Luba & Uliase Recognized for Playoff Performances with Weekly CCC Awards
Luba named Offensive Player of the Week, Uliase earns Pitcher of the Week honors
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (May 7, 2018) – Senior Jenn Luba (Plymouth, Conn.) and sophomore Paige Uliase (Meriden, Conn.) of the Western New England University softball team have both earned weekly awards from the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), the league office announced on Monday.
Luba was named CCC Player of the Week and Uliase received Pitcher of the Week honors after the duo helped lead the Golden Bears to an undefeated, 4-0 run through the CCC Tournament over the last two weekends.
Western New England opened postseason play with wins over Nichols (3-1) and Eastern Nazarene (2-1) last Saturday (4/28), before earning a key 2-1 win over Endicott this past Friday (4/4). The Golden Bears capped their title run by rallying from a late deficit with a five-run seventh inning to claim an 8-4 win over the Gulls and the program's second CCC championship on Saturday.
Luba led the Golden Bears at the plate over the four-game stretch, as she posted a .462/.533/1.077 batting line with two doubles, two home runs and five RBI. The senior captain had at least one hit in three of the four contests, beginning with a 3-for-4 effort with a home run, two doubles and two RBI against Nichols.
Later that day, she went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run as the Golden Bears defeated host Eastern Nazarene. She saved her best for last, however, with a clutch three-run homer against Endicott in the seventh inning on Saturday to help seal the championship victory.
Uliase was dominant in the circle, as she started all four games and went 3-0 with a 1.15 earned run average and 18 strikeouts in 24.1 innings of work.
The sophomore posted two complete game efforts, including an eight-inning, one-run performance with seven strikeouts in the Golden Bears' pivotal win over Endicott on Friday. She also struck out five and surrendered just one run on two hits over seven innings against Eastern Nazarene on the opening day of the Tournament.
Western New England (24-16) will make its seventh all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament this weekend. The Golden Bears will learn their first round destination and opponent during the selection show at 1 p.m. on Monday.
