Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
MANSFIELD, Conn. – There was good news and bad news when the Eastern Connecticut State University softball team closed out the regular-season portion of its home season with a non-conference doubleheader against Western New England University Thursday evening at Clyde Washburne Field.
 
The bad news was that Eastern (19-14-1) was unable to record its third sweep in its last three doubleheaders when the Warriors were unable to hold an early two-run lead and dropped the opener, 6-5.
 
The good news is that Eastern was able to salvage a split while mostly preserving the overused right arm of graduate pitching ace Alyssa Vilchez (Brampton, ON), who may be called upon to pitch double duty Saturday when the Warriors visit the University of Massachusetts Boston with the likely No. 1 Little East Conference tournament seed on the line.
 
With Vilchez having already pitched 65 percent of the staff's 226 innings to date, the Warriors may need a sweep to earn the No. 1 LEC tournament seed and gain hosting privileges for the six-team, double-elimination tournament, which gets underway Wednesday. Eastern and RIC enter the final day of the regular season with identical 10-4 records. The Warriors face a Beacon team currently in third place (9-5), while Rhode Island visits VTSU Castleton (5-9 LEC).
 
If Eastern and RIC finish in a tie for first place, the Warriors gain the top seed by virtue of Tuesday's two walk-off wins over the Anchorwomen at Washburne Field.
 
While Eastern was hoping to rest Vilchez' arm Thursday against Western New England (23-11), Eastern put itself in a position to win the second game after erasing an early 2-0 deficit, and called upon Vilchez with two runners aboard in the fifth inning of a tie game. Vilchez got the final eight outs of the game, needing to throw only 33 pitches (21 of them for strikes). Two of the outs came on the first (and only) pitch she threw in the fifth, when a potential go-ahead sacrifice fly by No. 3 hitter Kailey Carrano instead turned into an inning-ending double play when WNE's baserunner at first was inexplicably doubled off the base after junior  Maggie Baker (Hudson, MA) made what proved to be a potentially game-saving leaping catch in center that ultimately turned into that inning-ending double play.
 
As it did against RIC two days earlier, the Warriors walked off with the second-game win by breaking the 2-2 tie with a run in the seventh when pinch runner Kaley Laird (Bristol) evaded the tag at home on pinch hitter Maddy Bowen's  (Hudson, NH) one-out ground ball to short. Junior Maggie Rubeck (Easthampton, MA) had reached on an infield single to start the inning, with pinch-runner Laird moving to second on a wild pitch and to third on first-year pinch hitter Reagan Lalor's (Danbury) first successful sacrifice bunt of the season. After fouling off a suicide squeeze bunt attempt Bowen --- whose single highlighted a three-run seventh inning in Tuesday's walk-off, 5-4 win over RIC – bounced a 2-1 pitch on one hop to shortstop Alex Ferrioulos, who was playing in after Bowen's bunt attempt. Laird was caught off third but Ferrioulo, who initially charged Laird, then hesitated -- looking momentarily at Bowen running up the line – as Laird headed home. The high throw from Ferrioulo to catcher Lizzie Weston beat the runner, but Laird, standing up, stuck her left foot in before the tag was applied for the game-ending run.
 
The Golden Bears had taken a 2-0 second-game lead in the third inning of the second game by scoring two runs on four hits, a wild pitch and a throwing error before Eastern tied the game with two tying unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth (that were aided by the Golden Bears' only error of the game) on  Rubeck's two-out, two-run double to the base of the left field fence that sent in Vilchez (inning-opening walk) and first-year player Julia Boya (Coventry), who had reached on an infield fielding error.
 
In her ninth start of the season, junior lefty Alexa Boone (Middletown) kept the Warriors within striking distance in the second game, allowing only one earned run on six hits and two walks before giving way to Vilchez. Making her 29^th appearance of the season, Vilchez (16-6) won her seventh straight decision. After ending the fifth on one pitch, Vilchez  left the go-ahead run on second in the sixth with a strikeout and ground ball to graduate third baseman Julia SanGiovanni (East Haven), and gave her team a chance for the walk-off win by again leaving the potential go-ahead run on base following a leadoff walk with a strikeout, foul fly and infield ground ball in the top of the seventh.
 
Carrano's long two-run, two-out home run snapped a 2-2 tie in the fifth and sent the Golden Bears to the first-game win. Trailing 6-2, Eastern got two back in the sixth with two out on Bowen's RBI double and Sarah Remillard's (Grafton, MA) run-scoring single, and threatened with back-to-back doubles by Baker, batting ninth, and sophomore shortstop Emma Marelli (Waterford) that made it a one-run game, but winning pitcher Ava Blanchard (13-3) ended the threat by getting an infield fly ball and game-ending outfield fly.
 
On the day, Marelli had three hits (two doubles), two RBI and a run, while Vilchez reached five times with two hits and three walks, scored two runs and drove in one.  Baker, Rubeck and Remillard all chipped in two hits, with Baker scoring twice, Rubeck driving in two runs and Remillard one.
 
Six different hitters contributed two hits to WNE's 15-hit attack on the day, with leadoff hitter Taylor Keegan reaching five times with two singles, two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Sophomore lefty Evelyn Picone (3-2) pitched the entire 6 1/3 innings for the Golden Bears in the nightcap, giving up only four hits and one earned run with five strikeouts and three walks. Picone entered the game with a 0.83 ERA in 25 1/3 innings.