Carrano's Two Walk-Offs Seal the Sweep for WNE over Wentworth

Springfield, Mass. (April 22, 2023) – After a big sweep of non-conference opponent Amherst College on Wednesday, WNE returned to Springfield to host the Leopards of the Wentworth Institute of Technology in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader. Game one saw Kailey Carrano hit a walk-off single for the Golden Bears as they won 5-4. Game two sang a similar tune as Carrano blasted a two-run walk-off home run to win it for the Golden Bears 7-5.

Game 1: Western New England 5, Wentworth 4

The starting pitchers for game one of the doubleheader were Megan Beebe for the Golden Bears and Erin Hancock for the Leopards. The first inning saw both pitchers get through the opposing lineups unscathed. Beebe got through Wentworth in the top of the second, which got the Golden Bears fired up for the bottom of the inning. WNE loaded the bases with one out. That set up Kaleigh Blades, who smacked a single into right-center field. Alex Ferriouolo and Gracie Hemstock flew home on the play, giving the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead after two innings of play. The score would stay 2-0 throughout the third inning. The Leopards would then find their bats in the top of the fourth. It started with Julia Bollentin singling to right field, bringing home Briana Beverly. That was followed by Hancock smacking a double into right field that spun away from Baca and allowed two runners to make it home. The score read 3-2 after Hancock's double. Katelin Howe would then single to shortstop and bring Rowe through home plate. The Golden Bears trailed after the top of the fourth inning by a score of 4-2.

That scoreline did not last long as the Golden Bears grabbed two runs in the bottom of the inning to even up the score at four per side. Those two runs were thanks to Taylor Keegan. Keegan had two on and hit a shot at second base, and as it bounced away from the Wentworth player, Cori Rizzo, and Alex Ferriouolo came home. Just like that, it was a tie game. That is how the score would stay through the fifth and sixth innings. The Leopards had a chance to strike in the top of the seventh, but Beebe was not allowing it and took care of them. Then, after a Dina DiBlasio double that pushed Paige Baca to third base, Kailey Carrano struck. Then, Carrano smacked a single past second base, and the Golden Bears had a walk-off win over the Leopards to take game one 5-4.

Inside The Diamond:

• Megan Beebe pitched a complete game, facing 31 batters, giving up four runs on eight hits and striking out four. Beebe was credited with the win.
• Erin Hancock pitched a complete game for the Leopards. Hancock gave up five runs on ten hits and struck out three batters.
• Gracie Hemstock and Cori Rizzo went 2-3 in the game.
• Dina DiBlasio and Cori Rizzo slapped doubles during the game.
• Kailey Carrano had the walk-off single to win the game for the Golden Bears.
• The Golden Bears won 5-4.

Game 2: Western New England 7, Wentworth 5

Riley Kane entered the circle for the Golden Bears in game two. Kane's counterpart in the other dugout was Julie Schriver. The Leopards shrugged off the game one loss with an early run in game two. With runners on second and third, Alexandra Pina sent a high-fly ball to left field. Kaileigh Blades would make the catch, but it was far enough to bring Kaitlin Pettenger home on the tag. The Leopards led 1-0 after one inning of play. The second inning saw the Golden Bears have two runners on with two outs, but Schriver got them out and kept the Golden Bears scoreless. The Leopards' offense fed off the big out and poured the runs on during the top of the third inning. It all started with Alexandra Pina sending a ball to left-center field. That brought Pettenger home. Ava Blanchard was then brought in to pitch for the Golden Bears. Julia Bollentinhad the next big hit with a single up the middle that bounced off Ferriouolo's glove and brought home two runners. The score now read 4-0. That was not it for the Leopards, though. The shortstop, Jess Rowe, slapped a double to left-center field. That ball one-hopped to the fence and brought Bollentin home from first base. The score was 5-0. The Golden Bears tried to get one back in the bottom of the inning, but Schriver stayed strong and kept them scoreless.

Blanchard honed it in during the top of the fourth inning. That calmed down the Golden Bears and set the stage for a big bottom of the fourth inning. The Golden Bears would load the bases with one out in the inning. Cori Rizzo stepped up to the plate. Rizzo battled with Schriver, and after seeing Schriver get the best of multiple Golden Bears, Rizzo turned on one and launched a one-out grand slam over the right field fence to cut the Leopard lead to only one. The score was 5-4 after that massive hit by Rizzo. Keegan and Baca would grab back-to-back singles and give Dina DiBlasio two on the bases. DiBlasio made the most of it and sent a hard ground ball past the shortstop, bringing Keegan home to tie the game up at five runs per side. After that, the Golden Bears were rolling, and Blanchard responded in the top of the fifth by taking down the Leopards in order, one, two, three. Hancock returned to the circle for the Leopards and started to duel with Blanchard. Both pitchers were locking it down in relief during the fifth and sixth innings. Blanchard would get through the top of the seventh inning and leave it to the offense, where Dina DiBlasio and Kailey Carrano due up in the bottom of the seventh. Dina got on with a hard single to shortstop. Then, it was Kailey Carrano's turn. Carrano worked the count and had a few foul balls. Carrano had the timing down and waited for the pitch. The pitch was delivered, and Carrano turned on it. It was sent to deep center and carried all the way over the center field fence for a two-run walk-off home run. The Golden Bears won 7-5 on another Kailey Carrano walk-off hit.

Inside The Diamond:

• Ava Blanchard got the win for the Golden Bears with 4.2 innings pitched, two hits, one run, and five strikeouts.
• Keegan, Ferriouolo, and Carrano each had two hits during the game.
• Cori Rizzo went 1-2 with a walk and a grand slam in the fourth inning.
• Kailey Carrano had the walk-off two-run home run in the seventh inning. 
• The Golden Bears won 7-5 to complete the doubleheader sweep.

Up Next: 

The Golden Bears are on the road Wednesday, April 26, as the team heads north to the University of New England. The CCC doubleheader will occur at 3:30 PM and 5:30 PM at the Nor'Easter Diamond.

The Leopards will be in action Monday, April 24. They will host the Bison of Nichols College at 3:30 PM and 5:30 PM.