Western New England Outscores Westfield State 16-2 in Non-Conference Sweep

Golden Bears defeat Owls by scores of 6-1 & 10-1

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 25, 2019) – The Western New England University softball team cruised to a pair of non-conference victories over Westfield State University on Thursday afternoon at Golden Bear Park.

Western New England 6, Westfield State 1

Top Performers
Freshman Dina DiBlasio (Norwalk, Conn.) led the Golden Bears in the opener, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a home run and three RBI. Sophomore Allie Buzzeo (Stamford, Conn.) went 2-for-4, while classmate Emily Cooney (Berlin, Conn.) posted a 1-for-3 effort with a walk and one RBI.

Junior Aimee Kistner (Taunton, Mass.) was impressive in the circle, striking out eight batters and allowing just one run on six hits to improve to 12-5 this season.

Westfield State senior Karly Mastello (Russell, Mass.) accounted for three of the Owls' seven hits, while senior Caitlin Hughes (Hanson, Mass.) went 2-for-3 and freshman Colleen Hughes (Hanson, Mass.) drove in the only run for the visitors.

Game Review
Western New England manufactured the first run of the contest in the bottom of the first inning, as Cooney led off with an infield single, advanced to second on a passed ball, and moved up to third on a groundout by Buzzeo before scoring on Kistner's sacrifice fly.

The Golden Bears opened up a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the third, when DiBlasio came up with two outs and two runners on base and belted a three-run homer over the center field fence.

Westfield State broke through in the top of the fourth on an RBI double to left field off the bat of Colleen Hughes, but Western New England responded with a pair in the bottom half of the inning as Pounds recorded an RBI triple and Cooney followed with an RBI groundout, capping the scoring in the contest.

Western New England 10, Westfield State 1 (5 innings)

Top Performers
DiBlasio stayed hot at the plate in game two, as she turned in a 3-for-3 performance with a double and four RBI to pace the Golden Bears. Buzzeo went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored, while Cooney, Pounds and freshman Jamie Cookingham (Warner, N.H.) drove in one run each.

Junior Paige Uliase (Meriden, Conn.) got the start for Western New England and picked up the win (8-8) after striking out five batters and surrendering just one unearned run on three hits over four innings of work.

Westfield State was led by Mastello and senior Bri Tortora (Worcester, Mass.), who finished with two hits each.  

Game Review
Mastello gave the Owls an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single to center field in the top of the first inning, but the Golden Bears quickly responded with two runs in the bottom half of the frame to pull ahead for good. After Buzzeo and Kistner both singled and advanced on a groundout by Cookingham, DiBlasio drove them both in with a two-run single to center field.

Western New England continued to roll offensively in the bottom of the second inning with five runs on four hits and one error. All five runs scored with two outs in the inning, as Buzzeo and DiBlasio both hit two-run doubles, with an RBI double for Cookingham sandwiched in between.

Cooney worked a bases-loaded walk to bring in a run in the bottom of the third, and the Golden Bears extended the margin to nine with two more runs in the fourth. Western New England brought on sophomore Heather Hassler (Oxford, Conn.) to finish off the Owls in the top of the fifth.

Up Next
Both teams wrap up conference play on Saturday, as Western New England (20-14) travels to Gordon for a CCC doubleheader and Westfield State (11-21) heads back on the road to Bridgewater State for a MASCAC twinbill.