Golden Bears Clinch CCC Regular Season Title with Doubleheader Split at UNE

BIDDEFORD, Maine (April 24, 2016) - The Western New England University softball team clinched its second consecutive Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) regular season championship with a doubleheader split against the University of New England this afternoon at Claude Dubois Field.

Senior pitcher Heidi Grieger (Hyde Park, N.Y.) turned in another dominant performance in game one, leading the Golden Bears to a 6-0 shutout victory, before the Nor'easters were able to salvage a split with a 4-2 win in game two.
 
Following the doubleheader, Western New England now stands at 22-14 this season, including 15-3 in conference play. The Nor'easters are 24-12 overall and 13-5 in CCC action.
 
Western New England 6, UNE 0
Grieger was spectacular in today's opener, as the senior carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the sixth inning and surrendered just two hits in the game. She struck out four batters and walked two in her tenth complete game performance of the season, improving to a CCC-best 14-5 in the process. Grieger also got the job done at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBI.
 
UNE senior pitcher Abby Lambert (Brockton, Mass.) was able to keep the Golden Bears off the board over the first four innings, stranding two runners in the first before escaping a bases loaded situation in the third, but Western New England broke through with three runs in the fifth.
 
Junior Gabby Lavinio (Dalton, Mass.) got the rally started with a single up the middle, and eventually came around to score the game's first run on a sacrifice fly by senior McKenzie Pezze (Albany, N.Y.). A passed ball and subsequent throwing error later in the inning allowed two more Golden Bears to score, increasing their lead to 3-0.
 
Leading by the same margin in the top of the seventh, Western New England went up 6-0 when Grieger doubled into the gap in left center, plating three runs.
 
Lavinio led the Golden Bears at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a triple and a run, while senior Heather Fecteau (Biddeford, Maine) added two hits and two walks.
 
UNE 4, Western New England 2
The Nor'easters utilized a strong pitching performance from junior Katelyn Austin (Bethlehem, N.H.) and a four-run second inning to take game two. Austin struck out four batters and gave up just one earned run in five innings of work.
 
After the first three UNE batters singled in the second, sophomore Lauren Jones (Barrington, N.H.) worked a bases loaded walk to drive in the first run of the contest. Junior Paige Moore-Haskell (Scarborough, Maine) followed with an RBI single, while classmate Sydney Helmbrecht (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and freshman Avery Alberghini (Middlesex, Vt.) each recorded sacrifice flies to extend the Nor'easters' lead to 4-0.
 
Western New England got on the board in the fourth, when senior Alexis Bukowski (Wallingford, Conn.) drove an RBI double to left field, before adding another run the next inning with the help of a UNE error. The Golden Bears went down in order in both the sixth and seventh innings, however, as UNE freshman Melissa Sprague (Londonderry, N.H.) registered her fifth save of the season.
 
Both teams wrap up their regular season schedules on Wednesday, as Western New England hosts Amherst and the Nor'easters welcome in-state rival Bowdoin to Claude Dubois Field.