SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (May 14, 2025) – The Western New England Softball team earned a spot in the 2025 NCAA Softball Championship bracket thanks to their eight-inning, 1-0 CNE Championship game win versus Nichols College. It was then announced on Monday, May 12, 2025, that they would travel to Virginia Beach, Virginia, to take on Virginia Wesleyan University on Thursday, May 15, 2025.
Western New England's 2025 Season:
The 2024 Commonwealth Coast Conference champions began their title defense down in Florida. They got their first of 26 total wins this season on their first day of competition down at The Spring Games. They would take down Lebanon Valley College 10-5 on Saturday, March 8. The Golden Bears would go .500 down in the Sunshine State. They lost game two of that first day 8-2 to North Central College. They won both games during day two, 7-1 and 3-2, versus UMass-Dartmouth and Otterbein University. They split on day three, 2-1 and 6-5, with a loss to Hiram College and a win versus Carlow University (Pa.). They would drop both games on day four with a 7-0 loss to Swarthmore College, a potential opposition in this NCAA regional bracket. They would drop their second contest of that Tuesday doubleheader to Ohio Wesleyan University 9-6 in nine innings of play. After a day off, the final four games of WNE's time in Florida saw them go 2-2 with a win over Carroll University 5-1, a loss to Gettysburg College 8-5, a win versus Mount Saint Mary College (NY) 12-1 in five innings, and a loss to Ithaca College 4-3 in 10 innings.
The Golden Bears returned to Springfield for their first conference doubleheader on March 30 after a doubleheader with Nichols College was moved to March 31 due to weather. They would split with Curry College, losing 5-4 and winning 5-1. The next day, they split their doubleheader with the Bison winning 7-3 and losing 5-4 in nine innings. They then returned home for a doubleheader sweep versus the Wentworth Institute of Technology 5-2 and 4-3 after the games were moved up a day due to impending weather. They continued their four-game win streak with a doubleheader sweep versus Westfield State University 5-4 and 6-2, two days after originally scheduled because of weather. Then, the Golden Bears would play three doubleheaders in a row between April 16 and April 18 because of poor weather. The blue and gold had a 4-2 conference record going into that week. They traveled to West Hartford for a doubleheader with the University of Hartford. They dropped game one 5-3 in eight innings and then tied game two 4-4 after having to stop the game due to darkness. The Golden Bears bounced back from the 0-1-1 start to the week with four consecutive wins. They defeated nonconference opponents Keene State College 10-1 and 11-2, with both games ending after five innings. Then, they acquired two more conference victories with a 5-4 and 13-3 win in five innings versus Gordon College.
With 12 games left in the regular season, the Golden Bears were 16-9-1 and 6-3-1 in the conference. The WNE softball team had another three doubleheaders in a row from April 22 to April 24 due to weather. The Golden Bears dropped their first four of six games that week. They lost two to Endicott College at home, 11-0 and 8-0 in five and six innings, respectively. They then lost to Springfield College 5-0 and 2-0 before traveling to Biddeford, Maine, where they swept UNE 6-3 and 6-2. They then split with Roger Williams University, losing 7-3 and winning 5-3 in eight innings to start their final week of regular season games. WNE would cancel their doubleheader with Amherst College to play that doubleheader versus the Hawks. They would follow that split with RWU with a home split versus Eastern Connecticut State University, winning 7-1 and losing 2-1. The team concluded their regular season versus Suffolk University. They recognized their seniors and swept the Rams 7-3 and 2-0 to earn a 22-15-1 regular season record with an 11-6-1 conference record, placing the team third in the conference.
That placement sent WNE to Dudley, Massachusetts, for the first round of the CNE Postseason Tournament. The Golden Bears would rally from down by four at two times versus Wentworth Institute of Technology and then win the game in the bottom of the seventh after being down by two going into the final inning. Ava Barnhart hit the walk-off single to win 8-7. The Golden Bears would then play Nichols College in the quarterfinals and again win via a comeback. They entered the top of the seventh inning trailing 3-1. Ava Barnhart had the game-winning hit to gift the Golden Bears a 4-3 win. The next day, they came back from a 5-0 deficit versus Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts, during the CNE Postseason Tournament semifinals. The Golden Bears used a five-run sixth inning to defeat the Gulls 6-5 due to a Nicolina Salanto game-winning hit. Then, in the conference championship game, Ava Barnhart hit another walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth inning versus Nichols College to win 1-0. The Golden Bears became back-to-back conference champions, sending the team to the NCAA Championships once again.
Virginia Wesleyan University 2025 Schedule:
Virginia Wesleyan University picked up their second consecutive 40-win season in 2025. They started the season on a 13-game win streak, which included four wins at the Triangle Collegiate Softball Classic in Raleigh, North Carolina. That included a win over No. 15-ranked Berry College 7-3. They followed that up with their Cross Bay Bash, where they hosted and defeated No. 1-ranked East Texas Baptist University 6-1 and No. 22-ranked Moravian University 5-0. They defeated George Fox University once and lost their first game of the season to George Fox University 4-1.
After the loss, they would go on a nine-game win streak, with eight of the nine games being wins versus Old Dominion Athletic Conference teams (the University of Lynchburg, Randolph College, Guilford College, and Averett University). They would defeat No. 8 Salisbury University 5-2 before tying with the Sea Gulls 4-4. They would go on another 9-0 run after that, with all nine wins being within the ODAC once again. Bridgewater College ended the 19-game unbeaten streak with a 5-4 loss in eight innings. They defeated Shenandoah University, Eastern Mennonite University, Roanoke College, Ferrum College, and Bridgewater College during that third win streak of the season. No. 3-ranked Christopher Newport University added a second consecutive loss to VWU 9-4 before the Marlins answered with a 9-7 win versus CNU. They won their final four games of the season versus No. 18-ranked Randolph-Macon College and Sweet Briar College. They followed that by winning five consecutive games in the ODAC Championship Tournament.
They enter the NCAA Championships with a 41-3-1 record and concluded the season with a 21-1 conference record. They ended the season as the ODAC champions and won 19 of their 41 games, or 42.2 percent of their games in five or six innings. They are on a ten-game win streak and are 19-2-1 at home.
Swarthmore College 2025 Schedule:
The Garnet of Swarthmore College started their 32-win season at the Salisbury Tournament, where they won their first two games 9-2 versus the No. 16-ranked University of Rochester and the No. 13-ranked Salisbury University. Then they dropped two games to the same two teams. They continued their season at The Spring Games in Florida. They dropped their first three games in Winter Haven, Florida. They followed that with four wins in a row, including a 7-0 win versus the Golden Bears, but concluded their time in Florida with a 4-3 loss to Nichols College and concluded their time at The Spring Games with a 4-4 record in Florida.
They returned to Pennsylvania, and after a loss to Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, they went on a 16-game win streak where they took down Eastern University, Immaculata University, Widener University, Neumann University, Muhlenberg College, Franklin & Marshall College, McDaniel College, Ursinus College, and No. 13-ranked Gettysburg College during that run. They dropped the second game to Gettysburg during their Senior Day festivities, 7-4, on April 13, 2025. The Garnet concluded their season on a 7-1 run, with their lone loss coming at the hands of Stockton University 5-2. They won all of their final six Centennial Conference games. They entered the CC Tournament as the top seed and would win games one and two before dropping the first championship game and winning the Centennial Championship in game two, 9-2.
They concluded the main part of their season 32-10 and 15-1 in the conference. They finished their season and enter the NCAA Championships on a 26-4 run and were 15-7 away from home during the season.
Messiah University 2025 Schedule:
The 33-11 Messiah University Falcons started their MAC Commonwealth Championship season with a doubleheader sweep of Methodist University on February 17, 5-2 and 6-5. They would then continue their season by splitting with their next three opponents: Eastern Mennonite University, Penn College, and Drew University. The Falcons then won seven of their next eight games, and their only loss came against the University of Puget Sound in Hawaii. They went 4-2 in six games in Hawaii during the university's spring break. They would drop two versus Catholic University of America 6-4 and 4-1 after the season's first two conference sweeps. They responded after getting swept by winning twelve games in a row, with three more conference sweeps versus Stevenson University, Hood College, and York College of Pennsylvania. Messiah would then drop their only conference game of the season versus Eastern University 4-2 before winning 10-5 in game two of that doubleheader on April 17. They would split in a doubleheader almost a week later versus the University of Mary Washington, who they had to reschedule twice. Their final five games of the season saw the Falcons drop their only game versus Salisbury University 7-0 before winning three of their final four games versus Widener University and Lebanon Valley College.
The Falcons went into the MAC Commonwealth Tournament as the top seed and won game two 12-1 in five innings before losing to Eastern University 7-5. They followed that loss with an 8-0 win versus Hood College, then two wins over Eastern University 3-2 and 7-0 to claim the MAC Commonwealth Championship.
Messiah enters the NCAA Championships on a three-game win streak and is 19-5 away from Grantham, Pennsylvania, and Starry Softball Field, the home of Falcon Softball. The Falcons will take on the Swarthmore College Garnet to start the NCAA Championships.
Western New England's Top Performers:
The Golden Bears are led by a committee at the plate this season. Sophomore First Team All-Conference Outfielder Marley Rodriguez led the team in hits and doubles with 48 hits and 14 doubles. Rodriguez also had one homerun, 22 RBIs, and a .348 batting average. Alex Ferriouolo led the Golden Bears in RBIs, extra-base hits, and home runs with 29 RBIs, 16 extra-base hits, and five home runs.
Riley Kane led the Golden Bears from the plate and the pitching circle. The All-Conference First Team Designated Player and Second Team All-Conference pitcher had a .381 batting average, picking up 40 hits, seven doubles, and three home runs, with a .533 slugging percentage. Kane had a 2.12 ERA while picking up 14 wins for WNE, including two shutouts and 65 strikeouts in 148.2 innings pitched.
Senior pitcher Ava Blanchard was part of the strong defensive unit for the Golden Bears this season by picking up 10 wins for WNE and had the lone save of the season during the CNE Championship game to send the Golden Bears to the NCAA Regionals. Blanchard has also led the Golden Bears with 69 strikeouts.
Virginia Wesleyan's Top Performers:
The Marlins have been led by a one-two punch from the plate as Morgan Tucker and Laci Campbell both hit over .400 in over 100 at-bats up to this point during the season. Tucker has a stat line of 59 hits, 15 doubles, three triples, and three home runs. Tucker had a .480 batting average, 60 RBIs, a .724 slugging percentage, and a .504 on-base percentage. Campbell has had a batting average of .407, with 48 hits, two doubles, three triples, two home runs, and 26 RBIs. Campbell led the team with 22 walks and a .523 on-base percentage.
Lauren Bible has led the pitching staff for the Falcons with a 23-1 record from the pitching circle. Bible has a 1.58 ERA, a .96 WHIP, nine complete games, two shutouts, 89 strikeouts, and one save in 132.2 innings pitched. Hannah Hearl led the Marlins in ERA with a 1.39 average. Hearl appeared in 26 games, earning 71 strikeouts, seven complete games, and two saves.
Swarthmore's Top Performers:
The Garnet are led similarly to WNE as they have multiple high-performing hitters with four batters seeing over 100 at-bats. Three of those four batters have a batting average of over .350. Emily Bertrand leads the squad with a .397 average and 136 at-bats. Bertrand has 54 hits, eight doubles, and one home run while picking up 35 RBIs during the season. Bertrand has a .478 slugging percentage and a .420 on-base percentage. Olivia McClammy holds the second-highest batting average in that group with a .378. McClammy has 127 at-bats during the season with 48 hits. McClammy leads the Garnet in doubles with 13, home runs with 7 of the 12 total home runs for Swarthmore, RBIs with 56, and total bases with 84. McClammy also holds a team-leading .661 slugging percentage, a team-leading 20 walks, and a .411 on-base percentage.
The pitching circle has seen seven pitchers enter during the season for Swarthmore. However, the Garnet are led by Lilly Goldberg, who has a 17-4 record with a 1.07 ERA and a .89 WHIP in 25 appearances this season. Goldberg has pitched 12 complete games, has seven shutouts, one save, and 149 strikeouts in 137.1 innings pitched. Lane Barron has been the other mainstay in the pitching circle for the Garnet. Barron has a 2.31 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 20 appearances. Barron has 12 wins on the season, with eight complete games, one shutout, and 73 strikeouts in 106 innings pitched.
Messiah's Top Performers:
Messiah enters the NCAA Championships with Allie Book leading the charge for the Falcons. Book enters the NCAA Tournament with a .429 batting average in 44 games played. The Falcons batting average leader also leads the team in hits with 57 and doubles with 13. Book has slapped three triples, two home runs, and has batted in 38 runs. Book also has a .617 slugging percentage and a .473 on-base percentage. Kandice Schlabach helps Book lead the way at the plate with a .391 batting average. Schlabach leads the team in RBIs (40), home runs (9), and walks (21). Schlabach has also added ten doubles and three triples in 133 total at-bats. Schlabach has a .714 slugging percentage and a .468 on-base percentage. When talking about the team leaders, one has to mention Hannah Dyer, who has led the Falcons in extra-base hits, with 25 of Dyer's 49 hits being extra-base hits with a team-high nine triples. Dyer has also stolen 44 bases.
The Falcons are led by Maggie Chinnadurai from a defensive perspective. Chinnadurai has a 1.16 ERA and a .91 WHIP in 30 appearances for the Falcons. The leading pitcher has won 22 games, including five shutouts. Chinnadurai has 13 complete games, two saves, and 123 strikeouts in 133.1 innings pitched.
The Games:
Western New England and Virginia Wesleyan University will face off at 11:00 AM on Thursday, May 15, 2025, in the opening game of the Virginia Beach Regional bracket of the NCAA Championship Tournament. The second game of that regional will be on Thursday at 1:30 PM. The winners of those games will battle on Friday, May 16, 2025, at 11:00 AM, and the losers of Thursday's games will compete in the first game of the loser's bracket at 1:30 PM, with the loser being out of the NCAA Championships and the winner taking on the loser of the 11:00 AM game at 4:00 PM on Friday. The winners of the winner's bracket game and the second loser's bracket game will compete for a spot in the NCAA Super Regional on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at 11:00 AM, with the "if necessary" game being at 1:30 PM. The winner's bracket team needs one win, and the loser's bracket winner needs two wins to move on.
To see a full schedule of the NCAA Championships, get more information about the tournament, watch the games, and follow the live stats, click here.
