Four Owls Honored by Little East Conference

'KEENE, N.H. 4/23/07 - Four Keene State College athletes were recipient of Little East Conference weekly honors on Monday; Ashlee Nicholson and Rick Stromgren were named softball and pitchers of the week respectively, Matt Johnson was selected men's lacrosse defensive player of the week, and Jennifer Adams earned women's track honors.

Nicholson was nothing short of spectacular in the pitching circle this past week, registering a pair of shutouts against Little East Conference oppositions. The Swanzey, N.H. native hurled an eight-strikeout, one-hit complete game shutout against UMass Dartmouth on April 21. The following afternoon, Nicholson did what only one other team has done to Rhode Island College all season, shutting out the Anchorwomen 4-0. She allowed just four hits, while registering nine strikeouts. 

In his lone start of the week, Stromgren allowed just one earned run on three hits, while striking out eight in a no decision against UMass. Boston. Keene State would eventually win his start, pushing across a run in the top of the 10th inning. The Owls took a pair of victories from Little East Conference foes Plymouth State and UMass Boston to raise their conference record to 7-1.

Johnson helped the Owls capture the LEC regular season title and secure the top seed in the conference tournament with a 15 save performance against Eastern Conn. , Johnson, a junior goalie for Derry, N.H. made several point-blank range stops against the Warriors.  Keene State is ranked fourth in the nation in scoring defense.

Competing at the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton University on Friday night, Adams finished fifth in the 5,000-meter race with an NCAA Division III championship provisional qualifying time of 17:07.79.  The junior from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., is currently ranked fifth in the event among DIII competitors.

Three Owls teams will be in action at Owl Athletic complex on Tuesday.  The baseball team plays Western Conn. in a doubleheader (12 p.m.), the softball squad takes on UMass-Boston at 3:30 p.m., and the men's lacrosse team faces off against Assumption College at 7 p.m.

-30-