Softball Drops A Pair to End Florida Schedule

CLERMONT, Fla. (March 17, 2023) – The Golden Bears faced off against the Panthers of Plymouth State University and the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan University. The Panthers down WNE 2-1 in game number one of the day. The Battling Bishops were able to outduel WNE, as well. 10-7 was the final score of that one.

Game 1: Plymouth State 2, Western New England 1

Megan Beebe led the Golden Bears onto the field for game number one on Friday afternoon. The Golden Bears jumped out of the gate with a quick run at the top of the first inning. Gracie Hemstock flew out to right field, but it would be enough to bring Alex Ferriouolo through home. WNE had a 1-0 lead after their offensive stint of the first inning. Beebe stood strong in the first with two strikeouts. Neither team scored in the second inning and the same in the third, but Beebe would get another strikeout in the third. 

The Panthers would strike in the fourth inning. After a couple of singles and a stolen base, Abbey Nezuch put a hit in play and earned a single. Lauren Archambault and Mia Ly scored on the play which gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead. The Golden Bears had a couple of singles and were in scoring position with two outs in the fifth, but could not get a runner home. The sixth saw Brianna Floyd single and reach second on an error, but was not driven home. The top of the seventh was the last chance for the Golden Bears, but Plymouth State's Kate McGrath finished the complete game with three straight outs on the top of the inning to give Plymouth State the win. The final score showed on the board as 2-1 in favor of the Panthers.

Inside The Diamond:

• The Golden Bears had five hitters get a hit in the game. 
• Gracie Hemstock earned the only RBI for the Golden Bears on her sacrifice fly to right field in the first inning.
• Kate McGrath pitched a complete game for the Panthers. McGrath let up five hits, facing 30 batters, and striking out two of them.
• The Golden Bear pitchers faced 25 batters, allowed six hits, and struck out five.
• Plymouth State beat WNE 2-1.

Game 2: Western New England 10, Ohio Wesleyan 7

Western New England opened the bottom of the first inning with the first run of the game after Taylor Keegan led off the game with a single, which was followed by a double to left field from Dina DiBlasio, which scored Keegan, giving the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead. The Bishops got on the scoreboard for the first time in the top of the second when Alyssa Perkins singled in an unearned run to even the score at one. Just two batters later, Sara Bias would put OWU ahead with a single to right field that would score two as the Bishops would take a quick 3-1 lead.

WNE wouldn't wait around to get back in the game as Paige Baca would drive in Madison Mason on an RBI double, followed by a ground ball out by Taylor Keegan that would score Maggie Marquardt to once again, even the score. WNE would come around to take another lead in the game as Kailey Carrano would slam a solo home run to give Western New England a 4-3 lead.

The blue and gold would extend on their one run lead in the bottom of the fourth when Dina DiBlasio singed to right field and would advance on an OWU error, which scored two WNE runs on the play. Kailey Carrano would single to right center, driving in DiBlasio, giving Western New England a 7-3 lead. From there, OWU would take over the offense of the game, grabbing four runs in the top of the fifth to quickly even the score while grabbing another three runs in the top of the sixth to take a 10-7 lead. Western New England would fail to score in the final three innings, dropping their Florida finale 10-7 to the Bishops on Friday evening.

Around The Diamond:

• WNE was led by Paige Baca, who went 3/3 in the game, collecting one RBI.
• Dina DiBlasio drove in two while teammate Kailey Carrano also drove in two while collecting her third home run of the season.
• Western New England would commit six errors in the loss, which came to their demise, as WNE pitching gave up just three earned runs on the ten scored in the game.

Up Next: 

The Golden Bears finish their time in Florida with a record of 8-4. They will return to Massachusetts to play Fitchburg State away in a doubleheader on Wednesday, March 23, at 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM.

Plymouth State finishes their Florida trip with a win against WNE. They will be back in action on Monday, March 27, at 5:00 PM and 7:00PM. They will take on Rivier University at Rivier.

Ohio Wesleyan has two more games in Florida on Saturday, March 18. Their first game is at 2:00 PM against Middlebury and their second will be at 4:30 PM against Trinity (Conn.).