Two Late Surges Not Enough as Softball Swept by Westfield State

Springfield, Mass. (April 12, 2023) – The Golden Bears returned home to Golden Bear Park for a Western Mass. matchup with the Owls of Westfield State University. The doubleheader saw the Golden Bears make late surges but fall short in each game. Game one saw WNE lose 5-4 in seven innings, and game two saw WNE lose 6-5 in eight.

Game 1: Westfield State 5, Western New England 4

Riley Kane got the call for game number one of the day. She handled the Owls for the first two innings and helped herself out when Kane slapped a double down the left field line, scoring Gracie Hemstock in the bottom of the second. The Golden Bears only led 1-0 for a little while. Sarah Bingham would slap a home run over the head of Taylor Keegan in center field. It was a three-run home run, and the Owls led 3-1. Kailey Carrano hit a double in the bottom of the third to cut the lead in half. The score was now 3-2, with the Owls still in the lead. That is how the score stayed until the top of the fifth inning when Abby Higgins singled to right field and scored Quill and Lummus. It was now a 5-2 lead for the Owls. Carrano picked up another RBI in the bottom of the fifth when she grounded out to shortstop and scored Keegan. The Golden Bears would not go away late in game one. The Owls and pitcher Stephanie Scoville kept the game like that for the rest of the fifth and sixth innings. However, the Golden Bears got runners on early in the seventh inning, and then Dina DiBlasio struck with a bunt single that surprised the Owls, who thought she would swing away. That bunt brought Keegan home and saw DiBlasio standing on first, safe. Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, Scoville would get three outs on the next four batters and end the game with the win for the Owls. The final score read 5-4 on the scoreboard.

Inside The Diamond:

• Riley Kane pitched five innings, faced 22 batters, and let up seven hits.
• Kane also went 3-3 from the plate with a double and an RBI.
• Dina DiBlasio and Taylor Keegan went 2-4, and Dina grabbed another RBI
• Victoria Quill went 2-4 for the Owls and scored two runs.
• The Owls downed the Golden Bears 5-4.

Game 2: Westfield State 6, Western New England 5

The Golden Bears started game two with a hunger for the win. Blanchard got two hitters to strike out and only let up one hit in the first inning. Then, Paige Baca singled to right field and scored Taylor Keegan to give the Golden Bears an early lead. A Dina DiBlasio RBI followed that up on a play that scored Baca from third base. The Golden Bears led 2-0 after one inning of play. Both sides were quiet for the second and third innings. The fourth inning saw Alyssa Clark steal second, forcing Weston to throw to DiBlasio, hoping to get the Westfield State runner to steal on third base. It worked, but the throw from DiBlasio back to Weston was not in time, and the Owls scored their first run of the game. WNE still had the lead 2-1 after four innings of play. That would not last, though. An error by the Golden Bears in the top of the fifth inning brought Megan Metzger and Jordyn Lumms home. Then, Alyssa Clark sent a single into right-center field, which would score Xandra Silva and give the Owls a 4-2 lead. With a 4-2 lead, Gianna Conte entered the game for the Owls. After getting out of a bases-loaded inning, Conte let up a Dina DiBlasio home run sent over the center field fence and tied the game up at four a piece. That was the case through the seventh inning. In extra innings, Metzger hit to the infield, and an error brought the runner on third home to give the Owls the lead. Then, Silva would score on a passed ball to give the Owls a 6-4 lead. The Golden Bears got one back when Alex Ferriouolo slapped a single up the middle, and Shea McDaniel scored, but it was not enough as the Golden Bears dropped the game 6-5.

Inside The Diamond:

• The Golden Bear pitchers combined to face 37 batters and let up six runs on six hits.
• The Owl pitchers combined to face 38 batters and let up five runs on nine hits.
• Alex Ferriouolo went 2-3 with one RBI 
• Dina DiBlasio only had one hit, but it was a game-tying home run. DiBlasio also got three RBIs during the game.
• The Owls outlasted the Golden Bears 6-5 in eight innings.

Up Next: 

The team will jump back into conference play on Saturday, April 15, heading to Roger Williams University for a doubleheader with the Hawks. Game one will be played at noon, and game two will follow at approximately 2:00 PM.

The Owls will return to Westfield to welcome in the Lancers of Worcester State on Saturday, April 15. That doubleheader will see games one and two played at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM respectively.