SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 4, 2025) – WNE returned to Golden Bear Softball Park for a doubleheader clash with the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology. Game one saw the Golden Bears get the first run of the game. However, a Lauren Trostel homerun would earn the Leopards a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning. The Golden Bears would score four in the bottom of the fourth and use that inning to propel them to a 5-2 game-one victory. Game two would see the teams fight back and forth, with a two-run walk-off single from Marley Rodriguez being the difference as the Golden Bears secured the two-game sweep of the Leopards.

Game 1: Western New England 5, Wentworth Institute 2

The Golden Bears and Leopards met in Springfield, Massachusetts, for a CNE doubleheader on Friday. Golden Bears pitcher Ava Blanchard and Leopards pitcher Julie Schriver would both get through the first inning without giving up a run despite both pitchers giving up a hit to the opposition. The second inning saw the Leopards get runners on second and third, but Blanchard would keep them there and get out of the second without giving up a run. Schriver would let up a hit as well in the bottom of the inning. However, Schriver would have similar success to Blanchard and would get out of the inning with the score stuck at zero. The third inning saw the Golden Bears take the lead. After Blanchard was able to get the Leopards out one, two, three in the top of the inning, the Golden Bears took the lead. It was Riley Kane who slapped a double off the fence in left-center field. That drove Marley Rodriguez home, and WNE led 1-0 after the third inning. However, the Leopards would not shy away, and with one swing of the bat, they had a 2-1 lead. It was Lauren Trostel who hit a home run over the center field fence with a runner on second to give the Leopards the lead in the top of the fourth. The Golden Bears would not let that lead stand for long, though. It would start with the Golden Bears having runners on second and third with no outs. Ava Barnhart would single to left field, and Keira Czarkowski scored to tie the game 2-2. Schriver would get the next two batters out, striking out the second batter. However, the Golden Bears would rally. Marley Rodriguez doubled to bring Kim Baumann home. Then, Riley Kane would send a hit through the left side of the infield, which scored both Barnhart and Rodriguez. The Golden Bears had stretched their lead to 5-2 after four innings of play. The top of the fifth inning saw the Leopards get a hit but could not score another run on Blanchard's watch. The Golden Bears would bat in the bottom of the fifth, with Maddy Longoria pitching for the Leopards. Longoria would sit the Golden Bears down one, two, three, and the game went to the sixth inning. The sixth inning saw Blanchard not allow a Leopard batter on base in the top of the inning, and even though the Golden Bears had runners on second and third with one out, Longoria would get out of the situation and keep the score at 5-2 going into the seventh inning. Blanchard would see three batters and get all three out to end the game and earn the Golden Bears their third conference win of the season, 5-2.

Around the Diamond:

• The Golden Bears were led at the plate by Riley Kane, who went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.
• Marley Rodriguez, Kim Baumann, and Ava Barnhart each went 2-for-3, with Rodriguez and Barnhart each picking up an RBI in game one. Rodriguez had the other extra-base hit with a double.
• Ava Blanchard led the Golden Bears from the pitching circle by pitching a complete game, letting up one earned run and striking out two batters.
• The Leopards were led at the plate by Lauren Tostel, who had a two-run home run.
• Four other Leopard batters had a hit, with Katelin Howe, Linnea Carlson, and Katie Kranz each having doubles.
• Julie Schriver and Maddy Longoria combined to pitch six innings, letting up ten hits, five earned runs, and picking up three strikeouts.
• The Golden Bears won game one versus the Leopards, 5-2.

Game 2: Western New England 4, Wentworth Institute 3

Game two saw the first inning start, similarly to game one. Riley Kane would pitch for the Golden Bears and would strike out the first two batters before letting up a hit and then getting the final Leopard batter to ground out. Jess Rowe would get the first two Golden Bear batters out before a Riley Kane single. However, Rowe got the final batter to ground out, and the score was tied 0-0 after the first. The second inning started with a bang as Leopards pitcher Jess Rowe sent the ball over the left field fence for a leadoff homerun to give WIT the 1-0 lead. Kane would get the next three batters out to keep the deficit at one going into the bottom of the second. Rowe would follow the home run up by striking out two Golden Bears and getting the other to foul out to keep the Leopards in the lead going into the third inning. Kane answered by making quick work of the Leopards in the top of the third. Kane struck out batter one and got the next two to ground out, which sent play to the bottom of the third. The Golden Bears had a great chance in the third as Ava Barnhart started the inning with a triple down the right-field line. However, the Golden Bears could not get Barnhart home, and the score stayed 1-0 going into the fourth. WNE's defense would hold up in the top of the fourth once again. Kane saw one runner get on base but would not let the runner get home and kept the deficit at one, going to the bottom of the fourth. Then, just like in game one, the bottom of the fourth was when the Golden Bears took the lead. A single by Gracie Hemstock led to an error in the infield, which brought Riley Kane home. Then, a wild pitch saw Alex Ferriouolo run home, and WNE had a 2-1 lead after the fourth inning. Kane would take care of business in the top of the fifth by sitting down the Leopards one, two, three, with the second out happening because of a spectacular grab from Gracie Hemstock, who jumped up and snagged the ball out of the air. The Golden Bears held on to a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the fifth. Julia Malowitz would enter the pitching circle for the Leopards. Malowitz would mirror Kane and get all three Golden Bear batters out to move the game to the sixth inning. The Leopards would strike in the top of the sixth. They would load the bases with one out. Kane would strike out the next batter, but then, with two outs, Lauren Trostel would come through with a hit into center field for WIT, which drove two runs in. WIT led 3-2 going into the bottom of the inning. The Golden Bears would get a runner to second with two outs but could not get the runner home, and the Leopards would take a 3-2 lead into the seventh. The top of the seventh saw Kane get the first two Leopard batters out with two pitches. Then, Kane got the final out, which led to the Golden Bears having one more chance in the bottom of the seventh to extend or win the game. The Golden Bears would see their first batter get on base. Then, they would have runners on second and third with two outs and Marley Rodriguez at the plate. Rodriguez would turn on a 0-2 pitch. Rodriguez slapped it past the shortstop and into left field. Kelsey Bouchard and Shea McDaniel would score, and the Golden Bears won game two and swept the Leopards thanks to a Marley Rodriguez walk-off single to left field.

Around the Diamond:

• The Golden Bears were led at the plate by Riley Kane, who went 2-for-3 and scored a run.
• Marley Rodriguez hit the walk-off single to win the game for the Golden Bears.
• Ava Barnhart had the lone extra-base hit for WNE in game two as Varnhart hit a triple.
• Riley Kane also led the Golden Bears from the pitching circle with a complete game, five-hit, three-earned run, five-strikeout performance.
• Kyla Igawa led the Leopards at the plate in game two by going 2-for-3 from the plate.
• Jess Rowe had the lone extra-base hit for the Leopards, and that hit was a home run.
• Jess Rowe and Julia Malowitz pitched 6.2 innings. They gave up a combined eight runs, two earned runs, and Rowe had four strikeouts.
• The Golden Bears took game two 4-3.

Coach's Corner:

Game two's starting pitcher, Riley Kane, game two's walk-off hitter, Marley Rodriguez, and head coach, Amanda Novak, were interviewed after both games had concluded. Riley Kane was first asked to talk about Kane's performances from both the plate and the pitching circle today. "I think from the plate, I was just changing my approach and trying to time up the pitchers and just leaning on my teammates, knowing that they were gonna be on base… Then, in the second game, same thing. My teammates had my back a lot in the field. (Kane was) just focusing on what the batter did before and talking to my pitching coach about what we were gonna throw to them and just being strategic with what batters like and what they don't," Kane stated. Kane was then asked to take us through Kane's approach to the seventh inning after the Leopards scored two runs and took the lead in the sixth. "We saw the batters hit twice before, so just knowing if they were gonna be late on the changeup or ahead of it, and we focused more on my drop curve and my changeup in that inning just to put movement on the ball," Kane answered.

The hero of game two, Marley Rodriguez, was asked to take us through the at-bat where Rodriguez had the walk-off single. "I was really just dependent on my teammates because just hearing them cheer really made a difference when it comes to the plate, and just the mentality of it, I knew I had full confidence that all I had to do was put the ball on the ground and we would get it done," Rodriguez noted. Rodriguez was then asked to talk about how Rodriguez was seeing the pitches today at the plate after a great performance today. "I think I had more confidence in this game solely because of my teammates. I knew that even if I didn't get the ball down, I knew the person behind me would," Rodriguez remarked.

Head coach Amanda Novak was asked to talk about the team's reliance today after getting two critical wins today. "I think that we played really solid defense today, which really helped our pitching staff. We did give up some runs that we probably shouldn't have, but I think in the end, we buckled down when we needed to, and they just trusted each other up at the plate, and they made adjustments when needed. I think that that was huge. Bri getting on base was huge for us. They kept continuing to pass the bat, which was great," Novak mentioned. When asked to talk about that final at-bat from Marley, Novak said, "It was great. You could tell, her first swing, she was not as confident in herself as she should have been based on the day that she had. She just came through when we needed her to, and she just kept it simple, which was great. It was definitely two huge wins that we needed."

Up Next:

The Golden Bears will host Westfield State University on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM. The Golden Bears have been 17-9 versus the Owls since 2004, and they took both games last season at Westfield State University.