technology and assistant professor of sports management.

The second finalist is Kelly Scafariello, who serves as Associate Director of Athletics at Salve Regina University. According to her biography on salveathletics.com, Scafariello served as the acting director of athletics from July 2015 to January 2016 at Salve Regina. In addition, she has worked at the Division I and III level, and has coached volleyball at the collegiate level.

Currently at Salve, Scafariello manages day-to-day operations, compliance, academics, retention, game management and sport oversight.

The third finalist is Dr. David Diles, who is a veteran athletic director with 20 years of experience, he is currently filling that role at Virginia Military Institute, a Division I institution. According to his bio on vmikeydets.com, he has held that role since November of 2013. He also has served as an AD at the Division III level at Case Western Reserve University from 2005 to 2013.

In addition, Diles has had stops at Division I level as an athletic director at Eastern Michigan University from 1999-2005. While at Eastern Michigan teams won 21 Mid-American Conference Championships. Prior to Eastern Michigan, he was athletic director at St. Bonaventure University, another Division I school, for five years.

Interim Athletic Director and Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Kemal Atkins said the college is looking for someone with a number of qualifications. “We are looking for an athletic director with a wide range of experiences,” Atkins said.

He said those qualifications include NCAA compliance and federal regulation. Atkins also addressed Title IX. The college athletics department came under fire when the report released by McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton Law Firm was highly critical of former athletic director John Ratliff, who resigned on May 31.

“Title IX goes beyond [sexual harassment] it a lot of things including equity in athletics. Harassment it is a broad category and we certainly want someone in a leadership position that has breath and depth,” Atkins said.

Swiger said Title IX was something that the search committee considered. “I think that it was a strong piece of it and in fact if you look at all of our candidates they understand that Title IX is not just a gender piece, but there is also the sexual harassment piece,” Swiger said.

Swiger said she believes the committee did a good job screening the candidates in that regard. “The committee did a very good job of teasing out which candidates understood those two components, not just looking at it singularly as one thing,” Swiger said.

Of the search committee, Swiger said, “It’s pretty diverse. I think Kemal really wanted to have a strong presence from a lot of different community and individuals on campus. All the different stakeholders who are going to interact with athletics.”

The committee includes members from a number of departments within the college. Some of those people include the advancement office, residential life, office of disability services, coaches, the college’s sports information director and even two student athletes.

Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President and senior men’s lacrosse player Mike McBournie said his committee’s role in the search is look out for student athletes. “What we are looking for in an athletic director is who we want to represent us,” McBournie said.

McBournie said they are just not looking at the athletic aspect of the search. “We are looking at finance; how to run the business aspect. We are making sure they are good fit for Keene State, but also the town of Keene. We don’t want to bring anybody in here who we don’t think will last a while here,” McBournie said.

Atkins said the most important thing for the new athletic director is “their commitment to students and our student athletes.”

Swiger said the search commit will put forth its recommendations once all candidates come to campus. She said, “We do not rank them; we simply list here are the strengths of this candidate and here are the weaknesses of this candidate. We’ll do that with all three of them. Those will then go to Kemal.”

Swiger added that the new athletic director would be hired once Atkins and Swiger meet with Keene State President Anne Huot.

Atkins said the college is excited about the search as well as the strength of the candidate pool. “I think it is a great time to be at Keene State College. It is a great opportunity for new leadership and a leader who can contribute to sustain the success the department has had,” Atkins said.

Brian Clemmenson can be contacted at bclemmenson@kscequinox.com

The Keene State College Baseball team split its season opening double header against William Paterson University on March 6, in Wayne, New Jersey.

Keene State fell in the first game 2-1 as the Pionners’ Anthony Hoagland’s walk off single drove in the winning run in the seventh inning with two outs. Hoagland drove in both WPU runs in the first game as he drove in the Pionners’ first run in the first inning.

Keene State struck first however, in the first game of the double header as they manufactured a run. Senior Joe Libby led off the game with a single. One batter later he swiped second base to get into scoring position. He eventually advanced to third on a one out single. Sophomore Abe Grainger then drove in Libby with a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 KSC.

The Pionners had a quick response rate with Hoagland’s RBI single to knot it up a 1-1 after the home half of the first inning. Both teams had a number of chances but could not score until Hoagland’s heroics.

Both starting pitchers pitched well in the contest. Senior Cody Dube for the Owls threw a complete game and allowed seven hits, two runs, walked one and struck out ten, but was saddled with his first loss of the season. Mario Danza started for the Pionners and went five innings and allowed just a run and took a no decision. Mitch D’Amato threw two shutout frames to earn the victory in game one.

After a well-pitched game in game one the second game of the twin bill featured offense and Keene State came out on top with an 8-6 victory. Christian Bourgea led the charge offensively in game two as he drove in three runs. Bourgea had two hits in the ballgame, as did senior outfielder Vinny Parilla.

The Owls were able to set the tone early in game two, as they struck for two runs in the first inning. The Pionners grabbed the runs back after taking advantage of sloppy Keene State defense in the third inning. Keene State was then able to scored four more runs in the fourth inning to make it a 6-2 ballgame. However, in the bottom half of the frame the Pionners scored three runs to make it 6-5.

KSC was able to add two insurance runs in the fifth inning as first-year shortstop Mac Struthers picked up his first collegiate hit in the form of an RBI single. One batter later Parilla’s RBI groundout gave the KSC an 8-5 lead.

Senior Keith Simpson worked 3.1 innings out of the bullpen to earn his first win of the season. Simpson allowed an unearned run on three hits and struck out one.

Keene State will be back in action in the Sunshine State during Spring Break in the Russ Matt Invitational. Keene State resumes play on Friday, March 11, at 1 p.m. for game one of a doubleheader against Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Auburndale, Florida.

Brian Clemmenson can be contacted at bclemmenson@kscequinox.com

The administration at Keene State College needs to tear up the contract and call off the search.

There is no reason why interim men’s basketball head coach Ryan Cain should still have that title. The night that Cain and his team returned to campus after their Little East Conference Tournament win, the interim tag should have been taken off. The tag also should of been taken off when Cain took his team to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament with a win against Middlebury College.

There are a number of reasons why the tag should be taken off immediately. Let’s start off with the situation he came into. The athletic department was in shambles with previous men’s basketball head coach Rob Colbert fired after 16 seasons for misconduct involving the Gino Vallante scandal. In addition, former Athletic Director John Ratliff retired because of the scandal.

Colbert’s firing and Ratliff’s retirement outraged people in the community with many residents writing letters to the Keene Sentinel in support of the former coach.

Tim Smith / Photo Editor

Another tough situation that Cain came into was quite a few returning players who had good relationships with Colbert. In a Sept. 10, 2015 article in The Equinox, Cain said that building relationships with the players and the community was important. “Obviously number one would be connecting the players and then shortly after that would be connecting with everybody on campus. I think it is important for the players and the community to hopefully transition and support our program moving forward,” Cain said at the time.

It is probably fair to say that he has done this with the large crowds this year at Spaulding Gym.  His players speak highly of him and his coaching staff. In a March 3 article from The Equinox, Nate Stitchell praised the coaching staff. “They basically are the glue for all the puzzle pieces. They helped keep us together, keep our minds right. A lot of times we got discouraged during the season because it happens to everybody. Those are the guys we can look to to keep us together,” Stitchell said.

The team certainly stuck together because of the coaching staff when the Owls lost starter Dizel Wright for the season and Lucas Hamel for 14 games on the same day. The team also had to deal with a number of small injuries along the way.

I believe Coach Cain really did an excellent job in keeping the team together and the guys played hard for him. Some teams might just pack it in when facing that much adversity, but these players did not and that is a credit to Cain.

Honestly, I’m sure I am not the only one, but when KSC lost Stitchell and Hamel, I thought the season would completely unravel. However, Cain led the team to an 18-10 record overall and an 8-6 LEC record which put the Owls in the third place in the conference. Including the NCAA contests, his team’s record sits at 20-10 and they have a seven game winning streak.

Another factor that has come into play is that Cain is a winner. In September The Equinox reported his accomplishments. Those included Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Cain’s alma mater, having just one 20 plus win seasons before Cain arrived. However, with Cain there as a player and then an assistant coach the program experienced 12 straight 20 plus win seasons.

The list goes on and on. During his playing career he played in three NCAA tournament appearances. He also won four New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season titles. In addition, he won two NEWMAC tournaments and the league’s player of the year twice. Finally, he is WPI’s all-time leading scorer 1,813 points.

Cain did not get the Coach of the Year award for the LEC as it went to Southern Maine’s head coach. You have to figure Cain got some votes for the job he did. Some people think the interim tag is just holding a seat. Some people certainly approach it that way, but Cain did not.

Coach Cain has shown he is the solution to move the program forward after everything. The job also should have never been posted online two days after his team won the LEC Tournament. The people making this decision need to drop the interim off his title right now. They also need to apologize for the manner of how they posted the job for the full-time position.

Brian can be contacted at bclemmenson@kscequinox.com

The Keene State College Men’s Basketball team is back over the .500 mark in Little East Conference thanks to a win against the University of Massachusetts Boston on Saturday, Jan. 30.

The Owls came out firing on all cylinders in the victory Saturday afternoon as they split the season series with Beacons 1-1. The Owls had a 35-20 lead at halftime over the Beacons. Junior Matt Ozzella finished with 17 points along with eight rebounds and Nate Howard recorded a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds for Keene State.

Keene State Interim Head Coach Ryan Cain said the Owls played a strong game defensively. “To hold a team to twenty-six percent shooting, you are doing something right,” Cain said.

Tim Smith / Photo Editor

In addition, Cain said he was pleased with his team’s effort in the first half. “We did a good job in the first half, especially defensively. We were focused and locked in. We shared the ball well and played together,” Cain said.

The Owls were outscored in the second half 34-32. However, the Owls biggest lead came in the second half with six minutes to go when Howard slammed down a dunk to make it 58-32 Keene State.

For the final five minutes, Cain emptied the bench and had his reserves play. Sophomore Jimmy Layman contributed with five points in five minutes. Also, first-year Charles McClain had four points.

The Beacons were led by Quadry Allen, who finished with 16 points to lead Beacons scorers.

The Owls, who are 5-4 in the LEC, will return to conference play on Saturday, February 6. The University of Southern Maine Huskies, who have a 6-3 record in the conference, will come to Keene for a 3 p.m. tip off. Prior to the start of the game, Keene State will honor the three seniors on the roster.

Brian can be contacted at bclemmenson@kscequinox.com

After two very tough losses in Little East Conference play, the Keene State College Women’s basketball team is back in the win column.

The Owls defeated the University of Massachusetts Boston 75-59 at Spaulding Gym on Saturday, Jan. 30. Keene State had lost their previous two LEC games to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Eastern Connecticut State University.

Sophomore Sandi Purcell led the Owls against the Beacons, finishing with 25 points. Purcell shot 50 percent from downtown, making seven out of the 14 three pointers she attempted.

“In the beginning of the game I felt like we started out a little bit slower, so I knew we needed to do something. Once I started rolling everybody started rolling with me and it turned out to be a great win,” Purcell said.

Luke Stergiou / Senior Photographer

KSC Head Coach Keith Boucher praised his team’s effort, which made Purcell successful. “They shared the ball and put her in a position to make most of those points,” Boucher said.

In addition, Boucher spoke highly of his squad’s defense. “It was our defense I thought our defense won it for us,” Boucher said.

Overall, the Owls shot 44 percent from the field, compared to the Beacons 32 percent. Keene State also got solid contributions from their two junior forwards Amanda Petrow and Sarah Kober. Petrow finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Kober grabbed ten rebounds and had eight points on the afternoon.

The Beacons were led offensively by Ariana Rivera, who finished with 20 points off the bench.

Boucher praised the team’s execution. “We’ve had two tough losses in a row in conference play. I told the kids you played well enough to win. We just didn’t make two or three plays during the game. We did that today,” Boucher said.

KSC improves to 6-3 and is one game behind Western Connecticut and Eastern Connecticut for first place.

Keene State returns to conference play on Senior Day Saturday, Feb. 6, at 1 p.m. as they host the University of Southern Maine.

Brian can be contacted at bclemmenson@kscequinox.com