SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (May 3, 2025) – The Golden Bears hosted their conference finale as they took on the Suffolk University Rams. The Golden Bears capitalized on the first pitch of game one when Marley Rodriguez hit a first-career Golden Bear home run. The Golden Bears scored four runs in the first, two in the second, and one in the third on route to a 7-3 game one victory. Game two saw a pitching battle won by Riley Kane, where the Golden Bears won 2-0 and swept the Rams on senior day to complete the season.

Game 1: Western New England 7, Suffolk 3

Senior Ava Blanchard started senior day with a great one, two, three first inning, picking up a strikeout versus the second batter. Lily Newhall started the game for the Rams in the pitching circle, but Marley Rodriguez continued the perfect start to the Golden Bears' senior day with a first-pitch, leadoff home run to center field, which bounced off the top of the fence and went over. WNE had an early 1-0 lead on Rodriguez's first-career Golden Bear home run. Then, with the bases loaded and one out, Nicolina Salanto slapped a single through the left side of the infield, which brought home Gracie Hemstock and Riley Kane. WNE led 3-0. Then, Kim Baumann hit into a double play, but it still brought Alex Ferriouolo home to give WNE a 4-0 lead going into the second. The Rams got their first two hits and loaded the bases with one out. However, Ferriouolo made a diving grab at shortstop and threw out the runner at third for the double play, and WNE was out of the inning. They grabbed two more runs in the bottom of the second. A one-out sacrifice fly ball to right field brought Ava Barnhart home to give the Golden Bears a five-run lead. Then, Gracie Hemstock hit a single into center field to bring Marley Rodriguez home, and WNE had a 6-0 lead. After the run, Ashley Conley entered as the Suffolk pitcher and got the final out. Blanchard kept up the stellar performance with a five-pitch, three-out inning to bring the Golden Bears back to the plate in the bottom of the third. The Golden Bears got one more run in the fourth. Shelby Blanchart hit a single up the middle of the infield with two runners on and two outs for Blanchart's first hit of the season, bringing Kim Baumann home. WNE led 7-0 going into the fourth inning. The Rams answered with two runs in the fourth. Lily Newhall hit a single with runners on second and third and one out. That brought a runner home, and Suffolk trailed by six. Avery Carvalho then had a similar single to bring another run home with two outs, and that brought a runner home. The Golden Bears led 7-2, and Blanchard got the final out to move the game to the bottom of the fourth. Conley got the Golden Bears out one, two, three in the fourth and kept the Rams' deficit at five going into the fifth. Blanchard let up a leadoff single in the fifth but got the next three out to keep the Golden Bears in the lead 7-2. Conley continued the top-notch relieving performance by getting three more consecutive outs versus the Golden Bears in the fifth. Blanchard answered by facing four batters and letting up a hit but getting three outs to keep the lead stuck at five going into the bottom of the sixth inning. Conley picked up two strikeouts in the bottom of the sixth and got the final batter to ground out to make it ten consecutive outs for Conley. The top of the seventh saw the Rams down to their final three outs of game one. The Rams had a leadoff double. That brought Riley Kane in to pitch. Kane started by getting the first two outs of the inning. Then, Jolie Quintana hit a single through the middle of the infield, bringing the third Ram run home. However, Kane would finish the game with the next batter grounding out, and WNE had a victory in game one, 7-3.

Around the Diamond:

• The Golden Bears were led at the plate by Marley Rodriguez's 2-for-4, one double, one home run, and one RBI performance.
• Gracie Hemstock also led WNE at the plate with a 2-for-3, one-RBI performance.
• Ava Blanchard pitched six innings, letting up eight hits, three runs, two earned runs, and struck out one batter.
• Riley Kane pitched one inning, let up one hit, and got the final three outs for WNE.
• Suffolk was led by Jolie Quintana, who went 2-for-4 from the plate with an RBI.
• Diana Rucinski had the lone extra-base hit for the Rams with a double.
• The Rams pitchers pitched six innings, striking out two batters and letting up nine hits and seven runs.
• WNE won game one 7-3.

Game 2: Western New England 2, Suffolk 0

Game two began with Riley Kane and Diana Rucinski facing off in the pitching circle. The top of the first saw the Rams load the bases with two outs, but they could not get the first run as Kane got the final batter to ground into a fielder's choice. Kane also had a strikeout in the first inning. Rucinski quickly dealt with the Golden Bears in the first with three outs and a walk versus the third batter. Kane responded with a similar inning: Kane saw four batters and let up one hit, but got three outs and brought the Golden Bears to the plate in the bottom of the second. Rucinski let up the first Golden Bear hit in the second but would get three outs, with the final one being a strikeout, which would keep the game scoreless going into the third inning. Kane dealt with the Rams in five pitches, one, two, three in the top of the third. That was answered by Rucinski facing four batters and getting three out while letting up a single. They brought the fourth inning up, with the teams tied at zero. Kane let up a leadoff single in the top of the fourth but got the next three outs, and WNE entered the bottom of the inning looking for the game's first run. Rucinski saw three batters and got three out. Rucinski struck out the final two batters looking. The fifth inning saw two Rams batters get on base with two outs, but once again, Riley Kane got out of the inning without letting up a run. Shea McDaniel gave the Golden Bears the 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning with a big double to left-center field, which brought Alyssa Poisson home. That was the only run let up by the Rams, and the deficit was one for the Rams going into the sixth inning. The top of the sixth started with a Rams batter sending a rocket to the left of shortstop, but Alex Ferriouolo made an unreal diving catch to retire the first Suffolk batter. Kane got the next two batters out and that was a one, two, three inning for the Golden Bears. Kim Baumann would extend the Golden Bear lead by reaching on an error by the Rams' defense. That brought Kelsey Bouchard home as an insurance run for WNE. The Rams got out of the inning after that to keep the deficit at two going into the top of the seventh inning. The Rams had a runner on first with two outs. With two outs, the Rams batter hit a 3-2 pitch over the left field fence but just foul. The very next pitch saw Kane strike out the batter, and WNE won game two 2-0 and swept the Rams on senior day.

Around the Diamond:

• The Golden Bears had six batters get hits in game two.
• Shea McDaniel had the lone extra-base hit. It was a double.
• Riley Kane pitched a complete-game shutout, letting up four hits and striking out two batters to earn the win.
• The Rams were led by Diana Rucinski, who went 2-for-3 in game two.
• Three batters got a hit for the Rams in game two.
• Cynthia Rucinski pitched a complete game for the Golden Bears. Rucinski let up one earned run and struck out three batters.
• WNE won game two 2-0 to complete the sweep.

Coach's Corner:

Head Coach Amanda Novak started the coach's interview by discussing the senior class recognized on Senior Day. When asked about what they mean to Coach Novak, Novak answered, "A lot! They are an incredible group of young women. They have done so much for the program. They have been our backbone this year. They have played a bunch of games, and they have done a really great job…" Novak was asked what it took to get the two wins today. "In the first game, we hit the ball really well. Ava Blanchard pitched a great game. I think in the second game, we felt it a little, but when we needed a big hit, Shea came up and got it done for us, and then we added the insurance run, which was great. We just need to continue to hit well in the first game and then in the second game. The pitching and the defense today did really well and so I'm very proud of them," Novak remarked. After being asked what it was going to take in the playoffs to get to the championship game and win, Novak concluded the interview by stating, "In the postseason, it's all different now. It doesn't matter what anyone did in the regular season, so I think we need to go out and play Golden Bear softball, and we'll be just fine."

Up Next:

The Golden Bears will travel to Dudley, Massachusetts, on Tuesday for the start of the CNE postseason tournament. They will take on the Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards. The time is still to be determined.