NAPLES, Fla. - The Western Connecticut State University Wolves suffered a pair of one-run defeats on their second day of the Gene Cusic Softball Classic at the North Collier Complex this afternoon.  WestConn drops to 2-2 with a 2-1 setback against the Westfield State University Owls and a 3-2 loss in eight innings versus the Widener University Pride.  Westfield State is 2-0 and the game was Widener's season opener.  The Wolves' pitching was stellar, as senior Sydney Chenoweth (Baldwinville, Mass.) held the Pride to six hits in her six innings in the circle while rookies Caitlin Conley (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Lindsay Farinaccio (Red Hook, N.Y.) combined to strike out nine and yield just three unearned runs versus the Owls.

Widener went ahead, 2-0, early with solo runs in the second and third innings on RBI doubles by Liv Robinson and Paris Balilonis. WestConn got on the scoreboard in the fourth frame when graduate student Charline Placzynski (Bristol, Conn.) walked, stole second, and scored on an RBI double by freshman Kendall Allen (Naugatuck, Conn.), although the Wolves left runners on second and third base in the inning.  WestConn had runners in scoring position twice more in the game, but was held to just one hit in the game and could not push the tying runner across.  Chenowith struck out three and walked one but drops her first decision of the spring.  Amanda Danz struck out five in five innings to get the win for Widener.

Against Westfield State, WestConn fell behind, 2-0, after three innings on a pair of unearned runs by the Owls.  The score remained the same until the sixth frame when the Wolves tied the score at 2-2.  Placzynski had an RBI groundout and Chenoweth singled and scored in the inning.  WestConn junior Carly Cordova (East Haven, Conn.) singled and reached scoring position in the seventh frame but was left stranded to push the game into extra innings.  Haley Wodecki drove in the placed runner in the top of the eighth for Westfield State with a two-out single.  The Owls had runners on second and third base in the bottom of the eighth but Westfield's Sara Scoville recorded the final out on a strikeout.  Conley allowed six hits and two unearned runs with three strikeouts and one walk over five innings, while Farinaccio gave up two hits and fanned six but drops to 1-1.  Allen went 2-for-4 with a double and a run to finish 3-for-8 with two doubles and two runs for the day.