Keegan's Walk-off Caps off Another Two-Win Day for WNE Softball

Clermont, Fla. (March 16, 2023) – The Golden Bears were back on the field after a day of rest. The first of two games was against the Knights of Mount Saint Mary (N.Y.). The Golden Bears downed the Knights 4-1. Then, it was time to take on the Edgewood College Eagles. The Golden Bears would go into overtime with the Eagles and win 5-4 in eight innings.

Game 1: Western New England 4, Mt. Saint Mary (N.Y.) 1

The Golden Bears took the field against the Knights with Ava Blanchard in the circle. Blanchard had started three games leading into the clash with the Knights. She won all three of those starts. The first three innings of the game were a dogfight. Blanchard kept the Golden Bears in the game by facing nine batters and getting all nine out. Nine up, nine down. She had two strikeouts in the first three innings. Then, it was the offense's turn to give Blanchard some support. After a signature, Dina DiBlasio double, Kailey Carrano, slapped a single to score DiBlasio. Golden Bears went up 1-0. Gracie Hemstock followed that up with a double. Lizzie Weston would drive Carrano home a couple of batters later. That doubled the lead for the Golden Bears. Paige Baca would push the lead to three with a ball in play that was scored as a fielder's choice. The Knights got the out at second, but Hemstock would score on the play. The fourth saw the Knights go down one, two, three again. That made it twelve batters out in a row for Blanchard.

After singling to start the game, and then stealing second and advancing to third on a single by DiBlasio, Keegan stole home in the top of the fifth inning. The Golden Bears led 4-0. Blanchard notched another strikeout in the bottom of the fifth and then got the next two batters to line out to shortstop to keep the perfect game alive. The Knights finally got a hit in the bottom of the sixth when Olivia Ferara doubled. Then, Laura Dentato hit a single to bring a runner home and cut the Golden Bear lead to three. The Golden Bears would get out of the inning and finish the game in the seventh with Riley Kane relieving Blanchard and getting the Knights to go out one, two, three. The Golden Bears got their seventh win of the year by a score of 4-1. 

Inside The Diamond:

• Ava Blanchard pitched a two-hitter against the Knights. Blanchard struck out four batters in six innings of pitching.
• Lizzie Weston went 2-3 with an RBI.
• Taylor Keegan went 2-4, scored a run, and stole two bases, including home.
• With 24 batters faced, the Golden Bear pitchers totaled five strikeouts and only two hits.
• The Golden Bears beat the Knights 4-1.

Game 2: Western New England 5, Edgewood 4

The Golden Bears went into the game versus the Eagles looking for their eighth win of the year in only ten games of play. With Megan Beebe pitching, WNE took the field. The first inning was scoreless, with both teams only mustering a single each in their respective at-bats. Taylor Keegan got WNE on the board with a big single that got Gracie Hemstock home. Edgewood got the run back in the top of the third as Kya Loffswold slapped a double to center field. That brought Olivia Hebert past home plate to even the score at 1-1. That is how the score would stay until the bottom of the fifth inning. After an error by Edgewood, a single by Kailey Carrano, and a walk by Gracie Hemstock, Madison Mason forced a walk, bringing Alex Ferriouolo home. The score read 2-1 WNE. Right after, Paige Baca would hit into a fielder's choice, but it would score Mason and push the Golden Bear lead to 3-1.

The top of the seventh would be Edgewood's time to shine. After getting on base with a walk, Hebert would score on a double to left field by Alyse Maurer. The Golden Bear lead was cut to one. Grace Ott would get on base via a Golden Bear error. That play scored Jenna Sanchez and tied up the game at three. That run was enough to send the game to extra innings after WNE could not get a run in the bottom of the seventh. With a runner on second to start the eighth inning, Chloe McLaughlin hit a sacrifice fly ball to right field, which scored Elizabeth Malarski and gave Edgewood the 4-3 lead. However, the Golden Bears would answer with a Cori Rizzo single to center field that scored Ines Baez Flores. The very next batter, Taylor Keegan, hit into a fielder's choice, which scored Brianna Floyd and won the game for the Golden Bears. The final score was WNE 5, Edgewood 4.

Around The Diamond:

• Alex Ferriouolo went 2-4 on the evening and scored a run.
• Kailey Carrano went 2-4 during the game.
• The WNE pitchers faced 38 batters, let up only six hits, and struck out six.
• Edgewood faced 37 WNE batters, let up nine hits, and struck out one.
• WNE won the game by a score of 5-4 in eight innings.

Up Next: The Golden Bears will participate in their final two games of The Spring Games on Friday, March 17. The day will start at 2:00 PM with a matchup against Plymouth State. Then, they will wrap up their spring break with a game at 4:30 PM against Ohio Wesleyan.

Mt. Saint Mary will finish up on Friday, as well. They will take on Marywood University at 9:00 AM and then #18 Rowan University at 11:30 AM.

Edgewood finishes their Spring Games against WNE. They will return to action on March 31, facing Concordia University Wisconsin in a doubleheader at 3:00 PM. The second game will follow at approximately 5:00 PM.