DiBlasio Cracks Five Hits as WNE Wins Two Against Gordon College to Open CCC Play

Springfield, Mass. (April 2, 2023) – The Golden Bears opened up conference play by hosting the Fighting Cots of Gordon College in a doubleheader on Sunday. Quick starts were the name of the games today. The Golden Bears got out to leads in both games and brought both home with a 5-2 win in the first game and a 10-2 win in five innings in the second game.

Game 1: Western New England 5, Gordon College 2

Megan Beebe led the Golden Bears onto the field as she looked for her fourth win of the season as a starting pitcher. Beebe took care of the Fighting Scots for four innings where Gordon College could not get a run on the board. The Golden Bears were the opposite. Taylor Keegan would take advantage of a passed ball that got away from the catcher and would score on the play. The Golden Bears led 1-0 after the first inning of play. The Golden Bears would be held scoreless in the second and third innings. However, the bats came alive in the bottom of the fourth inning. Gracie Hemstock started the inning with a single. Poisson would come in to pinch run. Alex Ferriouolo would reach on an error. Cori Rizzo would then blast a three-run home run way over the right-centerfield fence. That gave the Golden Bears a 4-0 lead after four innings. 

Gordon found some runs in the top of the fifth inning. Emily Peterson slapped a single to left field, which brought home Bouvier and Terrazzano to cut the WNE lead to only two runs. In the bottom of the fifth, Dina DiBlasio would get a run back for the Golden Bears when she hit a solo home run to left field. The score after five innings of play was 5-2. The sixth inning saw the Golden Bears make a pitching change in which Riley Kane entered the game for Megan Beebe. Kane would deal with the rest of the game cleanly and pick up another save on the season. The Golden Bears won game one by a score of 5-2.

Inside The Diamond:

• Megan Beebe pitched five innings, facing 21 batters, only letting up two hits and striking out four.
• Taylor Keegan went 2-3 with a walk and a run.
• Dina DiBlasio went 1-3 with an RBI and a home run.
• Cori Rizzo went 1-2 with a walk. She packed up three RBIs with her homerun.
• The Golden Bears won 5-2.

Game 2: Western New England 10, Gordon College 2

Game two saw Ava Blanchard enter the circle and pitch for the Golden Bears. After Blanchard made Gordon's Rivera ground into a double play to end the top of the first inning, it was time for WNE to get on the board. Dina DiBlasio did the honors as she launched a two-run home run over the right-centerfield fence to give the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead. Gina Terrazzano cut the lead in half for Gordon with a single to left-center field. That hit brought home, Rivera. The score was 2-1. However, that scoreline did not last for long, as DiBlasio tacked on two more runs for the Golden Bears in the bottom of the second inning. DiBlasio's single down the left field line brought Keegan and Blades home. The score was now 4-1. The teams were now trading hits as Gordon College got another run back in the top of the third inning. Jayden Johnson smacked a double into center field, which sent Keegan slamming into the center-field fence. However, Keegan got up quickly and sent a rocket of a throw to the cutoff, and then Ferriouolo sent the ball home to Lizzie Weston, who stood strong and tagged the runner as the runner tried to run through her. Gordon gained a run, but the Golden Bears were out of the inning thanks to great defense from Keegan, Ferriouolo, and Weston. 

The bottom of the third inning was big for the Golden Bears. Cori Rizzo started the scoring off with a single to left-center field. That brought home Gracie Hemstock. Then, Kaileigh Blades reached first on an error from the shortstop for Gordon. That brought Weston home on the throw. Next, Keegan sent the ball to deep center field, and that sacrifice fly brought Rizzo home. Finally, Kailey Carrano would slap a shot to third base, but after an error was awarded, Carrano reached first, and Paige Baca scored. The score after the third inning was 9-2, with the Golden Bears scoring five in the third inning. The fourth inning saw Emilia Garcia come in to pitch. Neither team would score in the fourth inning. The Fighting Scots would not score in the fifth inning either, but the Golden Bears would. Gracie Hemstock hit into a fielder's choice, with the shortstop sending the ball to second base for the out; however, an error on the throw from second to first base led to Ines Baez Flores getting home and ending the game at five innings. The final score was 10-2. 

Inside The Diamond:

• Ava Blanchard and Emilia Garcia pitched a combined five innings. They let up seven hits and two runs and had three strikeouts. 
• Dina DiBlasio went 4-4 during game number two. She accounted for four RBIs and had another homerun on the day. 
• Cori Rizzo went 2-3 with a double and drove home two runs.
• Taylor Keegan and Gracie Hemstock hit doubles with their solo hits on the day.
• WNE won the game 10-2.

Up Next: 

The Golden Bears head to the other side of Springfield as they take on Springfield College in a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 4, at 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM. 

The Fighting Scots will take on Suffolk University on Tuesday, April 4, in a doubleheader that starts at 2:30 PM, with the second game at 4:30 PM.