Clermont, FL (March 18, 2024) – The Golden Bears took the field for day three of their games in "The Spring Games Tournament." The first game saw the team take on the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Even with the Golden Bear bats waking up, the Pointers would take the game by a score of 5-2. The Golden Bears would keep the bats going and beat Wellesley College 4-2 in their second game thanks to two RBIs from Kaleigh Blades and two hits from Lizzie Weston.  

Game 1: Wisconsin-Stevens Point 5, Western New England 2

The Golden Bears and pitcher Riley Kane took on the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, who had Elli Matzke in the pitching circle. The Pointers started quickly with two runs in the top of the first inning. Sara Traxel sent a hit into left field, which resulted in a double and Kaitlyn Roberts scoring. With two outs and Traxel now on third, Allie Meyers hit a ball that caused an error by a WNE fielder, and the Pointers were now ahead, 2-0. The Golden Bears got a hit in the bottom of the inning but no runs. In the top of the second, the Pointers added to the lead with a single to shortstop from Jesse Klicker. That brought Trinity Otto home, and the score was 3-0. The Golden Bears would answer with a double to deep right-center field from Kaleigh Blades. That would score Madison Mason. Then, a wild pitch would score Shea McDaniel, and after two innings, it was 3-2, Pointers. With runners on second and third, Riley Kane would get the Pointers to ground out, and the Golden Bears were back up in the third. The Golden Bears would load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the third, but with Ashley Zygowski now in the pitching circle for the Pointers, they kept the Golden Bears from scoring a run. The fourth inning saw the Pointers have runners on first and third with two outs. After the runner on first attempted to steal second and got out of a rundown to steal second, Jesse Klicker would steal home, and the Pointers led 4-2. After a WNE pitching change saw first-year pitcher Shelby Parr enter the game, the game was delayed because of a lightning strike. After the delay, the Golden Bears had two on with one out but could not get a runner home. 

The fifth inning saw the Pointers grab another run on a single from Trinity Otto that went up the middle of the field. Sophia Heckendorf would score on the hit, and the score was 5-2. The Golden Bears would then go down in order in the bottom of the inning. Emilia Garcia would then enter at pitcher and, after giving up a single, would get the rest of the batters out. Neither team would get another hit or run for the rest of the game, and the game would end 5-2, with the Pointers getting the win.

Around the Diamond:

• Five Golden Bears had hits during the game.
• Alex Ferriouolo, Madison Mason, and Kaleigh Blades had doubles for the Golden Bears.
• Jesse Klicker and Sara Traxel led the Pointers, with each going two for three.
• Kaitlyn Roberts and Sara Traxel both had extra-base hits for the Pointers (both doubles).
• Ashley Zygowski was credited with the win and had eight strikeouts.
• The Pointers won the game 5-2.

Game 2: Western New England 4, Wellesley 2

The Golden Bears took on Wellesley College in game two of the day. The Golden Bears had Ava Blanchard in the pitching circle, and the Wellesley College Blue had Jillian Colgan in the circle for them. The Golden Bears would have a hit in the beginning of the game but would not do much in the rest of the first inning. Wellesley College would get a runner on, too, but a WNE double play would squash their hopes of an early-game run. The second saw the Golden Bears take their first lead of the year. With two outs and runners on second and third, Kaleigh Blades sent a hard hit through the middle of the infield and into center field. Both Lizzie Weston and Marley Rodriguez would score, and the Golden Bears led 2-0. The Blue would not be able to answer in the bottom of the second. The third saw the Golden Bears strand runners on first and second before Wellesley College's Ashley Galbraith hit a ground ball to Alex Ferriouolo at shortstop. Ferriouolo would make the play, but Diana Borrison would score. The Golden Bear lead was cut to 2-1. 

The Golden Bears went down in order during the fourth. The Blue would get two runners on but no runs again as Ava Blanchard got the Wellesley College hitter to ground out to end the inning. Jillian Colgan would stay strong and strike out the number two and three hitters for the Golden Bears to sit the Golden Bears down one, two, three in the top of the fifth. Just as the bottom of the inning started, there was another lightning delay. After over an hour and a half of the break, play resumed. The Blue would have a runner on second base score during that half of the inning thanks to a single by Jillian Colgan. The score was tied 2-2. The Golden Bears had a runner in the top of the sixth, but no runs scored. The Blue were sent down one, two, three by Blanchard, who struck out the last batter of the inning. The top of the seventh saw the Golden Bears have runners on second and third with two outs and Kailey Carrano at the plate. Carrano hit a ground ball that was not cleanly fielded, and that brought two runs home. The Golden Bears led 4-2. The Blue would get a runner on with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but Riley Kane finished out the game for the Golden Bears, and WNE had their first win of the season, 4-2.

Around the Diamond:

• Wellesley College had four batters get hits during the game.
• Diana Borrison had the lone extra-base hit for the Blue, which was a double.
• The Golden Bears also had four batters get hits.
• Lizzie Weston led WNE by going two for three and scoring a run. Kaleigh Blades batted in two runs.
• Ava Blanchard picked up win number one of the season.
• Riley Kane earned the save.
• The Golden Bears won the game 4-2.

Up Next:

• The Golden Bears have an off day on Tuesday and will play again on Wednesday, March 20, at 9:15 AM and 11:30 AM in Florida. They will play William Patterson University and Elmhurst University, respectively.
• The Pointers will play Manchester University in game two on Monday. They will then take on Amherst College and Bates College on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at 11:15 AM and 1:30 PM, respectively. Wellesley College will play again on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, against Clarkson University and Millikin University at 11:15 AM and 4:00 PM.