WESTFIELD, Mass.  –   Brenna Welch tossed a 3-hitter and Colleen Hughes RBI single in the fifth plated the game winning run as Westfield State won it's first softball game of the season, 3-1 over Northwestern-St. Paul (Minn.) at Legends Way in Clermont, Fla. On Saturday.

 

The win was also the first career collegiate head coaching win for new Owls coach Skania Valencia, who took over the reins of the Owls program last fall.

 

Welch scattered three hits on the afternoon, allowing the lone run in the sixth on an RBI single by Kate Beer, which trimmed the Owls lead to 2-1.

 

Westfield scratched together an insurance run in the seventh as Hughes led off with a single, and was pinch-run for by Christina Ciampa. A walk to Annelyse Rivera and an infield single from Megan Metzger loaded the bases, and then Sarah Bingham grounded a ball to short and reached on an error that plated Ciampa before Rivera was retired at home plate on the play for a 3-1 Owls lead.

 

Welch worked out of a bases-loaded, 1-out jam in the bottom half of the seventh, getting two fielder's choice ground balls to Skyler Dutra at third, who cut down the lead runner at the plate on the first, and they dove to the third base bag to record the final out of the game and preserve the Westfield win.

 

The Owls are now 1-1 on the trip, while Northwestern slipped to 3-4 on the season.

 

Hughes, Metzger and Lindsay Cordopatri were all repeat hitters for the Owls.

 

Westfield's scheduled second game of the day, against D'Youville (NY) College, was rained out by a deluge that struck just as the game was scheduled to start.