SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 9, 2024) – The Golden Bears hosted the Bison of Nichols College in a doubleheader, which was rescheduled from Saturday, April 6, 2024. The Golden Bears would get the win in game one thanks to a three-run fifth inning, which broke open the game. Marley Rodriguez had a double, which brought two runs home in that inning. The Golden Bears won 5-1. Riley Kane got the complete game win while giving up one earned run and striking out three batters. Game two saw the Golden Bears get out to a 4-0 lead after three innings and hold on for a 5-4 win. Ava Blanchard would get the win while picking up the 200th career strikeout. Kane would enter in the sixth and get the save. Gracie Hemstock and Madison Mason each went 2-3, with one RBI to lead the Golden Bears.

Records:
Western New England: 10-7 (3-1)
Nichols College: 9-9 (4-2)

Game 1: Western New England 5, Nichols 1
Game one started with Riley Kane getting the Bison to ground out twice and then strike out to end the top of the first inning. Then, after Chelsea Indyk got the first two Golden Bear batters out, Kailey Carrano started a two-out rally for the Golden Bears with a double to left field. Lizzie Weston would send a hit into left field, which bounced off the left fielder, and Carrano would score. The Golden Bears were up 1-0. With runners on first and second and two outs, Bailey Littlefield sent a hit just over second base, and Erin Gour scored. The game was tied 1-1. The bottom of the second saw the Golden Bears get two on with two out; however, Indyk got out of the inning by striking out the final batter. The third inning saw a combined six batters from both teams and six outs from both pitchers. Riley Kane would get the Bison to go one, two, three in the top of the fourth. Then, Kaleigh Blades would send a double over the center fielder's head. That brought Riley Kane home, and the Golden Bears led 2-1. Kane would not let the Bison get on base in the fifth, making it nine outs in a row for Kane and the Golden Bear defense. Then, after the first two WNE batters flew out, Madison Mason walked, and a two-out rally began.

Kane singled to move Mason to third and would get to second on the throw. Then, first-year infielder Marley Rodriguez sent a double to deep left-center field, and the Golden Bears had a 4-1 lead. Blades followed that with a single to right field, which brought Rodriguez home, and the Golden Bears had a 5-1 lead. That is when Ally McNamee entered the game for the Bison at pitcher. The Bison would threaten in the top of the sixth. They had runners on first and second, with one out. However, Kane got the next batter to strike out and the last batter to pop out, and the Golden Bears got out of the inning. The Golden Bears got two on, with one out in the bottom of the sixth. However, Olivia Pedro entered the game at pitcher for the Bison, and Pedro would get the next two Golden Bear batters out to move the game to the seventh inning. In their final chance of the game, the Bison would face Riley Kane one more time. Kane got each batter faced to line out, and the Golden Bears got the win 5-1.

Around the Diamond:
·      Kaleigh Blades led the team by going 2-for-2 with a walk, two RBIs, and a double.
·      Marley Rodriguez and Kailey Carrano each had one hit, and both were doubles. Rodriguez had two RBIs.
·      Four Bison batters went 1-for-3 during the game. Bailey Littlefield had the lone RBI for the Bison.
·      Chelsea Indyk pitched 4.2 innings, giving up four earned runs and striking out three batters.
·      Ally McNamee pitched 0.2 innings, giving up no earned runs. Olivia Pedro pitched 0.2 innings, giving up no earned runs, as well.
·      Riley Kane pitched a complete game, letting up one earned run to earn the win.
·      The Golden Bears won the game 5-1.

Game 2: Western New England 5, Nichols 4

Ava Blanchard started game two in the pitching circle for the Golden Bears. Blanchard let up a single in the first inning but would not let up a run. Then, just like the first inning of game one, the Golden Bears had a two-out rally to get runs on the scoreboard first. Lizzie Weston singled with two outs. The ball would get past the center fielder, and Gracie Hemstock scored on the error. Then, Madison Mason doubled to left field. That brought Weston home, and the Golden Bears led 2-0 after the first inning. The top of the second inning was a special one for Ava Blanchard. With one out, Blanchard would get the second batter to strike out, and that became Blanchard's 200th career strikeout as a Golden Bear. Blanchard would sit the Bison down one, two, three to get the Golden Bears to the bottom of the inning. Outside of Kaleigh Blades getting to first after getting hit, the Golden Bears were shut down in the second. The third saw two get on for the Bison with one out, but Blanchard fought out of the pressure, and the Bison stranded two. With runners on second and third and two outs, Alex Ferriouolo sent a single down the left field line, which scored two, and the Golden Bears led 4-0. Kyla Felicani answered for the Bison in the top of the fourth inning with a two-out double down the left-field line. That brought Emily Iannuccilli and Bailey Littlefield home, and the score was cut to 4-2. After a double from Shea McDaniel, Cassidy Machado entered the game for the Bison at pitcher. Then, Gracie Hemstock answered that hit with a two-out single, which Shea McDaniel scored on to extend the Golden Bear lead to 5-2.

The Bison would not shy away, though. With one out and runners on first and third, Allie Silliman hit a sacrifice fly ball to right field, and that brought Chloe Steiniger home. Right after that, Erin Gour hit a single to left field, and that brought Lilly Fangel home. The Bison were down by only one. Blanchard got the final out, and the Golden Bears were up. Machado sat the Golden Bears one, two, three. The top of the sixth saw Blanchard get the first two outs. However, after back-to-back singles, Riley Kane entered the game at pitcher. Kane got the final out of the top of the sixth. The Golden Bears had a runner on in the bottom of the inning but could not bring the runner home. Then, in the seventh, Kane got the first two batters to fly out and line out, respectively. Finally, Kane struck out the final batter, and the Golden Bears won the game 5-4.

Around the Diamond:
·      The Golden Bears were led by Gracie Hemstock and Madison Mason, who each went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
·      Madison Mason and Shea McDaniel each had a double during the game.
·      Chloe Steiniger went 3-for-4 for the Bison, and Kyla Felicani went 3-for-3, with two RBIs to lead the Bison.
·      Olivia Pedro pitched three innings for the Bison, giving up four earned runs. Cassidy Machado pitched three innings, giving up no earned runs and getting two strikeouts.
·      Ava Blanchard pitched 5.2 innings, giving up four earned runs and striking out six batters to earn the win and pick up a 200th career strikeout.
·      Riley Kane pitched 1.1 innings, letting up no earned runs, and struck out one to earn the save.
·      The Golden Bears won the game 5-4.

Up Next:
·      The Golden Bears are back in action tomorrow, April 10, 2024, as they travel to Westfield, Massachusetts, for a doubleheader with the Owls of Westfield State at 3:30 PM and 5:30 PM.
·      The Bison will return home for their next doubleheader, as they host Rhode Island College at 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.