SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (May 1, 2022) – The Western New England Softball team secured their #2 seed in the CCC after sweeping the University of New England Nor'easters on Senior day with 8-0 finish after five innings and 3-2 victory. 

Records:

• Western New England: 25-13, 14-4 CCC
• Univ. of New England: 17-21, 10-8 CCC

Game 1: Western New England 8, Univ. of New England 0

University of New England went three straight outs in the top of the first and the Golden Bears hit the scoreboard in the bottom. First up to bat for WNE was Taylor Keegan who was walked before they picked up two outs. Kailey Carrano hit a single, and Alex Ferriouolo had a nice single hit to left field for an RBI to take a 1-0 lead. They kept UNE off the scoreboard again in the top of the second, before dominating in the bottom. Madison Mason started it off with a single through the left side and she advanced on Lizzie Weston's SAC bunt and when Kaleigh Blades was grounded out.  With two outs, Mason scored unearned on a passed ball for their first run of the inning. Keegan followed with a single through the right side and stole second. Paige Baca picked up the RBI as Keegan made it home. Dina DiBlasio added another RBI on a double over center field. The last runs completed by the Golden Bears in the inning came from a homerun hit by Carrano for two RBIs. WNE gained a 6-0 lead entering the third.

Still shutting out the Nor'easters, the Golden Bears completed another two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. WNE already had two outs and one on base when Carrano hit a double for her third RBI of the game. Ferriouolo proceeded with another double RBI and now the Golden Bears had 8-0 game lead. Dayna Jackvony entered to pitch in the top of the fifth and closed out the game. After a ground out, Jackvony struck out UNE's Lindsay Joyal, and Carrano had a great catch at third base for the third out to end it after five innings and a Golden Bear win.

Behind The Box score:

• The Golden Bears were led by Kailey Carrano who was 3-3 at bat, three RBIs, a homerun, and a double hit.
• Alex Ferriouolo contributed with two RBIs and was 2-2 at bat, also with a double. Paige Baca and Dina DiBlasio had the other two RBIs in the game and Taylor Keegan contributed with three completed runs.
• Starting Pitcher Megan Beebe pitched in 4.0 innings and collected the win for the day, bringing her record to 12-5. She faced 14 batters, didn't allow any runs and struck out two. RP Dayna Jackvony closed out the game, faced three batters and had one strikeout.
• The Golden Bears had eight runs on nine hits and allowed no runs on two hits.

Game 2: Western New England 3, Univ. of New England 2

The Nor'easters had the first run of the second game in the opening inning. Ava Blanchard struck out the first batter. UNE hit a single, stole second, then hit an RBI before two more strikeouts. The score was 1-0 entering the bottom. The Golden Bears tied it up after a Kailey Carrano RBI on a double hit to left center as Dina BiBlasio made it to Homeplate to bring it to 1-1. Both teams held each other to one or no hits and no runs for three innings until the fifth. In the top of the inning, UNE completed another run, already having two outs, and hit a double before the Golden Bears Kaleigh Blades made a great save out in outfield to close out the top. UNE took a 2-1 lead. Western New England got two quick outs in the bottom of the fifth before DiBlasio singled to centerfield and Carrano hit her second homerun of the day, again for two RBIs. The Golden Bears had their first lead in game 2 with a 3-2 score. WNE closed out the game in the top of the seventh, not allowing anymore runs in the sixth or the seventh. The ballgame concluded with relief pitcher, Megan Beebe, striking out two batters and UNE's Makenzy Herron got caught stealing. The Golden Bears came away with two wins today, beating the Nor'easters in game two 3-2.

Inside The Diamond:

• Western New England's Kailey Carrano was 2-3, hit another homerun for the day, and led the team in RBIs with three again.
• Dina DiBlasio was 3-3 at bat and completed two runs.
• Starting Pitcher Ava Blanchard pitched in 4.2 innings, faced 22 batters, allowed two runs, and seven strikeouts. RP Megan Beebe collected the win pitching in 2.1 innings, faced seven batters, allowed no runs, and had two strikeouts.
• The Golden Bears had three runs in eight hits and allowed two runs on eight hits.

Up Next: 

• This is the last regular season game for the Golden Bears. They will be hosting the CCC quarterfinal games on Wednesday, May 4, starting at 10 a.m.