Sophomore Danielle Gravel allowed only six singles and two runs over six innings, but Keuka's softball team lost to Amherst (Mass.) 2-1 Saturday, ending Keuka's season (photo courtesy of John Boccacino, Keuka College Sports Information Director).

BOXSCORE
John Boccacino/Sports Information Director
AMHERST, MASS. — Sophomore Jill Hart (Cowlesville, NY/Iroquois) had a whopping two home runs on the 2012 season heading into Saturday’s elimination game of the NCAA regional tournament at Amherst, Mass., and both of her round-trippers had been inside-the-park shots.

When Hart connected on a first-pitch fastball to lead off the top of the sixth inning of Keuka’s win-or-go-home game with host Amherst, there was a sense among the members of the Storm that the one run would be enough to keep the Green and Gold’s NCAA hopes alive.

Hart’s solo shot put Keuka up 1-0, and with the way sophomore Danielle Gravel (Sidney, NY/Sidney), who was fighting through the pain of an injury to her pitching hand, was masterfully dealing on the mound, the Storm had reason to think they could pull out the win.

But the host Jeffs played small ball, scoring twice in the bottom of the sixth on three straight bunt singles and a sacrifice fly to emerge with a 2-1 win at Amherst College.

The Storm, the six-time NEAC postseason champions, saw their season end with a 23-12 record while Amherst (36-5) advances to face top-seeded Cortland (40-9) at 10 a.m. Sunday morning in an elimination game.

Keuka, the No. 8 seed, had one last chance to tie it in the top of the seventh, but Arielle Doering closed the door for No. 3 Amherst with a 1-2-3 inning.

“We came in here the underdog and we gave everyone a run for their money; we went a lot farther than a lot of people thought we would go,” Hart said. “I was just excited to get a good pitch to hit, I didn’t realize it was over the fence. I kept running really fast until coach told me to slow down. But it was exciting, we were ahead by one and it gave us hope that we could play with this team and we could play anyone. [At that point], I thought now we had a chance to win.”

Gravel, the North Eastern Athletic Conference’s (NEAC) Pitcher of the Year in the North Division, put in an impressive performance on the mound.

One day after suffering a wrist injury to her pitching hand when a batted ball struck her flush in the wrist during the Green and Gold’s 5-4, nine-inning win over St. Joseph’s (Maine), Gravel was dialed-in against the Jeffs.

The right-hander allowed only two runs on six hits — all singles — over six innings, but Gravel saw her record fall to 18-6. It was her 24th complete game in 26 appearances.

“Dani pitched incredibly well for us today, especially after she got hit yesterday,” said third baseman Brooke Lovell (Arkport, NY/Arkport), one of the Storm’s three captains along with senior Elly Disbrow (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan) and junior Terin Brown (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton).

“Her hand was bruised and pretty swollen this morning, and I know her arm was sore, and she still came through big for us. It shows a lot of character.”

Freshman Kelly Proper (Silver Springs, NY/Letchworth) went 2-for-3 and made 13 putouts at first base while Hart, Gravel and sophomore Jessica Bandrowski (Center Moriches, NY/Center Moriches) each had hits for Keuka.

For the third straight NCAA game, Keuka was out-hit (6 to 5) but this time the Storm couldn’t pull out the win.

“I just feel great about this season. Today it stings, especially for us since we were so close,” said Disbrow, the NEAC North Co-Player of the Year who maintained a 4.0 grade-point average every semester on campus.

“In a year or in five years, I’m not going to remember the strikeouts or the errors, I’m going to remember the people. That’s what life is all about, just forming, creating and maintaining those friendships. That’s what made this team so special. I just love these girls; I’d rather lose with them than win with anybody else.”

Bandrowski led off the game with a bloop single into left-center field and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from senior Elly Disbrow (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan). But Bandrowski was stranded at second after a strikeout and a flyout.

Gravel worked around singles in both the first and the second innings but held Amherst off the scoreboard by getting six groundouts over the first two frames.

The Green and Gold had a good scoring opportunity in the second when Proper ripped a single into left field and junior Terin Brown (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton) reached on a fielder’s choice. Junior Brittany Smyder (Avon, NY/Avon) moved the runners up to second and third on her sacrifice bunt, but a strikeout and a pop out ended the threat.

Keuka completed the 2012 season with a 23-13 record after winning the NEAC postseason title for the sixth straight year. The Storm went 1-2 during the NCAA regional tournament at Amherst (Mass.) College.

Keuka again threatened in the fourth. Proper reached on an infield single and Brown coaxed a walk to put runners on first and second. Gravel singled into center to load the bases with two outs, but a strikeout ended the inning.

Gravel needed only seven pitches to retire the Jeffs in order in the fourth, but Amherst starter Theresa Kelley was equally effective in the fifth, setting Keuka down in order. At one point, Gravel retired eight straight batters until a two-out error in the fifth, but a groundout to Bandrowski ended the fifth with the game still scoreless.

After Hart blasted her third home run of the year to give Keuka a lead in its third straight NCAA regional game, Kelly was replaced by Doering, who held the Storm hitless over two innings of relief.

“We had a phenomenal season this year and we accomplished so much, especially since th majority of the team is rookies and freshmen,” Brown said. “This is a great team, we have great chemistry and we’ll always have great memories from this season.”

Follow the Storm during every one of the NCAA regional tournament games by checking out this live blog, run by Sports Information Director John Boccacino.

On Saturday, No. 8 Keuka College played No. 3 Amherst College in an elimination game at Amherst (Mass.) College as part of the NCAA regional tournament.

Sophomore Jill Hart (Cowlesville, NY/Iroquois) belted a solo home run to lead off the top of the sixth, but it wasn’t enough as Amherst scored twice in the bottom of the inning to win, 2-1.

Amherst (36-5) advances to face top-seeded Cortland (40-9) at 10 a.m. Sunday morning in an elimination game while the season ends for the Storm (23-13).

Check out a replay of today’s blog from Keuka’s third NCAA regional contest below:

Top seventh: Keuka is down to its last three outs. Evangelista, Bandrowski and Disbrow are up for the Storm in the seventh…Evangelista strikes out looking, bringing Bandrowski to the plate. Bandrowski grounds out to shortstop, and Disbrow represents Keuka’s last hope. But there will not be another game for the Green and Gold as Disbrow strikes out swinging, ending a remarkable season for the Storm. This was Keuka’s sixth straight NEAC postseason title and sixth straight appearance in the NCAA regionals. Gravel takes the hard-luck loss after allowing two runs on six hits over six innings.

Bottom sixth: Silkowitz drops a perfect bunt in-between Gravel and Evangelista and beats the throw to first. Silkowitz moves to second on the play and advanced to third on a bunt single from Leet. Keuka is in trouble here with runners at the corners and no outs…A third straight successful bunt, this time from Horan, ties the game at 1-all. Amherst still has runners at first and second with no outs. Gravel gets Miller to groundout to Brown, but now there are runners at second and third and only one out. The Jeffs take their first lead of the game on Kelley’s sacrifice flyout to Smyder in right field. Keuka trails 2-1, two outs. Smyder then tracks down a fly ball in foul territory for the third out and the Storm is down to its final three outs…

Top sixth: Hart, the NEAC postseason MVP, wastes little time with her at-bat. She takes a first-pitch fastball and drills it off the top of the right field fence for a 1-0 Storm lead. Hart’s third HR of the season chases Kelley after five innings pitched, and Arielle Doering (11-2, 2.25 ERA in 25 appearances, 16 starts) enters in relief of Kelley. Brown drew another walk, but was forced out at second base on Smyder’s fielder’s choice. A strikeout ends the frame, but Keuka takes a lead in an NCAA regional game for the third time in three chances this year.

Bottom fifth: Gravel retired eight straight Jeffs until Bandrowski bobbled a hard-hit ball at shortstop, allowing Sealander to reach on the Storm’s first error in two games. But Bandrowski, the inaugural NEAC Rookie of the Year, gets an immediate shot at redemption when Amherst speedster Ayers slapped a grounder her way. Bandrowski cleanly fields the grounder and got Ayers out by a step at first, ending the fifth.

Top fifth: Just as quickly as Gravel made short-work of the Jeffs in the fourth, Kelley mows down the Storm in order in the fifth on back-t0-back groundouts and a line out to second base. Still scoreless entering the bottom of the fifth.

Bottom fourth: Gravel works quickly to record a 1-2-3 fourth. The crafty Gravel needed only seven pitches in the frame, getting a pop up to Proper, a comebacker and a groundout to Bandrowski.

Top fourth: After hard grounds out to the pitcher, Proper reaches on an infield single, giving the Green and Gold a runner at first with one out. Brown coaxes a walk to put runners on first and second, bringing Smyder to the plate. Smyder has hit safely in each of Keuka’s first two NCAA regional games at Amherst. Smyder struck out, but Gravel loaded the bases with a single into center field. The Storm would leave the bases loaded after Evangelista struck out…

Bottom third: Gravel allows a leadoff single to Ayers, but Ayers leaves first base early on a stolen base attempt and is called out. Gravel recovers to get back-to-back fly outs to Hart in left feld to send this scoreless game into the fourth.

Top third: Keuka’s bats are retired in order in the inning, on two fly outs and a pop out.

Bottom second: Gravel is dialed in against the Jeffs, getting six groundball outs in-between allowing a two-out single. We’re scoreless heading to the top of the third.

Top second: Promising start for the Storm. Proper rips a single into left field and Brown reaches on a bunt single. Smyder gives Keuka runners at second and third with one out for Gravel, yesterday’s hero…but Gravel strikes out and Evangelista pops out to end the threat.

Bottom first: This will be interesting to see how Keuka starter Danielle Gravel’s (Sidney, NY/Sidney) pitching hand is holding up after she was struck flush in the hand during Friday’s 5-4, nine-inning win over St. Joseph’s (Maine). So far, through one inning on the mound, Gravel appears to be fine. She worked around a two-out single and induced three harmless groundouts as we’re heading to the second scoreless.

Top first: Bandrowski leads off with a bloop single into left-center field and moves to second on a sacrifice bunt from Disbrow. But Bandrowski is stranded at second after a strikeout and a flyout.

Pre-game: Now here are the starters for the Storm:
Batting first, the shortstop, Jessica Bandrowski.
Batting second, center fielder Elly Disbrow
Batting third, the third baseman, Brooke Lovell
Batting fourth, the left fielder, Jill Hart
Batting fifth, the first baseman, Kelly Proper
Batting sixth, the second baseman, Terin Brown
Batting seventh, the right fielder, Brittany Smyder
Batting eighth, the starting pitcher, with a record of 18-5 and a 3.29 ERA, Danielle Gravel
Batting ninth, the catcher, Katie Evangelista.

The starters for Amherst College:
Leading off, the catcher, Kelsey Ayers
Batting second, the center fielder, Kaitlin Silkowitz
Batting third, the right fielder, Donna Leet
Batting fourth, the second baseman, Reilly Horan
Batting fifth, the third baseman, Carolyn Miller
Batting sixth, the pitcher, Theresa Kelley
Batting seventh, the shortstop, Carly Dudzik
Batting eighth, the left fielder, Idalia Friedson
Batting ninth, the designated hitter, Caroline Sealander
And in the flex position, the first baseman, Alyssa Sherwill
Kelly enters play with a 19-3 record and a 1.19 ERA in 29 appearances (20 starts)

The Keuka College softball team (23-12) faces another elimination game when it takes on No. 3 Amherst College (35-5) at 2 p.m. Saturday in the NCAA Amherst (Mass.) Regional (photo courtesy of Ed Webber, Keuka College Sports Information Department).

AMHERST, MASS. — The resilient members of the Keuka College softball team displayed their grit during Friday’s second game of the NCAA Amherst regional at Amherst (Mass.) College.

Keuka, (23-12, 18-2 North Eastern Athletic Conference), the six-time NEAC postseason champions, let a pair of two-run leads slip away in its elimination game against St. Joseph’s (Maine).

To make matters worse, star sophomore pitcher Danielle Gravel (Sidney, NY/Sidney) was injured in the top of the seventh when she was struck by a batted ball on her pitching hand, but Gravel and the Storm found a way to win.

Gravel plated junior Brittany Smyder (Avon, NY/Avon) on a walk-off, RBI double in the bottom of the ninth to keep the Storm’s season alive with a thrilling, 5-4 win over St. Joe’s.

The eighth-seeded Storm lives to play another day. The Green and Gold next face another elimination game at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon against No. 3 Amherst College (35-5), which fell to No. 2 SUNY Plattsburgh, 5-2 in Saturday’s first game.

In the third installment of “On the Road With Keuka Softball at the NCAA’s,” the three captains of the Storm, senior Elly Disbrow (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan), junior Terin Brown (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton) and sophomore Brooke Lovell (Arkport, NY/Arkport) sat down with Sports Information Director John Boccacino to discuss this squad’s resiliency, how they’re juggling the NCAA tournament with their end-of-year academic responsibilities and what the team’s unofficial motto is for this remarkable season.

John Boccacino: “Another thrilling NCAA game, but this time Keuka is able to emerge with a 5-4 win in nine innings. Before we get into details about the game-winning hit, how scary was it for the team when Gravel took that line drive flush off of her pitching hand?”

Terin Brown: “We rely on Danielle so much that she is a huge, deciding factor in these games and if we lose her, we could be done. But she pulled through for us in a big way. We all knew she was hurting, but she is a fighter and she got it done.”

Elly Disbrow: “We sometimes put ourselves in a hole, but we always fight back. That’s one of the things that I love about our team is we fight and we fight to the end and we have a lot of character. Obviously no one has more character than Danielle, the way she played. Even if we don’t have our best, we’re still able to come up with a win.”

Boccacino: “All season long, the team has prided itself on outstanding team defense, and that was the case again in the win over St. Joe’s. The Storm played a near-flawless game in the field, not committing an error while turning a crucial double play in the ninth to neutralize a St. Joe’s scoring opportunity. How clutch was the defense today?”

Brooke Lovell: “I got a little nervous when they had runners at first and second and only one out in the ninth, but of course we got a double play. I thought we played really well in the field today, especially after Danielle got hit. We stepped it up even more. All of their hits were in good locations and we didn’t have any errors. I think we played solid defense.”

Brown: “You almost feel bad for St. Joe’s a little bit. They doubled us up in hits and we were still able to win. Our hit-to-run ration was excellent and we produced a lot when we weren’t getting a lot of hits.”

Disbrow: “They had a lot of hits but they just didn’t have the hits back-to-back. I think that says a lot about our defense, that they can have a hit and get on base, but we can still hold them. It was definitely a game of shifting momentum, like a pendulum, but I’m glad it ended with us winning!”

Boccacino: “Danielle definitely wins the award for most courageous. The way she fought through the pain to hold St. Joe’s to just the two runs in the seventh, then she comes out and keeps the Storm in the game with a pair of scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth was quite impressive. But not as impressive as her game-winning double into the right-center field gap. How much did the players want to win this game, especially seeing Danielle fight through the injury?”

Lovell: “We knew that once Dani got hit, we really wanted to win the game. When that happened, we wanted to end the game as soon as we could, but it didn’t play out that way. That’s the sign of a good team, too, is getting it done in situations like that, especially high-pressure situations. That was awesome that Dani got the hit to win the game; that was clutch.”

Disbrow: “We wish we had pulled it out in the seventh, but you can’t feel bad about a win in the NCAA’s. We wanted to end the game sooner than later, especially not knowing about Dani’s wrist injury.”

Brown: “Watching Dani’s hit was really exciting. [It was so exciting] Brooke actually shoved me out of the way!”

Boccacino: “Is that true Brooke? What were the emotions that were running through your head as you saw Gravel’s clutch hit with Smyder rounding the bases as fast as possible?”

Lovell: “I actually sprinted out of the dugout and I was on the field watching. I was like, ‘Get going Brittany,’ and I was right there at home plate, I wasn’t even close to being on deck. I did have to shove some people out of the way to get out of the dugout, but I had to see it. I think we’re all real happy to still be here and to still be playing.”

Boccacino: “While most of the other teams competing in Amherst are done with classes and finals, we’re fast-approaching the end of the academic year. How are the student-athletes coping with facing the best teams in the region on the softball diamond while also working on finals and year-ending projects?”

Lovell: “It’s all about balancing. When we have down moments in the hotel, I know a lot of people go to quiet places and do homework, especially at night and a little in the morning. But the big struggle is in the morning. A lot of us are just focused on getting ready for the games, so I think people kind of put school work to the side and do that at night, when the games are over.”

Brown: “It’s hard because everyone else is done and they have nothing to really worry about, but we’ve done this every year and we’ve been fine, so we’re used to it.”

Boccacino: “The Storm is still alive after salvaging a split of its first two NCAA regional games, what has to happen on Saturday against the loser of Amherst and SUNY Plattsburgh for the Green and Gold to keep this remarkable season going?”

Lovell: “We just have to keep our momentum going. Even if we get down, just don’t give up, just like we did on Friday.”

Disbrow: “I kind of feel like the motto for our season is unconventional but effective. It feels good to go out and get those NCAA wins and have those other teams maybe have a little bit more respect for Keuka. We’re helping to make Keuka a name that people know.”

Check back Sunday for another installment of “On the Road With Keuka.”

Members of the Keuka College Equestrian team gather after competing in the first equestrian show in the club's history. All seven riders placed in the top six of their classifications during the event, held at Braebern Farm in Mendon, N.Y.

John Boccacino/Sports Information Director
Building up a club sports team from scratch is no easy task, but the members of Keuka College’s equestrian club have recently taken several major steps forward in their quest to establish equestrian as a viable and recognizable club sports team on campus.

Last Saturday, the Storm traveled to Braebern Farm in Mendon, just outside of Rochester, to compete in a fundraiser show to benefit the Lollypop Farm, the Humane Society of Rochester.

Keuka had seven riders travel to Mendon for the competition, and all seven riders placed (earned a top-six finish) in their respective disciplines.

Among the highlights: sophomore Rachel Parker (Chaumont, NY/Thousand Islands) claimed the Open Western Division championship and also the Open Western Pleasure division while senior Halie Squires (Parish, NY/Mexico) was named the Hack Division Reserve champion and also won the Beginner Hunter under saddle classification.

Junior Jenna Chapman (Gorham, NY/Marcus Whitman) placed second in the Beginner Hunter over Crossrails competition while Squires was second and Chapman third in the Open Hunter under saddle classification.

Parker was second, junior Sam Swearingen (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) placed third and freshman Alicia Fisher (Corning, NY/Corning East) was fifth in the Open Stock Seat Equitation; Fisher was second and Swearingen was fifth in the Open Western Pleasure group.

Squires was third and Chapman fifth in the Road Hack division; Squires took fourth in the Pleasure Hack and fifth in the Hunter Hack divisions; Chapman was fourth and junior Jessica Schreiner (Eden, NY/Eden) was fifth in the Beginner Hunter under saddle while Schreiner placed fourth in the Open Hunter under saddle classification.

Freshman Bridgette Fletcher (Walton, NY/Walton Central Middle/High) placed second in the Walk Trot Stock Seat Equitation and sixth in the Walk Trot Pleasure competition; while Swearingen was fifth in both the Open Cloverleaf Barrels and the Open Keyhole competitions.

On top of an already productive week, the members of the team learned on May 7 that it was officially approved as a club sport on campus.

“We really just wanted to get the experience of competing at a show, because next year we’re hoping to compete at the various collegiate shows as a club team, which will be a lot bigger than what we had on Saturday,” said Parker, who started competing in horse shows as a sixth-grader.

“The seven riders all had different levels of experience at competitions, so at this show we wanted to both gain that experience of competing at a show and let the two riders who had never shown before get a feel for the competitions. We did pretty well and I was very impressed with how well everyone did. Everybody came home having placed in at least one class.”

Chapman received her first horse riding lesson when she was just seven years old. From the moment she sat atop a 1,200-pound horse, she said she felt an exhilarating thrill as she worked diligently with the horse to accomplish her goals.

“Equestrian is a lot of fun. You’re working as an individual and you want to improve as a rider while you work with your horse to get better,” said Chapman, who trains at the Jeff Webber Training Stables located on nearby Merritt Hill Road.

“But there’s also a team component, you want everyone else to do well to represent our Keuka club team. At this past show, everyone was really supportive of one another, and there was a great sense of accomplishment. It was exciting to be a part of the first show we attended as a club.”

According to both Parker and Chapman, the most important aspect when it comes to the sport of equestrian is patience, as it takes time and countless hours in the saddle to cultivate a solid rapport with the horse.

“I really like working with my horse, I push her and she pushes me,” said Parker, who is also a setter on the Keuka women’s volleyball team.

“Sometimes my horse, she can be really lazy, but she challenges me to work harder to accomplish my goals. You have to work at communicating with the horse and you have to develop that special bond. A horse has a specific way of doing things that you need to learn, and a horse will understand how you ride and you’ll understand how the horse rides. This is a difficult sport until you can develop that bond.”

Members of the Keuka College Equestrian team gather after competing in the first equestrian show in the club's history. On May 7, the club was honored by Keuka as the college's Club of the Year.

The members of the Keuka equestrian team recently learned that their hard work and dedication towards growing their sport resulted in being named the Club of the Year during the recent Honors Convocation. Combined with the successes of the first show, Chapman said the Keuka equestrian club is off and running.

“This will definitely get our name out there,” Chapman said. “There are lots of younger riders who are looking to go to college and continue riding, and they can look at us and say, ‘This is a place I want to go compete and be a part of this tradition’. At the end of our first show we did a drill team performance as the Keuka College equestrian team and it was such a cool feeling. This is a stepping stone for something better next year.”

The team plans to start back up with competitions in the fall.

Sophomore Danielle Gravel fought through a wrist injury to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to lift Keuka past St. Joseph's (Maine) 5-4. Keuka advances in the NCAA regional tournament (photo courtesy of John Boccacino, Keuka College Sports Information Director).

BOXSCORE
John Boccacino/Sports Information Director
AMHERST, MASS. —Resiliency is a hard trait to define, but for seventh-year Keuka College softball coach Jamie Burke, she knows resiliency when she sees it, and Friday’s elimination game in the NCAA regional tournament epitomized the Storm’s tremendous sense of resiliency.

Keuka, the No. 8 seed, twice enjoyed two-run leads over No. 5 St. Joseph’s College (Maine), only to see the leads evaporate at Amherst (Mass.) College.

To compound matters, sophomore Danielle Gravel (Sidney, NY/Sidney), the North Eastern Athletic Conference’s Pitcher of the Year in the North Division, suffered a wrist injury when a batted ball struck her flush in the wrist in the top of the seventh.

But despite the blown leads and the potential injury to its ace, none of that mattered to the Storm. Keuka simply found a different way to win, as Gravel plated junior Brittany Smyder (Avon, NY/Avon) with the winning run on a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the ninth to keep Keuka’s NCAA hopes alive with a 5-4 win.

“We’re a resilient group and these kids don’t get down, it’s been that way all year long,” Burke said after the Storm evened its regional record at 1-1.

“It’s a win and the bottom line is to come away with those wins, which we did.”

The Storm (23-12) next face another elimination game at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon against No. 3 Amherst College (35-5), which fell to No. 2 SUNY Plattsburgh, 5-2 in Saturday’s first game. The season ends for St. Joseph’s (33-9). 

If Keuka can win its game Saturday, it will advance to play the winner of No. 1 SUNY Cortland and No. 7 University of New England at 10 a.m. Sunday morning.

Live stats from all NCAA games can be viewed here, while a free, video webcast of all tournament games is available here.

Epitomizing the team mentality, seven different players recorded base hits in the win: Gravel, Smyder, senior Elly Disbrow (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan) and sophomores Jessica Bandrowski (Center Moriches, NY/Center Moriches), Katie Evangelista (Geneva, NY/Geneva), Jill Hart (Cowlesville, NY/Iroquois) and Brooke Lovell (Arkport, NY/Arkport).

Gravel ran her record to 18-5 with a 3.29 earned run average after allowing four runs on 15 hits over nine innings. It was her 23rd complete game in 25 appearances.

The Storm, the six-time NEAC postseason champions, took 2-0 and 4-2 leads before the Monks tied the game in the top of the seventh on a pair of RBI infield singles.

After neither team scored in the eighth, St. Joe’s threatened to take the lead in the top of the ninth. Danyelle Shufelt reached on an infield single and Connie Grovo reached on a bunt single, but like she has all year long, Gravel battled and induced Emily Leverone into a pop up to junior Terin Brown (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton) for the first out.

Then Heather Tripp hit a grounder to Lovell, who stepped on third for one out and threw Tripp out at first to complete the rally-killing double play, the Storm’s 24th twin-killing this year.

That clutch double play set the stage for Keuka’s walk-off win. After a leadoff fly out, Smyder reached on a single up the middle, bringing up Gravel, hurt wrist and all. Gravel swung at the first pitch from Rae-Marie Copan and sent a double into the gap in right-center field. Smyder, running from the crack of the bat, crossed home plate a second before the ball arrived to propel the Storm into the next round.

After she was hit on the wrist, Gravel was checked out by Keuka’s athletic training staff and was allowed to remain in the game. When she stepped into the batter’s box in the ninth, Gravel said her wrist was sore, but she was solely focused on helping her team advance.

“I was really nervous, just because my hand was really sore, but I was excited after I hit the ball and we won the game,” Gravel said afterwards. “I’ve never hit the first pitch, but I just felt like I had to swing at the first pitch. Coach always yells at me for not hitting the first pitch, but I finally did and I guess it was a good thing.”

Keuka took a 1-0 lead in the second without the benefit of a hit. After a pair of groundouts to open the inning, Brown walked and scored all the way from first base when Smyder reached on an error by the centerfielder as the Storm took an early lead in an NCAA regional game for the second straight day.

St. Joseph’s threatened against Gravel in the third, getting a leadoff single from Kim Jordan, and pinch-hitter Kirin Schrum reached on a fielder’s choice, but Bandrowski threw out Kluna at third base for the first out of the inning. The Monks still had runners at first and second with one out, but a groundout by Grovo and a pop out from Leverone ended the inning with Keuka still ahead 1-0.

Another hustle play led to an unearned Storm run in the bottom of the inning. The Storm’s first two batters were retired before Disbrow reached on a single, Keuka’s first hit off of St. Joe’s starter Theresa Hendrix. Disbrow then stole second and scored when Lovell reached on an error by the second baseman.

“Sometimes just putting runners in motion does a lot for a team,” Burke said of her opportunistic squad, which capitalized on five errors by St. Joseph’s.

“All postseason we’ve been out-hit, but we’re scoring runs any way we can. All of our stolen bases, the hit-and-runs, the sacrifice bunts with runners on base, just putting runners in motion and putting the ball in play, you have to make the other team think and react. You have to make plays happen; you can’t just go station to station.”

The Monks finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth. Kluna dropped a single into right field before Jordan launched a two-run home run over the left field fence to knot the score at 2-all. It was her third home run of the season.

But just as quickly as St. Joe’s tied the game, the Green and Gold reclaimed the advantage in the fifth. Evangelista ripped a double down the left field line, and sophomore Sami Clingerman (Dundee, NY/Dundee) entered the game as a pinch-runner for Evangelista. Bandrowski helped the Storm re-take the lead on her RBI single into center field, as Clingerman scampered home just ahead of the throw to the plate.

Bandrowski moved to second on a throwing error by the Monks’ catcher and scored on Disbrow’s well-placed sacrifice bunt down the third-base line. An eager Bandrowski appeared to be caught in a rundown when she took a wide turn off third base, but she was able to use her speed to out-run the St. Joseph’s throws and crossed the plate to put Keuka ahead 4-2.

Working quickly and effectively, Gravel retired the side on just six pitches in the sixth, getting three groundouts to maintain the 4-2 lead. St. Joe’s pulled even in the seventh, which set the stage for Keuka’s ninth-inning, walk-off win.

“I’m really excited about this, especially because we have a really young team and we’re not the team that we were last year, but we’re playing some good softball now,” Gravel said. “I’m nervous but it’s cool that we get to keep playing. Plus, we were seeded eighth so no one thought we were going to win any of these games. We will never give up, doesn’t matter how far we’re down or who is hurt, we just don’t give up and we always want to win.”

In the second installment of, "On the Road With Keuka Softball at the NCAA's," junior Terin Brown and Keuka's three captains discuss the lessons learned from Thursday's 4-3 loss to No. 1 SUNY Cortland (photo courtesy of John Boccacino, Keuka College Sports Information Director).

AMHERST, MASS. — There are no moral victories in sports, and there’s no such thing as a good loss, but the Keuka College softball team had about as good of a loss as there is during Thursday’s NCAA Amherst Regional tournament game.

The Storm (22-12, 18-2 North Eastern Athletic Conference), the six-time NEAC postseason champions, gave No. 1 SUNY Cortland (39-8), one of the top teams in the country, all it could handle and actually led the Red Dragons 3-0 after the top of the third inning.

The eighth-seeded Storm came up just short in its opening NCAA contest, falling 4-3 to the top-ranked team in the NCAA’s latest Northeast regional rankings.

The Green and Gold next face an elimination game at 1 p.m. Friday afternoon against No. 5 St. Joseph’s College (Maine), with a 33-8 record. St. Joseph’s lost to No. 4 Keene State (NH) 4-2 in Thursday’s other regional game.

In the second installment of “On the Road With Keuka Softball at the NCAA’s,” the three captains of the Storm, senior Elly Disbrow (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan), junior Terin Brown (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton) and sophomore Brooke Lovell (Arkport, NY/Arkport) sat down with Sports Information Director John Boccacino to discuss how the loss to Cortland represents a positive for Keuka, and how the members of the Storm passed the nearly three-and-a-half hours waiting for Thursday’s game to begin.

John Boccacino: “This is a confident team, the Keuka softball squad, and leading the top team in the Northeast 3-0 after 2 ½ innings had to inspire more confidence among the team. I know the only acceptable outcome is a win, but do you think the close call against Cortland can be considered a positive going forwards?”

Elly Disbrow: “We definitely got more out of this loss than Cortland did the win. Some teams underestimate us because we are the No. 8 seed and traditionally our conference is not the strongest, but when we come out, put the ball in play, don’t make errors and have solid defense, we’re in a lot of games. You can’t take anything away from Cortland, they did what they had to do to win, but we also had our opportunities to win. I don’t feel bad about that loss at all, I feel pretty good about how we played.”

Brooke Lovell: “We can take away as a team that we can play with anybody. Before the game, I know I was nervous and I think everybody else was nervous, too. This goes to show that we can come out and we can play with these top teams.”

Terin Brown: “Especially playing behind [starting pitcher] Danielle Gravel. We have so much more confidence with her on the mound. She’s a real big deciding factor in each game and she pitched fantastically for us yesterday. We were facing Cortland, one of the top teams in the country, and they barely got any hits off of us. She was fantastic.”

Boccacino: “Moving forward, how important is it for Keuka’s bats to strike early and often again in Friday’s game against St. Joseph’s? It seemed that scoring those three runs over the first 2 ½ innings really got the Storm going against Cortland, and conversely, those early runs also seemed to rattle Cortland.”

Lovell: “It’s really important for us to carry over that momentum [into our next game] and I think it will carry over for us. We know just how well we’re capable of playing and we’re going to come out even harder tomorrow, especially because we already have the one loss, we obviously don’t want to lose and go home.”

Brown: “Even so, even if we do lose, we’ve accomplished so much this year.”

Boccacino: “I know it was frustrating on Thursday, waiting around Amherst College while the field was being prepared for the regional tournament games. How did the team manage to stay loose during the nearly three-and-a-half hour wait in-between arriving at the field and the actual first pitch?”

Disbrow: “We got to the field about 11:30 a.m. and we did our full warm-up and we were ready to go, and then they were checking the field for what seemed like 48 hours. So at first we decided to play some Whiffle ball, and then that devolved, it was a little boring, so we decided to play some dodge ball. It was definitely more intense and that got us going. Chucking balls at your teammates, what could be more fun?”

Boccacino: “How do you guys plan to spend the night in-between games? Hopefully there won’t be another massive system of rain showers passing through the area to make the field sloppy again.”

Brown: “We’re going to go out to dinner as a team then we’ll just spend some quality time relaxing at the hotel, nothing too intense. We’ll have some fun together like we always do and we’ll be sure to stay loose and relaxed heading into Friday’s game. … We’ll move right past [the Cortland loss] because it was a great loss for us.”

Disbrow: “I feel it was a major confidence booster for us, if anything. I cannot wait to get out there and play again on Friday.”

Check back Saturday for another installment of “On the Road With Keuka.”

Junior Brittany Smyder drove in a run in Keuka's first NCAA regional game, a 4-3 loss to SUNY Cortland Thursday afternoon in Amherst, Mass. (photo courtesy of John Boccacino, Keuka College Sports Information Director).

BOXSCORE
John Boccacino/Sports Information Director
AMHERST, MASS. — When seventh-year Keuka softball coach Jamie Burke schedules top-flight competition such as Ithaca College, St. John Fisher College and SUNY Geneseo among her non-conference games, she does it to challenge her team during the regular season.

But she also takes on these talented schools to better prepare her Storm for the postseason, when all of the schools will be among the best in the country.

That strategy nearly led to an upset of top-seeded SUNY Cortland, the No. 1 team in the NCAA’s Amherst (Mass.) regional tournament, Thursday afternoon at Amherst.

The No. 8 Keuka College Storm, the six-time North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) champions, gave Cortland (39-8) all it could handle in its first-round NCAA regional game, but the Storm (22-12) suffered a 4-3 loss to the Red Dragons.

Keuka jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings, but the Red Dragons rallied and won in walk-off fashion after a single through the left side of the infield in the bottom of the seventh.

The Green and Gold is now faced with an elimination game at 1 p.m. Friday afternoon against No. 5 St. Joseph’s College (Maine), with a 33-8 record. St. Joseph’s lost to No. 4 Keene State (NH) 4-2 in Thursday’s other regional game.

Live stats from all NCAA games can be viewed here, while the free webcast from all NCAA games can be viewed here.

“This game should reassure our team that we can play with the best teams out there,” said Burke, the NEAC North Coach of the Year.

“Cortland is one of the best teams, not only in our state but in the whole country, really, and to be there in the seventh inning tied 3-3, you can’t complain. This did more for us as a loss then it did for them as a win. They’re probably down over their performance while our kids are riding high right now, as much as you can in a loss.”

Sophomore Jill Hart (Cowlesville, NY/Iroquois), junior Brittany Smyder (Avon, NY/Avon) and sophomore Danielle Gravel (Sidney, NY/Sidney) each had a base hit and an RBI for Keuka, which was out-hit 8-5 by the Red Dragons.

After both teams were retired in order in the first inning, the Storm scraped across a run in the top of the second. Hart coaxed a leadoff walk, advanced to second on freshman Kelly Proper’s (Silver Springs, NY/Letchworth) sacrifice bunt and scored a run on Smyder’s RBI single through the right side of the infield. Gravel made it 2-0 when she singled into center field, plating Smyder as the Storm pushed across two runs on two hits.

Cortland, the No. 1 team in the latest NCAA Northeast regional rankings, got runners at second and third with only one out in the second, but Gravel buckled down and induced a pop up to junior Terin Brown (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton) at second for the second out of the inning. With runners still at second and third, Gravel induced a groundout to shortstop Jessica Bandrowski (Center Moriches, NY/Center Moriches) to end the threat.

The Storm’s lead grew to 3-0 in the third. Bandrowski singled and advanced to second on a well-placed sacrifice bunt from senior Elly Disbrow (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan). Sophomore Brooke Lovell’s (Arkport, NY/Arkport) groundout allowed Bandrowski to move to third with two outs, and Hart gave Keuka a 3-0 lead by dropping a single into left field, scoring Bandrowski.

“I was really impressed that our hitters weren’t scared or intimidated early on, they went up there swinging,” Burke said. “They didn’t go up there with the mindset that this is Cortland, this is No. 1, I can’t hit her. We were aggressive and went after them. Our team is not afraid of anything, it’s amazing that they’re not, for how young we are.”

Cortland, which was held hitless over the first 2 1/3 innings, got on the board in the third. Abby Martin ripped an RBI double and reached third on an error, but Martin tried scoring on the play and was thrown out at home to end the inning.

The Red Dragons tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth, on an RBI double into right center field and an RBI single down the right field line. With runners at first and second and two outs, Gravel got leadoff hitter Lucia Meola to ground out to Brown at second base to end the inning.

In the seventh, Nicole Gallo led off with a single into right field before Gravel got Meola to pop out for the first out. Jessica Harmon laced a double down the right field line to give the Red Dragons runners at second and third with one out, and following an intentional walk, Meaghan Kohler sent a single through a drawn-in infield to lift Cortland to the 4-3 win.

Gravel fell to 17-5 on the year, allowing four runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings pitched.

Bandrowski, Lovell, Hart, Smyder and Gravel each had singles for the Storm, which must win its next game or have its season come to an end.

“If we can play Cortland that way, whoever we play tomorrow we know we can play with them, too,” Burke said. “That’s our goal coming in, you want to play well against Cortland but if you lose, you’re not expected to beat them anyways. So go out and get that second game, that’s the one you really want to win to stay in the NCAA’s.”

If the Storm is able to knock off St. Joseph’s, it would next play at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon against an opponent to be determined.

NCAA Amherst Regional Bracket
NCAA Tournament Release (with links to all regional brackets)

Keuka College's softball team earned the No. 8 seed in the Amherst (Mass.) regional and will open up play at the NCAA's with a 10 a.m. game Thursday morning againsy SUNY Cortland (photo courtesy of Ed Webber, Keuka College Sports Information Department)

Traveling to the NCAA Division III regional tournament can be a nerve-wracking time, but for many of the 2012 members of the Keuka College softball team, this will be their second or third time competing for a spot in the prestigious College World Series.

The Storm (22-11, 18-2 North Eastern Athletic Conference) captured the NEAC North regular season title and claimed the NEAC postseason title for the sixth straight season. Keuka, which earned the NEAC’s automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament, received the No. 8 seed in the eight-team, double-elimination Amherst (Mass.) regional tournament, which runs Thursday through Monday.

The Green and Gold will open up regional play against top-seeded SUNY Cortland (38-8), the runners-up in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) who earned an at-large bid into the field and is making its 18th NCAA appearance, including sixth in a row.

The Storm, the NEAC North regular season champions, and the Red Dragons will meet at 10 a.m. Thursday morning, with the winner advancing into the winners’ bracket and the loser needing to win out to avoid being sent home.

In the first installment of “On the Road With Keuka Softball at the NCAA’s,” the three captains of the Storm, senior Elly Disbrow (Penn Yan, NY/PennYan), junior Terin Brown (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton) and sophomore Brooke Lovell (Arkport, NY/Arkport) sat down with Sports Information Director John Boccacino to discuss the mood of the Storm heading into Thursday’s opening round of regionals against Cortland, ranked No. 1 in the NCAA’s regional rankings.

John Boccacino: “After leaving campus this afternoon, the team arrived at the hotel in Greenfield, Mass. around 9:45 p.m. Wednesday night. How was the bus ride down?”

Elly Disbrow: “We found our way to this 1970s-style Wegmans in Syracuse, which was pretty entertaining. There was a little local flavor there that made for some good stories. But we really didn’t do much, we stopped to eat dinner, we watched some movies, but usually we watch, “Bridesmaides,” but this time we didn’t, which is unusual for us because that’s always a movie we watch. On the ride down, it’s important just to relax and have some fun. Being a No. 8 seed, we really have nothing to lose.”

Boccacino: “Cortland has been to NCAA’s the last six years and has advanced into the eight-team World Series seven times overall, and three of the last four years. Keuka has been to regionals six years in a row, but never won the regional. Is the Storm the underdog?”

Terin Brown: “We don’t have anything to lose, so we’re going to stay relaxed and have fun. We will work as hard as we can and leave it all on the field, and people shouldn’t underestimate us. We have a lot of skill and we have a lot of power, we can come out and give you a run for your money, so don’t underestimate us like they usually do. Last year, no one was expecting us to go as far as we did, and we made it to the regional final.”

Boccacino: “Sophomore Danielle Gravel (Sidney, NY/Sidney) enjoyed a phenomenal season on the mound, setting a school record for wins in a season while going 17-4 and earning NEAC North Pitcher of the Year. What is it like to play defense behind Gravel, who doesn’t make many mistakes and has good pitch command?”

Brooke Lovell: “Dani throws strikes, she may not be a dominant pitcher but she gets the job done for us and we get the job done for her. We play good defense and our bats work in our favor even though we don’t hit a lots of home runs. Jill (Hart) has been hitting phenomenally, Elly has been hitting great everyone has really been hitting the ball well.”

Disbrow: “Danielle doesn’t necessarily strike out a lot of batters, but I think it’s the mark of a good pitcher that they can put the ball in a place where their defense will be able to field the ball, whatever comes off the bat. That’s what Danielle does, she might not strike out 13 batters per gm, but she puts the ball in a place where we can make plays. I love being a center fielder behind her, she speeds the game up and keeps things going.”

Boccacino: “Last year, Keuka earned a No. 6 seed, its highest regional seeding, and went 3-2 with a pair of wins over Ithaca College before falling to Messiah (Pa.) in the regional championship. Are there areas where Keuka has an edge on the Red Dragons?”

Disbrow: “Obviously Cortland is a great team, I just would say we have to put the ball in play and play like we know how to play. It’s not like a Masters class, there’s not some formula you can put together, you go out there and do what you’ve been doing since you were six years old and you have a lot of fun playing.”

Brown: “Even if we don’t do what we want to do this weekend, we have a great team and have such great chemistry and we all get along so well. It’s been a great season overall, no matter how it turns out. It’s been phenomenal playing with these people.”

Boccacino: “How are you feeling on the eve of the Storm’s sixth straight NCAA tournament appearance?”

Lovell: “I’m anxious, I’m ready to go. I probably could have played when we got off the bus today, but I’m ready.”

Check back Thursday for another installment of “On the Road With Keuka.”

The Keuka College softball team earned its sixth straight trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament, and Keuka will open NCAA play against No. 1 SUNY Cortland at 10 a.m. Thursday morning.

The Keuka College softball team has represented the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) in the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament in each of the last five seasons, and the Storm ran its conference championship streak to six after defeating Wilson (Pa.) College and SUNYIT on Sunday at Keuka.

The Storm (22-11) earned the NEAC’s automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament, and on Monday the Green and Gold learned it received the No. 8 seed in the eight-team, double-elimination Amherst (Mass.) regional tournament, which runs Thursday through Monday.

Keuka will open up regional play against top-seeded SUNY Cortland (38-8), the runners-up in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) who earned an at-large bid into the field and is making its 18th NCAA appearance, including sixth in a row.

The Storm, the NEAC North regular season champions, and the Red Dragons will meet at 10 a.m. Thursday morning, with the winner advancing into the winners’ bracket and the loser needing to win out to avoid being sent home.

Whoever wins between Keuka and Cortland advances to face the winner of No. 4 Keene State (NH), with a 25-10-1 record, and No. 5 St. Joseph’s College (Maine), with a 33-7 record, at 2 p.m. Friday afternoon. The loser of Keuka/Cortland squares off with the Keen State/St. Joseph’s loser in an elimination game at 10 a.m. Friday morning.

The winner of the double-elimination regional will advance to the eight-team NCAA Div. III World Series in Salem, Va., May 18-22.

All games during the Amherst Regional will be webcast for free online. Simply click here to access the webcast. Live stats from all contests will also be provided by clicking here.

During the 2011 Regional Tournament, Keuka had its best showing in the NCAA’s, going 3-2 in the regional round with a pair of wins over rival Ithaca College before falling to Messiah College in the regional final

The Red Dragons have advanced to the World Series six times, including during the 2008, 2009 and 2011 seasons. Last year, Cortland finished fourth nationally, its best College World Series showing.

Cortland was the regular-season champion in the SUNYAC before falling to SUNY Plattsburgh, 3-2 in the championship game of the league postseason tournament Sunday in Cortland.

The rest of the Amherst regional field includes: host Amherst College (Mass.), the regional host with a 34-4 record vs. No. 6 Husson College (Maine) with a 33-11 record; and No. 2 SUNY Plattsburgh (31-9) vs. No. 7 University of New England (Maine) with a 26-12 record.

All told, 61 teams qualified for the NCAA Division III tournament, including 41 automatic qualifiers such as Keuka and 20 at-large teams. The tournament features eight regional sites.

Six teams will compete at one regional site, seven teams will compete at one regional site and eight teams will compete at six regional sites. The eight regional sites will use a double-elimination format.

The six-team and seven-team regional rounds will be held May 11-14, and the eight-team regional rounds will be held May 10-14. The finals, hosted by the City of Salem and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, will be held May 18-22 at the Moyer Complex in Salem, Va.

Keuka (22-11) defeated Wilson (Pa.) College 4-3 and SUNYIT 5-3 to claim the school’s sixth straight NEAC postseason championship, and the Storm’s sixth straight berth into the NCAA Regional tournament.

The Storm turned three double plays against Wilson (26-4), which hadn’t hit into a twin killing the entire year before running into Keuka. Then, in the NEAC championship game against rival SUNYIT, Keuka turned a pair of momentum-killing double plays to pick up its fourth win in five tries versus SUNYIT.

Fittingly, the NEAC title game ended on a double play. Sophomore Danielle Gravel (Sidney, NY/Sidney), who went 3-0 in Keuka’s three NEAC postseason contests, snared a comebacker off the bat of Juleah Vedder and threw to freshman first baseman Kelly Proper (Silver Springs, NY/Letchworth) to double up Lauren Marleau and end the game. It was Keuka’s 21st double play in 32 games.

Sophomore Jill Hart (Cowlesville, NY/Iroquois) batted .500 (5-for-10) with four RBI and three runs scored in Keuka’s three NEAC postseason games to claim Tournament MVP honors.

Gravel, the NEAC North Pitcher of the Year, set a school-record with her 17 wins, smashing the old mark of 14 wins with her victory against Penn State-Harrisburg Saturday in the Storm’s first NEAC postseason contest.

NCAA Amherst Regional Bracket
NCAA Tournament Release (with links to all regional brackets)

Junior Chris Redington matched a career-high with eight points on seven goals and an assist to lead Keuka's men's lacrosse team to its second straight NEAC postseason championship with a 17-5 win over Medaille College Sunday afternoon (photo courtesy of Ed Webber, Keuka College Sports Information Department).

BOXSCORE
Keuka College’s men’s lacrosse team lost its first North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) game of the 2012 season, but since then the Storm has been perfect, winning its last nine conference contests.

With its latest win, the second-seeded Storm (11-4) successfully defended its NEAC postseason championship with an impressive 17-5 win over No. 4 Medaille College (8-7) Sunday afternoon at Morrisville State University.

Junior Chris Redington (Tully, NY/Tully) matched a career-high with eight points on seven goals and one assist to pace Keuka, which jumped out to a 5-0 lead after one quarter, 9-0 at halftime and 12-0 before the Mavericks got on the scoreboard.

Redington captured the NEAC Tournament MVP honors after scoring nine goals with one assist in two wins as the Storm outscored the competition 33-11 to win its second straight championship. It was his second eight-point outing of the season, and the seven goals were a career-high.

Senior Gino Marcello (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili) ended his outstanding Keuka career by scoring two goals with five assists, junior Mike Crumlish (Hilton, NY/Hilton) scored three goals with two assists and freshman James Voigt (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan) and sophomore Nick Judge (Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes) each added two goals for the Storm.

Keuka, which defeated Morrisville State 8-7 in the 2011 title game, was making its third straight NEAC championship game appearance, and it didn’t take long for the Green and Gold to assert their dominance against the Mavericks.

A day after holding Cazenovia scoreless for nearly 40 minutes during a 16-6 NEAC semifinal win, a stout Storm defense clamped down on the Mavericks. Led by sophomore Scott Miller (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan) and classmate Isaiah Nalls (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls), Keuka held Medaille scoreless for the entire first half, and the first 34 minutes and eight seconds of Sunday’s title game.

Redington had a hand in the first four Storm goals, scoring Keuka’s first two goals over a span of 1:38, assisting on the third Keuka goal and adding a man-up tally as part of his three-goal, one-assist first quarter.

Redington added two second-quarter goals while Voigt and fellow freshman Anthony Luppino (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan) added scores during a 4-0 second quarter. Crumlish, Voigt and Marcello all scored during the first 3:14 of the third to put Keuka ahead 12-0 as an unselfish Storm squad had assists on eight of its first 12 goals.

Brock Levin, the NEAC Player of the Year, scored the first of his three goals 4:08 into the third quarter to snap the scoring drought for Medaille.

Crumlish added an even-strength goal and Redington scored his second man-up goal of the game to extend Keuka’s lead to 14-2 heading into the fourth. The Storm enjoyed a 34-10 edge in shots over the first three quarters.

Freshman Eric Saltrelli (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) made 11 saves for the win.

The Green and Gold, who won their last seven conference games to earn the No. 2 seed in the tournament, picked up their second win over Medaille this year. Keuka also beat the Mavericks 13-10 in Buffalo on April 11.