Clermont, FL (March 20, 2024) – After a day off, the Golden Bears were back on the diamond to take on William Paterson University and Elmhurst University. In game one, the Golden Bears would go down 2-0, but they would score nine runs in a row and win the game 11-7. Riley Kane only let up one earned run in the win. Shea McDaniel had a triple, and both Nicolina Salanto and Kaleigh Blades had doubles. Blades led the team, going 4-for-4, with three doubles. Game two saw the Golden Bears jump out to a 5-0 lead and hold on for a 5-2 win thanks to eight strikeouts from Ava Blanchard and two RBIs from Christina Salinas.

Game 1: Western New England 11, William Paterson 7

With Riley Kane in the pitching circle for the Golden Bears and Lilah Guthy in the circle for the Pioneers, the game got underway. The Pioneers struck first in the bottom of the first after the Golden Bears went down one, two, three to start the game. With runners on first and second and one out, Gianna Mulato reached first on a throwing error, which also brought Jillian Bigos home, and the Pioneers led 1-0. With two outs in the first, Grace Gaskill singled, and that brought Mulato home. However, the Golden Bears caught Gaskill in a rundown to end the inning. It was 2-0 Pioneers after one. 

The top of the second saw the Golden Bears respond. With two outs and a runner on, Marley Rodriguez would send a hit just over a Pioneer glove in short right field for Rodriguez's first career Golden Bear hit. Now, with two on and two out, Shea McDaniel sent the ball into deep right field. McDaniel would end up on third with a triple, which tied the game at two. Kaleigh Blades followed that extra-base hit with another one. Blades doubled to left-center field, and the Golden Bears had a 3-2 lead. Kane would sit the Pioneers down one, two, three in the bottom of the inning. Both pitchers kept the opposing offenses quiet in the third inning, and neither team could score in the fourth or fifth innings either. However, the Pioneers did threaten in the bottom of the fifth inning, with runners on second and third, and one out. However, Riley Kane would get the next batter to ground out to third and struck out the final batter of the inning to keep the Golden Bears in the lead 3-2.

The top of the sixth inning saw the Golden Bears pick up six runs. It started with two walks in the beginning of the inning. Then, Kylie Anthony entered the circle for the Pioneers. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners and another walk loaded the bases, Kaleigh Blades hit another double. This one was to right field, and it brought both Alyssa Poisson and Alex Ferriouolo home. The Golden Bears led 5-2. Taylor Keegan followed Blades and grounded out to shortstop, which still brought Shea McDaniel home for an RBI. Gracie Hemstock followed that with a single through the left side of the infield, and Blades scored to make the Golden Bear lead 7-2. After a pitching change for the Pioneers, Gianna Mulato entered the pitching circle, and the Golden Bears had runners on second and third. Nicolina Salanto hit a double, which fell over the head of a Pioneer fielder and rolled away from the fielders. Salanto stretched a double for a first-career Golden Bear hit and two RBIs. That pushed the lead to 9-2. The bottom of the sixth would see the Pioneers have runners on first and third, with one out. Grace Gaskill singled through the right side of the infield, and the Pioneers got a run back. Riley Kane would not get rattled. Kane got the next batter to line out to left field and struck out the final batter of the inning to keep the score at 9-3 entering the final inning of play. After Abby Apkarian got a first career Golden Bear hit, with a single to left field, that put runners on first and second for Kaleigh Blades. Blades hit a third double of the game, and Kim Baumann scored. Then, with runners on second and third, Evelyn Picone would draw a walk, and Shea McDaniel would score on the wild pitch. The Golden Bears led 11-3. 

The bottom of the seventh saw Emilia Garcia take over pitching for the Golden Bears. With runners on first and second, Jillian Bigos hit a single down the left-field line. Samantha Campos scored. Caitlin Monahan slapped a single through the left side of the infield, which brought both Bigos and Lauren Hutchison home. Lastly, Gianna Mulato doubled to right-center field and scored Monahan. The score was now 11-7 with no outs in the bottom of the final inning of play. Riley Kane reentered at pitcher, struck out the first batter faced, saw the next batter get on because of an error, and then got the last two batters to pop and line out. The Golden Bears won game one, 11-7.

Around the Diamond:

• The Golden Bears were led by Kaleigh Blades, who went 4-for-4 with three doubles.
• Shea McDaniel and Nicolina Salanto both had extra-base hits, with McDaniel hitting a triple and Salanto hitting a double.
• Marley Rodriguez, Nicolina Salanto, and Abby Apkarian all had their first career Golden Bear hits.
• The Pioneers were led by Caitlin Monahan, who went 3-for-4 with a double.
• Gianna Mulato also had an extra-base hit with a double.
• Riley Kane earned the win with three strikeouts and one earned run.
• The Golden Bears won the game 11-7.

Game 2: Western New England 5, Elmhurst 2

The Golden Bears entered the second game with the bats on fire. Ava Blanchard would pitch for the Golden Bears in game two. Ali Mockenhaupt was in the circle to start the game for the Bluejays. Outside of a double from Gianna Amundsen, the Golden Bears would get through the top of the first inning. Then, with two outs, Kailey Carrano started a rally with a single. Madison Mason doubled to right-center field to put runners on second and third for Alex Ferriouolo. Ferriouolo singled, which brought Carrano home. Christina Salinas then had a first career Golden Bear hit, with a single to right field, which brought two runners home. The Golden Bears now led 3-0 early in the game. 

Blanchard and the Golden Bears would get through the second inning without giving up a run. Then, Gianna Amundsen would take the circle for the Bluejays, replacing Mockenhaupt. With runners on first and third, a pitch got past the catcher, and Kaleigh Blades reached home. The Golden Bears were up 4-0. Gracie Hemstock would then reach first base on an error, and Taylor Keegan would score. The Golden Bears led 5-0. After getting out of the second inning, the Bluejays would answer in the top of the third. With two outs and a runner on second, Chiara O'Leary hit a single to left-center field. That hit scored Gianna Amundsen. Mockenhaupt followed that hit with a single to left field, and Bailey Hodel ran through home. The score was 5-2. The next batter would fly out, and the Golden Bears were out of the inning. The Golden Bears had a runner reach third in the bottom of the third but would not score. Then, Blanchard would sit the Bluejays down one, two, three in the top of the fourth and the top of the fifth inning. Blanchard had three strikeouts against six batters during those innings. The fourth and fifth innings saw Golden Bear batters get on base, but they could not reach home. At the top of the sixth inning, the Bluejays got the leadoff batter on base with a single. However, Blanchard got the next three batters out. Amundsen would sit the Golden Bears down one, two, three in the bottom of the sixth, and the Bluejays had one more opportunity to extend the game in the top of the seventh. However, Ava Blanchard got the first batter to foul out, the second batter to line out, and struck out the final batter to help the Golden Bears hang on to a 5-2 win, their third win in a row. 

Around the Diamond:

• The Golden Bears were led by Taylor Keegan, who went 2-for-4 at the plate.
• Five other Golden Bears collected hits, including Christina Salinas, who had a first-career Golden Bear hit.
• Madison Mason picked up the sole extra-base hit for the Golden Bears with a double.
• Gianna Amundsen led the Bluejays with two hits in three at-bats, including a double.
• Ava Blanchard earned the win with eight strikeouts and only gave up two earned runs.
• The Golden Bears won the game 5-2.

Up Next:

• The Golden Bears will return to the diamond tomorrow, March 21, 2024, as they take on Amherst College in game one at 9:00 AM and Kalamazoo College at 1:45 PM. 
• The Pioneers will play their final games of "The Spring Games" tournament tomorrow, March 21, 2024, against the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Manchester University at 1:30 PM and 4:00 PM. The Bluejays will take on Wellesley College and Washington and Jefferson College tomorrow, March 21, 2024, at 9:15 AM and 11:30 AM in Clermont, Florida.