DUDLEY, Mass. – Junior right-hander Laura Bower (Hudson, MA) fired a pair of two-hitters as the third-seeded Western New England College softball team defeated sixth-seeded Salve Regina 5-0 and second-seeded Nichols 4-2 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Tournament Thursday (May 1).
Bower (19-6, 0.82 ERA) struck out eight and walked two in the opener in a battle with Seahawks' sophomore ace Sarah Jakiela (Meriden, CT) who gave up only three hits, but walked eight with six walks. Three of the runs against her were unearned.
Bower and Jakiela were named TCCC Co-Pitchers-of-the-Year on Wednesday (Apr. 30).
Senior catcher Allison Glassick (Newport, RI) belted a two-run opener in the second inning while senior third base player Meredith Pacelli (Hamden, CT) added a solo shot in the fifth.
In the second contest, Bower again recorded eight strikeouts (including the 500th of her career) with three walks in compiling her 50th all-time victory.
The two hits against her were homers by sophomore first base player Valeri Calcagni (Rocky Hill, CT) in the third and freshman designated player Shaleese Young (Salt Lake, UT) in the sixth.
WNEC took a 2-0 lead in the third on a two-run double by junior Brittany DeGennaro (Orange, CT) who also had a single.
Sophomore right-fielder Christina Farese (Marlborough, MA) also had two hits, including a RBI single that extended the Golden Bears lead to 3-1 in the sixth.
Western New England College tallied an important insurance run in the seventh on a RBI groundout by senior designated player Steph Ganser (Fairfield, CT).
Western New England College (28-12) will meet top-seeded Endicott (36-4) at approximately 4:30 p.m. Friday (May 2) in a winners' bracket game in Beverly, Massachusetts. The Gulls opened tournament play with a 4-0 win over fourth-seeded University of New England.
WNEC and Endicott split their regular season meetings with the Golden Bears claiming an 8-7 win in the first game of a doubleheader back on March 27 in Springfield before dropping an 8-0 decision in the second contest.
