Western New England Sweeps Keene State in Non-Conference Action

Golden Bears win opener 6-3, before taking game two 4-2

KEENE, N.H. (April 4, 2019) – The Western New England University softball team swept Keene State College by scores of 6-3 and 4-2 on Thursday afternoon in non-conference action at the Owl Athletic Complex.

Western New England 6, Keene State 3

Top Performers
Junior Aimee Kistner (Taunton, Mass.) recorded a game-high three hits for the Golden Bears in the opener, while classmate Carlie Moss (Delmar, N.Y.) went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, one RBI and two runs scored.

Junior Paige Uliase (Meriden, Conn.) tossed a complete game in the circle, allowing no earned runs with three strikeouts over seven innings.

For the Owls, sophomore Cassie Woods (Mystic, Conn.) singled and drove in two runs, while sophomore Emma Pede (Monroe Township, N.J.) went 2-for-3 with a double and one RBI.

Game Review

After three scoreless frames, Western New England struck first in the top of the fourth when Kistner doubled with one out and came in to score on a two-out, RBI single to center field by freshman Jamie Cookingham (Warner, N.H.).

The Owls answered with three runs in the bottom half of the fourth, however, as Pede recorded an RBI double and Woods came through with a two-out, two-run single to left field to give the Owls a 3-1 edge.

Western New England got one run back in the fifth on an RBI single by sophomore Allie Buzzeo (Stamford, Conn.), and the Golden Bears then regained the lead with four runs in the top of the sixth.

Freshman Dina DiBlasio (Norwalk, Conn.) tied the contest at 3-3 with a leadoff solo homer in the sixth, and three batters later, Moss recorded a go-ahead RBI double to left center, plating Cookingham. The Golden Bears added a pair of insurance runs on an RBI double by senior Giovanna Russo (East Haven, Conn.) and an RBI single off the bat of sophomore Madison Murabito (Liverpool, N.Y.).

Uliase retired the side in order in the sixth, and worked around an error that allowed the first batter to reach in the seventh as the Golden Bears took game one.

Western New England 4, Keene State 2

Top Performers
Cookingham and sophomore Emily Cooney (Berlin, Conn.) accounted for four of Western New England's six hits in game two, as Cookingham went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI, and Cooney was 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored.

Kistner got the start in the circle for WNE and scattered ten hits while allowing two runs with eight strikeouts during a complete game effort.

Keene State freshman Kat Iozzo (Billerica, Mass.) and sophomores Katelyn Hill (Loudon, N.H.) and Olivia McGrath (Dorchester, Mass.) paced the Owls with two hits apiece, while McGrath and Iozzo also drove in one run each.

Game Review
Western New England again scored first, this time putting two runs on the board in the top of the first inning on an RBI double by Kistner and an RBI single by Cookingham.

Freshman Tamara Diaz (Springfield, Mass.) crossed the plate with Western New England's third run on a wild pitch in the second inning, as the Golden Bears increased their lead to 3-0.

Keene State broke through in the fourth, as Woods hit a two-out, RBI single to right field, but WNE restored its three-run edge (4-1) in the fifth on Cookingham's RBI double to left.

The Owls scored one more run in the fifth via freshman Meghan Moran's (Cherry Valley, Mass.) RBI single to right, but Kistner stranded a pair of runners on base before shutting the home team down in the sixth.

Up Next
Western New England (11-7) travels to Endicott for two games on Saturday, before returning home on Sunday to take on Roger Williams. Keene State (4-10) is right back in action on Friday with a pair of road games at Westfield State.