MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Western New
England University softball team split a pair of non-conference contests
at Wesleyan University this afternoon. The Golden Bears defeated the
Cardinals, 2-0, in the opener behind a complete-game shutout effort from
senior pitcher Heidi Grieger (Hyde Park, N.Y.), before falling 7-6 in game two.
Western New England 2, Wesleyan 0
Single
runs in the first and third innings were enough to get the Golden Bears
past Wesleyan in game one, as Grieger turned in her second shutout of
the season. The senior scattered seven hits over seven innings, striking
out one batter and walking two to improve to 12-5 this spring.
Junior Gabby Lavinio (Dalton, Mass.) accounted for two of Western New England's three hits and
scored both of the team's runs, while senior Heather Fecteau (Biddeford, Maine) recorded the Golden Bears' lone RBI.
Lavinio led off the top of the first with a double, before advancing to third on a sacrifice and coming in to score when senior McKenzie Pezze (Albany, N.Y.) reached with the help of a Wesleyan error.
The
Golden Bears then doubled their advantage in the third, as Lavinio got
it started again with a leadoff single, and Fecteau came through later
in the frame with a two-out RBI single to right field.
Wesleyan
had its best chance to score in the sixth, with runners on first and
second and just one out, but Western New England escaped the situation
as Grieger retired the next two batters.
Junior Isabel Linzer (Arlington, Va.) led the Cardinals with two hits, while senior Angelina Massoia (Feeding Hills, Mass.) reached base twice with a walk and a single.
Senior Su Pardo
(Malverne, N.Y.) took the loss for Wesleyan despite a strong outing in
which she gave up just three hits and struck out five batters.
Wesleyan 7, Western New England 6
The
Cardinals were able to salvage a split by taking game two, which was a
back-and-forth contest that saw Wesleyan walk off with the win following
a seventh-inning rally.
After a pair of scoreless frames,
Western New England took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third on a two-run
homer by Fecteau. The Golden Bears used the long ball again the next
inning to add another run to their advantage, as senior Alexis Bukowski (Wallingford, Conn.) sent a solo shot over the center field fence.
Wesleyan
finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth, tying the game with
three runs on three hits. Pardo worked a leadoff walk before coming in
to score on an RBI single by sophomore Julie McDonald (Commack, N.Y.), and senior Mollie Grunat (Ridgewood, N.J.) followed two batters later with a single to center field, plating a pair of Cardinals.
The
home team then pulled ahead with two runs in the bottom of the fifth,
and maintained its 5-3 lead until the top of the seventh.
Sophomore Lindsay Williams
(Coventry, Conn.) led off Western New England's half of the seventh
with a single, and Grieger followed two batters later with a double to
right center. After the next batter was retired, bringing the Golden
Bears to within one out of defeat, Pezze came through with a clutch,
three-run homer to put Western New England back ahead, 6-5.
Wesleyan
would put together one final rally, however, walking off with the win
on McDonald's two-run single to left field in the bottom of the
seventh.
Western New England (19-13, 12-2 CCC) will be off
until Saturday, when the Golden Bears host Wentworth for a senior day
doubleheader at noon. Wesleyan (19-11) remains at home to take on the
University of St. Joseph (Conn.) on Thursday.
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