SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (4/9/24) – The Nichols College softball team came up empty in their first in-conference road matchup of the spring, falling to Western New England University by scores of 5-1 and 5-4 at Golden Bear Softball Park on Tuesday afternoon.

Nichols slides to 9-9 (4-2 CCC) overall, while Western New England improves to 10-7 (3-1 CCC).

Out of five total players with a hit, junior Chloe Steiniger led the way offensively for the Bison, going 4-for-7 on the afternoon for a team-high .571 average. Freshman outfielder Kyla Felicani delivered two runs on two hits, while sophomore Bailey Littlefield made contact twice herself to score one RBI.

Game #1

Western New England struck first, scoring a run on a single through the left side in the first inning. The Bison quickly evened the score in the bottom half of the inning, as Littlefield brought home Erin Gour on her own RBI single, tying the game at 1-1.

The Golden Bears jumped back in front in the fourth, scoring the go-ahead run on a double to center field. The hosts then added three more runs in the top of the fifth, two of which came off a two-run double to left-center, to make it a 4-1 ballgame. The Golden Bears tacked on their fifth and final run via an RBI base hit to left, resulting in what would be a 5-1 final score.

Junior Chelsea Indyk (7-2) was credited with the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings of work with three strikeouts. In relief, freshman Ally McNamee and sophomore Olivia Pedro split the remaining 0.4 innings, allowing no hits.

Game #2

In the bottom of the first inning, the Golden Bears used a fielding error and a double to plate the game's first two runs.  Their 2-0 lead would hold through a scoreless second inning, until another pair of runs crossed home plate in the third by way of a two-RBI single down the left field line, increasing their lead to 4-0.

The Bison were able to slash the deficit in half in the top of the fourth. With two runners on and two outs, Felicani delivered a double down the left field line to score Littlefield from second and Emily Iannuccilli from first, making it a 4-2 game. However, the Bison would not strike again in the inning, while the Golden Bears added an insurance run in the bottom half to take a 5-2 edge.

Nichols would continue to battle in the top of the fifth, scoring another pair of runs to cut the deficit to one run. The first run scored off a sacrifice fly-out to right field by Allie Silliman, while the second crossed home plate off an RBI single to left by Erin Gour to make it 5-4. However, the comeback effort for the Bison ended there, as the Golden Bears held the Bison scoreless the rest of the way.

Sophomore right-hander Olivia Pedro (1-4) was tagged with the loss after surrendering five runs on seven hits through in three innings in the circle. Freshman Cassidy Machado assisted in the late half of the contest, allowing two hits while striking out two batters.

The action returns to the Nichols Softball Field tomorrow (4/10) afternoon, as the Bison will play host to non-conference Rhode Island College for a midweek doubleheader, with start times of 3:00 and 5:00 PM.