Golden Bears Sweep Nichols to Improve to 10-2 in CCC Play

Luba & Kistner hit two homers each for Western New England

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 17, 2018) – The Western New England University softball team improved to 10-2 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play with a doubleheader sweep of Nichols College on Tuesday afternoon at Golden Bear Park. Western New England blanked the Bison 8-0 in the opener, before cruising to a 9-2 triumph in the nightcap. 

Western New England 8, Nichols 0

Top Performers
• Senior Jenn Luba (Plymouth, Conn.) powered the Western New England offense in the opener, as she went 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk, two home runs and four RBI.
• Sophomore Aimee Kistner (Taunton, Mass.) posted a 2-for-4 effort with a home run and two RBI, while freshman Cassidy Howe (North Andover, Mass.) recorded three singles and drove in one run.
• Sophomore Paige Uliase (Meriden, Conn.) turned in a complete game shutout performance in the circle, striking out eight batters in the process, to improve to 9-5 this season.  

• Nichols freshman Colleen Callahan (Billerica, Mass.) was among seven Bison to record one hit in the contest.

Game Review
After three scoreless frames, Luba led off the top of the fourth with a towering home run to left field to give the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, Howe hit a bloop single to right center, scoring sophomore Tori Fisher (Poestenkill, N.Y.) from second base.

Western New England opened up a 6-0 advantage with four more runs in the top of the fifth. Luba did the majority of the damage with a three-run shot to right field, while Uliase added an RBI single to left.

The Golden Bears continued to utilize the long ball in the seventh inning as Kistner belted a two-run homer over the fence in left center field to cap the scoring in the contest.

Western New England 9, Nichols 2

Top Performers
• Kistner turned in another big offensive performance in game two, as she went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, a home run, four RBI and three runs scored. She also earned the win in the circle (7-5) after striking out 11 batters and allowing two runs over seven innings.
• Freshman Allie Buzzeo (Stamford, Conn.) went 3-for-5 and scored two runs, while Luba recorded two RBI.

• Nichols sophomore Cara Mayhew (Brooklyn, Conn.) posted a 2-for-3 effort at the plate and drove in the Bison's only two runs.

Game Review
Mayhew staked the Bison to a 1-0 lead with an RBI single down the left field line in the bottom of the first inning. 

Western New England pulled ahead with single runs in the second and third frames, before plating three runs in the fourth on a two-run single by Luba and an RBI single by Kistner.

Kistner's two-run homer in the top of the fifth extended the Golden Bears' lead to 7-1. Nichols got one run back in the sixth, as Mayhew recorded her second RBI single of the contest, before Western New England tacked on two final runs in the seventh.

Up Next
Both teams will be back in action on Wednesday, as Western New England (17-11, 10-2 CCC) travels to Quincy to take on Eastern Nazarene, and Nichols (11-12-1, 4-7-1 CCC) heads to Beverly to face Endicott.