Offense Powers Western New England to Doubleheader Sweep at Gordon

Golden Bears score 14 of 17 runs with two outs

WENHAM, Mass. (April 17, 2017) – The Western New England University softball team used a pair of strong offensive performances to earn a doubleheader sweep of Gordon College in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action on Monday. The Golden Bears hit two home runs en route to an 8-2 win over the Fighting Scots in the opener, before recording 13 hits in a 9-4 game two victory.

Western New England 8, Gordon 2

Top Performers
• Senior shortstop Gabby Lavinio (Dalton, Mass.) powered the Golden Bears in the opener, going 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Classmate Katie Wood (Westport, Mass.) also homered and drove in two runs, while junior Lindsay Williams (Coventry, Conn.) went 2-for-4 with a walk, one RBI and one run scored.
• Freshman Paige Uliase (Meriden, Conn.) improved to 7-1 in the circle this season after striking out six batters and allowing just one run on five hits over five innings of work.

• Senior Carleigh Peterson (North Hills, Calif.) led the Fighting Scots offensively, as she went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Sophomore Rose Shannon (Ashland, Mass.) and freshman Laura Bieren (Groton, Mass.) also finished with two hits each, while sophomore Megan Jenkerson (McDonough, Ga.) recorded an RBI double.

Game Review
• Lavinio started a two-out rally for the Golden Bears in the top of the first inning, singling to left field before coming in to score the game's first run on a double by freshman Aimee Kistner (Taunton, Mass.) and an error in the Gordon outfield.
• Western New England increased its lead to 2-0 in the second inning on a two-out RBI single by Williams, before Gordon got on the board in the third on Jenkerson's RBI double to left center field.
• After restoring their two-run lead (3-1) in the fourth, the Golden Bears claimed a 5-1 advantage the following inning when Wood hit a two-out, two-run homer, her third of the season.
• Lavinio's three-run shot in the sixth capped the scoring for Western New England, which led 8-1 before a late Gordon run cut the final margin to six.

Western New England 9, Gordon 4

Top Performers
• The Golden Bears continued to roll offensively in game two, led by Kistner, who went 3-for-5 with a triple, a home run and five RBI. Junior Samantha Pelow (Torrington, Conn.) went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI, while Lavinio recorded three hits and scored two runs.
• Senior Samantha DiGiovanni (Shirley, N.Y.) got the start for the Golden Bears and went the distance, striking out three batters and surrendering just one earned run during her complete game performance.

• Jenkerson went 3-for-3 with two doubles and one RBI out of the leadoff spot in the batting order, while junior Emily Kline (Park Ridge, N.J.) also posted a three-hit effort for the Fighting Scots.

Game Review
• Gordon jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Bieren, which scored Jenkerson from third.
• Western New England pulled ahead (2-1) in the top of the second, as Pelow recorded a two-out, two-run double to right center field. The Golden Bears then opened up a 6-1 advantage with four more runs in the third, three of which scored on a three-run homer by Kistner.
• Gordon got back into the contest with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, but Western New England responded with three runs in the sixth on a two-run triple by Kistner and an RBI single off the bat of junior Jenn Luba (Plymouth, Conn.).
• The Fighting Scots tallied a late run for the second straight game as the Golden Bears completed the sweep with a 9-4 triumph.

Notes
• Western New England scored all eight of its runs in game one and six of nine runs in game two (14 total) with two outs.
• The Golden Bears piled up 21 hits and 17 runs over the two victories.

Up Next
Both teams will be back in action at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, as Western New England (18-6, 8-2 CCC) returns home to take on Salve Regina in a key conference doubleheader and Gordon (9-17, 5-9 CCC) hosts Saint Joseph (Conn.) in non-conference action.