CLERMONT, Fla. (March 16, 2016) - The Western New England University softball team was dealt a pair of setbacks earlier today at the National Training Center in Clermont, Fla. The Golden Bears fell to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 7-5, in the opener, before dropping a 7-2 contest to Frostburg State University in game two.
 
Frostburg State 7, Western New England 2
Senior McKenzie Pezze (Albany, N.Y.) led the Golden Bear offense against Frostburg, going 3-for-3 with a double and one RBI, while junior Gabby Lavinio (Dalton, Mass.) and senior Heather Fecteau (Biddeford, Maine) added two hits each, and classmate Alexis Bukowski (Wallingford, Conn.) recorded an RBI double.
 
The Bobcats opened the scoring in the top of the first on an RBI groundout by freshman Renay Aubel (Leesburg, Va.), scoring junior Emily Zengel (Stockton, N.J.) from second base.

Western New England answered with a pair of runs in the third, as Bukowski drove a double into the gap in right center field, plating junior Katie Wood (Westport, Mass.), and Pezze followed with an RBI single.
 
The Golden Bears' lead would be short lived, however, as Frostburg took the lead for good with three runs in the top of the fourth. Aubel got it started with a home run over the left center field fence, while junior Jessica Dubbs (Ellicott City, Md.) came up later in the inning and singled down the left field line, scoring two Bobcats.
 
Frostburg added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh, highlighted by junior Hannah Tavik's (Glen Burnie, Md.) two run single.
 
Western New England (2-6) wraps up its ten-game spring break trip tomorrow with contests against Norwich and Bowdoin at 9 and 11 a.m., respectively, at the Foundation Academy in Clermont.