MILTON, Mass. - With one swing of the bat junior designated player Steph Ganser (Fairfield, CT) extended the Western New England College softball season by at least two games and added her name to the school record book.

Ganser went 3-for-3, including her school best 11th homer of the season, and sophomore Laura Bower (Hudson, MA) tossed a three-hitter as fifth-seeded WNEC blanked fourth-seeded Curry College 3-0 Wednesday afternoon (May 5) in an opening round game of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Tournament at D. Forbes Will Field.

The Golden Bears scored all of their runs in the fourth inning when freshman left fielder Lauren Arsenault (Fitchburg, MA) led off the inning with a bunt single. Ganser followed with a blast to center that broke the old mark set by Donna Pronovost in 1995. Junior third base player Meredith Pacelli (Hamden, CT) then singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice by senior first base player Jes Nelson (South Hadley, MA). Sophomore shortstop Brittany DeGennaro (Orange, CT) then delivered the final run with a RBI single to right.

Bower, meanwhile, again was outstanding striking out eight and walking four in raising her record to 16-7.

Except for the fourth inning, Curry starter Kim Sturgis (19-9) also pitched a strong game, but lost her bid for a 20th win. The Colonels end their campaign with a 30-16 record.

Western New England College (29-16) will meet top-seeded Roger Williams (33-13), a 6-2 winner over eighth-seeded Fitchburg State, in the double elimination format of the tournament Saturday (May 12) in Bristol, Rhode Island.