SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 29, 2016) - The Western New England University softball team split a non-conference doubleheader with Westfield State University this afternoon at Golden Bear Softball Park. Western New England took the opener, 4-2, before the Owls held on for a 7-6 win in game two.
 
Western New England 4, Westfield State 2
 
Senior co-captain Heidi Grieger (Hyde Park, N.Y) led the Golden Bears in the opener, as she tossed seven innings and fanned four batters without giving up any earned runs. With the win, Grieger improves to 5-4, giving her the most wins in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC).
 
With two outs and one on in the bottom of the first, senior co-captain McKenzie Pezze (Albany, N.Y) tripled down the right-field line to score junior Gabby Lavinio (Dalton, Mass), putting the Golden Bears on the board, 1-0. Pezze collected two hits in the game.
 
The Golden Bears were unable to score over the next three innings, but in the fifth, with the bases loaded, junior Corianna DeLisi (Tuxedo, N.Y.) singled and drove in a runâ€"knotting the game up, 2-2. With the bases still loaded, junior Katie Wood (Westport, Mass) fouled out, and Grieger, who was on third, scoredâ€"giving the Golden Bears a 3-2 lead.
 
The Owls struggled stringing together hits, but did manage to scatter six. Freshman Bri Tortora (Worcester, Mass.) went 2-for-3 and junior Erika Gouin (Hampden, Mass.) went 1-for-3 with the team's only RBI. 
 
Westfield State 7, Western New England 6
 
Trailing 7-2 in the seventh inning, the Golden Bears put six runners on base and pushed across four runs, but came up short to the Owls, 7-6.
 
Four Golden Bears compiled multi-hits games, led by Wood who went 2-for-3 with three runs batted in. Sophomore Jenn Luba (Plymouth, Conn.), DeLisi, and Lavinio contributed two hits apiece.
 
Luba led off the seventh with a single, which was followed by a walk from freshman Emilie Baldwin (Florence, Mass), and both were advanced on a fielder's choice. With two on and one out, DeLisi singled through the left side, scoring Luba. Then, Wood lined a double to left, picking up her third RBI of the contest. After Lavinio singled in another run, the Owls closed the door, getting senior Alexis Bukowski (Wallingford, Conn.) to fly out to the warning track.
 
For the Owls, Tortora added another two hits to her total, driving in two runs in five at-bats. Pitcher Julia Sullivan (West Barnstable, Mass.) helped her own cause, going 3-for-4 with one run scored, and Sydney Ezold (Westfield, Mass.) went 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored.
 
Western New England (8-8, 2-0 CCC) returns to conference play on Friday with a doubleheader against Gordon.