Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
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BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Following a 6-0 setback in the opener, the University of New England took the second game of Sunday's (Apr. 24) Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) softball doubleheader against Western New England University at Claude Dubois Field by a 4-2 margin.

The Golden Bears (22-14) clinch the top seed for the upcoming CCC Championship with the results, posting a 15-3 league mark. The Nor'easters (24-12) will enter the tournament as either the third or fourth seed, directly into the double-elimination phase, after concluding with a 13-5 conference ledger.

UNE will entertain a non-league pair against Bowdoin College on Wednesday (3:30 p.m.) to wrap up the regular-season slate.

Very similar to the day prior, Katelyn Austin and Melissa Sprague teamed up in the circle to book the GAME 2 win for the Nor'easters. Austin started and worked five innings, giving up one earned while striking out four to improve her personal record to 9-4. Sprague was then 6-for-6 in getting outs to chalk up her fifth save of the year.

Big Blue did all its damage in the bottom of the 2nd, as singles by Abby Lambert, Kelly Murphy, and Andrea Gosper loaded the bags for a walk by Lauren Jones. Paige Moore-Haskell had an RBI-single to plate another, before Sydney Helmbrecht and Avery Alberghini drove in one each with sacrifice flies.

Western New England got one on the board in the 4th, when a lead-off double from Corianna DeLisi was backed up by a two-out double from Alexis Bukowski.

Allison Mishol and Katie Wood both tallied their second hits of the contest to start the Golden Bears in the 5th, and an error on the next play produced an unearned run to make it 4-2.

Lambert and Gosper accounted for four of UNE's six hits in the game with two apiece.

Samantha DiGiovanni took the loss for WNEU in two innings of action. Sarah Broderick struck out six against two hits and no walks in the remaining four frames.

GAME 1 belonged mostly to Heidi Grieger of Western New England, as the senior pitcher took a no-hitter into the 6th inning while knocking two hits of her own at the dish. The victory in the circle upped her personal mark to 14-5, while the stat-line consisted of four strikeouts against two hits, two walks, and one hit-by-pitch.

Grieger doubled a 3-0 cushion with one out in the top of the 7th on a bases-clearing double to the gap in left-center.

The match was scoreless through four innings, though the Golden Bears had stranded six runners to that point. A lead-off triple by Gabby Lavinio in the 1st, a bases-loaded with one away situation in the 3rd, and a lead-off double by Grieger in the 4th all added up to nothing as UNE repeatedly worked out of jams.

The Nor'easters put the first two batters aboard in the last half of the 4th, and had both in scoring position after a sacrifice, but could not net any runs.

Lavinio notched her third hit of the outing to begin the WNEU 5th, and moved to third on a one-out single by Heather Fecteau. A sacrifice fly from McKenzie Pezze allowed Lavinio to break the seal, before an infield single and walk filled the bases. With two down, a passed ball and error on the play gave the visitors two unearned runs to establish the three-run lead.

Moments after Grieger's no-hit bid was kept alive by Lindsay Williams in right field with a sliding grab for the first out of the 6th, Alberghini dropped a bunt single for the initial UNE hit.

Lavino's push for four hits was robbed in the 6th by UNE right fielder Kaitlin Carson on a diving snag. Fecteau recorded a second hit in the 7th before scoring, just like Pezze and Bukowski (for a second time), courtesy of Grieger.

Lambert came up on the short end of the decision for Big Blue, striking out four in 6 1/3 innings. Gosper, who finished the day with three total hits, registered an infield single in the 7th.