SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 7, 2025) – The Western New England softball team has announced their 40-game schedule for the upcoming 2025 season. That schedule includes a 12-game road trip in Kissimmee, Florida, starting on March 8, and 14 doubleheaders spanning from March 29 to May 3.
The Golden Bears will start their 2025 campaign with their usual trip to "The Spring Games" in Florida, which spans from March 8 through March 14. The Golden Bears will start their time in the Sunshine State with a game versus Lebanon Valley College and one against Wheaton College. Lebanon Valley College and WNE will meet for the first time in their histories during that first game for WNE. The following day, UMass-Dartmouth and Otterbein University are on the docket, with this being the first matchup between WNE and Otterbein in the two teams' history. Hiram College and Carlow University will follow on day three of WNE's time at "The Spring Games." Neither team has met the Golden Bears before, either. On Tuesday, March 11, the Golden Bears are in action for their fourth day in a row of competition. They will meet Swarthmore College and Ohio Wesleyan University on that day, with Swarthmore being another first-time matchup for the teams. After a day of rest, the Golden Bears will conclude their time in Florida with two games on Thursday, March 13, and Friday, March 14. Thursday, WNE will take on Carroll University and Gettysburg College, with the Bullets and Golden Bears meeting for the first time. Friday, WNE meets Mount Saint Mary College and Ithaca College to conclude their time at "The Spring Games."
The reigning CCC, now CNE, champs will start their quest towards back-to-back titles with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 29, versus Nichols College. The Golden Bears have won three consecutive games against the Bison and five of their last six meetings. The following day, March 30, the Golden Bears step on the dirt at Golden Bear Softball Park for the first time in the 2025 season. They will host the Colonels of Curry College in a doubleheader starting at noon. WNE will be looking to uphold a win streak that spans ten games versus the Colonels. On April 1, the team will travel across town for a nonconference doubleheader clash with their in-town rival, Springfield College. The Golden Bears are 2-2 in their last four games versus the Pride, including a win in their lone matchup last season. The team will jump back into conference play with another full weekend of conference games. They start on Saturday, April 5, when they host the Wentworth Institute of Technology in a doubleheader starting at noon. The Golden Bears have only lost three times to the Leopards in 34 meetings and took two of the three games played against them last season. The weekend slate concludes on April 6 with a doubleheader versus the University of New England. The Golden Bears have controlled this matchup lately, winning seven of the last eight contests, but UNE took the most recent matchup 8-5.
WNE will follow that four-game weekend with a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 8, when they host their western Massachusetts foes, Westfield State University. The Golden Bears are 17-9 in this series, dating back to 2004, and took both games of their doubleheader in 2024. Saturday, April 12, sees a heavyweight matchup with Endicott College return to Golden Bear Softball Park. The Golden Bears are looking to snap a five-game skid versus the Gulls with these two games on home soil in the middle of April. The following day, April 13, the Golden Bears will travel to Hartford Softball Field for a doubleheader for the first time in the team's history. They faced off with the Hawks for the first time last season and went 1-1 in their doubleheader. The team will then have three days of rest before hosting the Owls of Keene State College on Thursday, April 17, starting at 3:00 PM. The Golden Bears are 9-3 against the Owls, dating back to 2004. They currently have a six-game win streak and are looking to get two more in their mid-week doubleheader. WNE will then wrap up their week early with a Friday conference clash versus Gordon College. The doubleheader at Golden Bear Softball Park will mark the 33rd and 34th meetings between the teams since 2004. The Golden Bears have only dropped four games versus the Fighting Scots since the '04 season began and have won five consecutive games.
The final eight days of the regular season see WNE on the road to start with a Saturday showdown on April 26 versus Roger Williams University. The doubleheader being a rematch of the conference championship series last season. The Golden Bears have won ten of the previous eleven contests versus the Hawks. Then, April 30 sends the Golden Bears up to Amherst College for a doubleheader meeting with the Mammoths. WNE has only won six games versus Amherst dating back to 2004 but are currently on a three-game win streak. May begins with Eastern Connecticut State University visiting WNE for the team's final nonconference doubleheader of the season. The two teams have had battles recently, including the teams splitting their two previous doubleheaders. The final regular season contests of the 2025 year will be played on May 3 for the softball team. They will host the Suffolk University Rams in a doubleheader conference clash, which very well could have conference tournament implications on the line. WNE has only lost three times to the Rams since 2004, including one contest last season. However, over the previous three seasons, the Golden Bears have won the other six matchups.
The reigning conference champion Golden Bears will be led by head coach Amanda Novak in Novak's seventh season in charge of the WNE softball team. Novak has accumulated a record of 123-74 in those seven seasons at the helm.
The Conference of New England postseason tournament will begin on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. It will run through Sunday, May 11, 2025, with the championship game being played on Saturday, May 10, 2025, with the possibility that a second game be played on Sunday.
To take a look at the full WNE Softball schedule, click here.
