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Western New England Sweeps CCC Doubleheader Against Gordon

Western New England Sweeps CCC Doubleheader Against Gordon

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 1, 2016) - The Western New England University softball team improved to 4-0 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play with a doubleheader sweep of Gordon College this afternoon at Golden Bear Softball Park. Western New England defeated the Fighting Scots 5-2 in the opener, and held on for a 9-6 victory in game two.
 
Western New England 5, Gordon 2
Trailing 1-0 through three innings, the Golden Bears took the lead with two runs in the fourth, before adding two more in the fifth and one in the sixth. Western New England recorded eight hits and took advantage of six Gordon errors.
 
Senior Heidi Grieger (Hyde Park, N.Y.) got the start in the circle and went the distance, striking out five batters and allowing just one earned run on five hits.
 
Senior Alexis Bukowski (Wallingford, Conn.) and junior Corianna DeLisi (Tuxedo, N.Y.) each went 2-for-3 with one RBI, while senior Tara Cabral (Kingston, Mass.) recorded a pair of doubles.
 
Junior Carleigh Petersen (North Hills, Calif.) led the Gordon offense with two hits, and sophomore Emily Kline (Park Ridge, N.J.) recorded the Fighting Scots' lone RBI. Kline also started in the circle for the visitors and took the loss after giving up five runs (one earned) through six innings.
 
Gordon jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, as freshman Kaelie Mercado (Granada Hills, Calif.) singled with one out and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Kline.
 
The Golden Bears left five runners on base over the first three frames, before breaking through for a pair of runs in the fourth. Freshman Allison Mishol (Longmeadow, Mass.) got the rally started with a leadoff single, eventually scoring when sophomore Jenn Luba (Plymouth, Conn.) reached on a Gordon fielding error. Luba then stole second and came around to score on a two-out RBI single by DeLisi.
 
The Fighting Scots got one run back in the fifth, but Western New England took advantage of two more Gordon errors in the bottom half of the inning to open up a 4-2 lead. After the first two batters of the frame reached base on miscues and advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch, senior McKenzie Pezze (Albany, N.Y.) recorded a sacrifice fly and Bukowski followed two batters later with an RBI double to left field.
 
The Golden Bears tacked on one more run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by freshman Giovanna Russo (East Haven, Conn.), and Grieger retired the side in order in the top of the seventh to seal the win.
 
Western New England 9, Gordon 6
The Western New England offense led the way in game two, piling up 15 hits and putting five runs on the board in the third inning.

Gordon again claimed an early lead, scoring once in the top of the first as freshman Megan Jenkerson (McDonough, Ga.) led off the contest with a home run over the center field fence.
 
The Golden Bears responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, however, and did not trail the rest of the way. Western New England's first three batters reached base, including Pezze, who came up third and tied the game with an RBI single. Sophomore Jen Zazzarino (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.), who followed DeLisi's single with a walk, also scored later in the inning on a fielder's choice by freshman Emilie Baldwin (Florence, Mass.).
 
After a scoreless second, the Golden Bears broke the game open with five runs in the third. Russo drove in two runs in the frame with a double to left field, while Baldwin and Bukowski also recorded RBI singles.
 
Gordon got back into the game with three runs in the top of the fourth, pulling back to within three (7-4) but Western New England extended its lead back to five with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Fighting Scots mounted one final rally in their last at-bat, scoring twice in the seventh on Kline's double to right field, but their comeback bid fell short as the Golden Bears completed the sweep.
 
Western New England (10-8, 4-0 CCC) will be right back in action tomorrow with two games at Eastern Nazarene, while Gordon (3-12-1, 0-4 CCC), which had its doubleheader scheduled for tomorrow against Salve Regina postponed, hosts Salem State on Monday.