Springfield, MA (April 7, 2024) – The Golden Bears were back home for a Sunday doubleheader with the University of Hartford, who had a five-game win streak. Game one saw the Hawks jump out to a 1-0 lead after the second inning. However, the Golden Bears would score eight unanswered runs between the third and sixth innings and won the game 8-3. Kailey Carrano led the Golden Bears by going 2-for-3, with five RBIs and a homerun. Riley Kane earned the win, giving up three earned runs and striking out five batters. Game two saw the game go ten innings after it was tied 1-1 at the end of seven innings. The Hawks would score seven in the top of the tenth to get the 10-4 win over the Golden Bears. Gia Miccio would go 2-4 for the Hawks and hit a three-run homerun in the tenth to secure the win for the Hawks.

Game 1: Western New England 8, Hartford 3

Riley Kane and Carly Mayhood were the pitchers for game one of the doubleheader between the Golden Bears and Hawks, respectively. The first inning saw both pitchers sit the opposing offense down one, two, three. The second saw the Hawks open the scoring with a one-out, one-on double for Gia Miccio. Miccio brought Mara Sczecienski home with the hit to make the score 1-0 Hawks. The Golden Bears looked to respond with a two-out rally. However, with runners on first and second and two out, Mayhood would strike out the final WNE batter to keep the Hawks in the lead. The third saw a runner get on base for the Hawks, but Kane would get the final two outs of the inning to keep the Golden Bears only down by one. Then, the WNE offense responded. Kaleigh Blades and Taylor Keegan started the inning with back-to-back singles. Then, with one out and two on, Kailey Carrano delivered a homerun to deep center field to give the Golden Bears a 3-1 lead. 

The Hawks looked to respond with two quick hits to start the fourth. However, Kane struck out the next three batters, and the two runners were stranded on base for the Hawks. Mayhood would stifle the WNE energy for the fourth inning by striking out two WNE batters and getting another to fly out. The Hawks would get an extra-base hit in the top of the fifth when Azya Walker doubled to left field. However, the Hawks could not bring Walker in. Alex Hassett entered the game at pitcher for the Hawks to start the bottom of the fifth. The Golden Bears would extend their lead to 5-1 in the fifth. Again, the inning started with Blades and Keegan getting on base. Then, Carrano singled to left field and brought both Keegan and Blades home again. Hassett would strike out the final Golden Bear batter to keep the game within four. The sixth inning saw the Golden Bears turn a double play and get out of the inning unscathed. WNE extended their lead once again in the sixth. Lizzie Weston and Madison Mason both singled to start the inning. Riley Kane then turned on a pitch and sent it down the left-field line for a triple. That brought Mason and Weston home to give the Golden Bears the 7-1 lead. Then, Kim Baumann grounded out, but it brought Kane home for an RBI. After six, the score was 8-1. The Hawks would get two more runs in the seventh to finish the game. Alexis Sealey sent the ball over the right field fence with one on and two out to make the score 8-3. Two batters later, Kane got the final out to earn a game-one win for the Golden Bears, 8-3.

Around the Diamond:

• The Golden Bears collected ten hits during game one.
• Kailey Carrano went 2-for-3 with five RBIs and a three-run homerun.
• Madison Mason, Riley Kane, and Kaleigh Blades all went 2-for-3, as well.
• Riley Kane had the other extra-base hit with a triple. 
• The Hawks were led at the plate by Mara Sczecienski, who went 3-for-3 with a double.
• The Hawks had five other extra-base hits. Alexis Sealey, Azya Walker, and Gia Miccio had doubles. Taylor Fitch had a triple, and Alexis Sealey had a homerun.
• Carly Mayhood pitched four innings and struck out four. Alex Hassett pitched two innings and had one strikeout.
• Riley Kane pitched a complete game and struck out five batters to earn the win.
• The Golden Bears won 8-3.

Game 2: Hartford 10, Western New England 4 (10 Innings)

The Golden Bears would start Ava Blanchard in the pitching circle for game two. The Hawks had Alexis Sealey in the circle. It was a pitching battle for most of the game. The top of the first saw Sealey get on base to start the game, but Blanchard would get the next three batters out. Then, Taylor Keegan got on to start the bottom of the inning, but the Golden Bears could not bring Keegan home. The second saw the Hawks go down in order one, two, three. The Golden Bears would get the first batter on base thanks to a Madison Mason single. However, they could not get Mason home.

Ava Blanchard and the WNE defense would not let a Hawk batter get on base in the top of the third, and that would spark momentum for the Golden Bears. Taylor Keegan slapped the ball into deep right-center field for a triple to start the inning. Gracie Hemstock would single to shortstop to bring Keegan home. The Golden Bears led 1-0. The Hawks would then turn a double play and get the third out to get out of the inning. The fourth inning saw Blanchard face three more Hawk batters and get three more out. The Golden Bears would get a runner on second with one out in the bottom of the inning. However, they could not get the runner home. Blanchard would get two quick outs in the fifth, but the Hawks would threaten with a two-out rally. However, with runners on first and second, Blanchard got the Hawks to hit into a fielder's choice to get out of the inning. Kaleigh Blades and Taylor Keegan both notched singles to start the bottom of the fifth. However, the Golden Bears hit into a double play, and the Hawks got out of the inning. The sixth saw six batters between both teams, and all six were put out. Then, in the top of the seventh, with the Golden Bears three outs from a sweep, Mara Sczecienski delivered with a double to start the inning. Then, with one out and runners on first and second, Anita Farkash singled down the left-field line to tie the game at one. Gracie Hopkins would enter the game at pitcher for the bottom of the seventh inning. The Golden Bears would have a runner on second and one out but could not get the runner home, and the game went to extras tied at one.

The top of the eighth saw the Hawks have two sacrifice hits to bring Sydney Matz home. Then, Gracie Hemstock would lay down a sacrifice bunt to move Taylor Keegan to third. After a Kailey Carrano walk, Alyssa Poisson pinch ran and stole second. With runners on second and third and two outs, Alex Ferriouolo reached base on an error, and Keegan scored. It was tied at two after eight, so a ninth inning was required. The Hawks would score on a single to left field from Adelie Beebe. The Golden Bears responded with Angie Carrasqui scoring on a sacrifice fly ball from Marley Rodriguez. Again, the score was tied, so the game went to a tenth inning. The Hawks would open up the game in the tenth. It started with Sydney Matz getting on base because of a Golden Bear error. Hailey Pruett scored to make the score 4-3 Hawks. With two on and two out in the tenth, Olivia Wolk hit a single to center field, and both Alexis Sealey and Sydney Matz scored to make it 6-3 Hawks. Riley Kane would then enter the game for the Golden Bears at pitcher. Wolk would then score on a single to left field from Beebe. Right after that, Gia Miccio sent the ball over the center field fence, and the Golden Bears were trailing 10-3. The Golden Bears had their last at-bats. The Golden Bears had runners on second and third, with one out. Kailey Carrano would ground out to second and bring Kaleigh Blades home. Then, the Hawks would get the final out to complete the 10-4 win in ten innings. 

Around the Diamond:

• Taylor Keegan led the Golden Bears by going 4-for-5 with a triple.
• Alexis Sealey, Gia Miccio, and Anita Farkash went 2-for-4, with Miccio having a homerun.
• Mara Sczecienski had the other extra-base hit for the Hawks, with a double.
• Ava Blanchard pitched 9.2 innings and had five strikeouts, giving up four earned runs.
• Alexis Sealey pitched six innings for the Hawks and struck out three, giving up one earned run.
• Gracie Hopkins earned the win for the Hawks with four innings pitched, no earned runs, and four strikeouts.
• The Hawks won game two 10-4.

Up Next:

• The Golden Bears will be back at home with a doubleheader against Nichols College on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM.
• The Hawks will take on American International College on April 11, 2024, at 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM at home.