SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The University of Hartford softball team has clinched its first Conference of New England (CNE) playoff bid this season and have a tough task needing to win two games on Tuesday to make the championship pod play. 

No. 5 University of Hartford Hawks (18-18 Overall, 11-9 CNE)
No. 6 Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards (15-24, 11-9 CNE)
No. 4 Western New England University Golden Bears (20-19, 12-8 CNE)

Game Headlines:
The Hawks and Leopards will meet at 1:00 PM in a win and take on Western New England or go home game. The Golden Bears will be watching game one from the stands will just have to win the second game to advance to the championship pod taking place at Endicott College starting on Wednesday (Note: Could be moved to Thursday due to weather). 

Hartford Headlines:

• The Hawks made the CNE Playoffs for the first time in program history in 2026 with a 11-9 conference record. Hartford was stellar at home this season going 8-2 in West Hartford, however the Hawks have struggled on the road going 6-12 and have lost the past four road games. 
• Heading into Tuesday, the offense will be the most pivotal factor in Hartford's success. In conference wins this season the Hawks have scored 7.36 runs per game, while just registering 3.00 runs per game in losses in the CNE. The offense is led by freshman Alina Weaver (Nazareth, Pa.) who ended the year slashing .412/.510/.565 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with two homers, seven doubles, 22 runs scored and 12 RBIs. Senior Gia Miccio (Bellmore, N.Y.) heads into the playoffs white hot coming into the playoffs with a 17 game hitting-streak. Miccio ended the regular season with a .389/.418/.556 slash line with a homer, 11 doubles, two triples, 24 runs scored and 26 RBIs. Sophomore Katrina Baran (Townsend, Del.) also has produced at a high level in her sophomore year leading the team with 13 multi-hit games. Baran slashed .379/.458/.427 with four extra base hits, 26 runs scored and 12 RBIs. 
• The Hawks power bats will have to come through in a big way on Tuesday as the three top home-run hitters have produced 47.5% of the RBIs for Hartford in 2026. Sophomore Alyssa Edwards (Stoughton, Mass.) led the team with six homers and 29 RBIs in her sophomore season. She registered a 1.090 OPS (On-base Plus Slugging) and a .367 batting average. Junior Adelie Beebe (Sacramento, Calif.) launched five homers in 2026 with 28 ribbys as the main designated player. Beebe was third on the team in OPS with a 1.005 and also led the team with 20 RBIs in conference play. Senior Anita Farkash (Seaford, N.Y.) added four long balls for the Hawks in 2026 to go with 21 RBIs and a .924 OPS. 
• Hartford's offense is ranked 4th in the CNE in batting average (.310), 5th in the CNE in runs (177) and tied for 3rd in home runs (18). 
• In the circle, senior Carly Mayhood (Newton, N.J.) will most likely be getting the ball in game one. Mayhood finished the year with a 7-8 record in 84.0 innings pitched with a 4.42 ERA and 76 strikeouts to just 47 walks. Sophomore Ella Zobel (Clarence, N.Y.) ended the regular season with a 4.32 ERA in 73.0 innings. Zobel finished 6-4 with 64 punch outs. Junior Gracie Hopkins (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) ended the year with a 4.83 ERA with a 5-6 record in 53.2 innings. Junior Alex Hassett (Granby, Conn.) finished the season with 16.2 innings and a ERA of 3.78. The season the Hartford pitching staff has allowed 2.63 runs per game in CNE wins and 5.78 runs per game in CNE losses. Overall the Hawks rank 6th in team ERA (4.43) this season.
• Hartford will need to field at a higher level if they want to be successful in the playoffs. The Hawks rank 10th out of 11 teams in fielding percentage (.940). 

Wentworth Headlines:

• The Leopards have been road warriors this season going 9-6 on the away from home in 2026. Wentworth also heads to the playoffs winning six of their last seven games.
• Lauren Trostel is the star for the Leopards, as the sophomore is currently hitting .409 this season with six homers, 16 doubles, 30 RBIs. Kyla Igawa is another key bat for Wentworth hitting .342 with six doubles and 23 RBIs. Brianna Miller (.337 average and 15 RBIs) and Quincy Bolduc (.343 average) are others to watch out for in the lineup.
• The Leopards are ranked 6th in the CNE in batting average (.286), but they come in 8th in total runs scored (152) and home runs (7). 
• Julie Schriver is the top pitcher for the Leopards going 9-10 over 96.1 innings pitched. The Senior had a 4.43 ERA with 66 strikeouts. Julia Malowitz is the other throwers for Wentworth with 82.1 innings this season. The sophomore finished with a 4-11 record with 36 punch outs. Maddy Longoria and Abby Austen have also tossed more than 15 innings for the Leopards this year. 
• The pitching staff for Wentworth is ranked 9th overall in ERA (5.33) and batting average against (.336). 
• In the field the Leopards have the edge coming in 3rd in fielding percentage in the conference (.961) only committing 41 errors this season.  

All-Time Against Wentworth:
The Hawks are 4-2 all-time against Wentworth being 4-0 at home and 0-2 on the road. Hartford outscored the Leopards 12-1 over the two regular season games in 2026 on March 31st in a huge CNE sweep. 

Western New England Headlines:

• The Golden Bears will get to play the winner of the Leopards and the Hawks on their home field where they went 8-5 overall and 6-4 in CNE play. Western New England has struggled as of late falling in three of their last four CNE contests. 
• Katelyn Bailey leads the offense for WNE ending the year hitting .389 with a pair of homers, 11 other extra base hits, 25 runs scored and 15 RBIs. Marley Rodriguez added a .364 season from the plate with two homers, 17 RBIs and 25 runs scored. Riley Kane (.353 average, 19 RBIs) and Angelees Carrasquillo (.284 average, 13 RBIs) are other Golden Bears to watch from their balanced offense. 
• Kane has been the go-to pitcher for the Golden Bears this season tossing 133.2 innings. Riley ended the year with a 9-10 record with a 2.41 ERA and 81 strikeouts. Kaylin Heffern is the top reliever tossing 57.0 innings with two saves and a 5-1 record. Heffern posted a 2.95 ERA with 34 punch outs. Brianna Cardona is the third option with a 4.20 ERA in 51.2 innings pitched. 
• The Golden Bears have a team ERA of 3.19 which is the 3rd best in the CNE and only allows teams to hit .254 against them. 

All-Time Against Western New England University:
The Hawks are 2-3-1 against Western New England in program history. Hartford is 1-3 on the road against the Golden Bears with a 1-0-1 record. WNE swept Hartford this season winning both games on April 11th of 2026. 

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE OF NEW ENGLAND:
Originally founded in 1984 as the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), and reconstituted as the Conference of New England (CNE) in 2024, the CNE is an NCAA Division III athletic conference composed of 11 full member and five associate member institutions throughout the New England region. Its membership aims to provide student-athletes with a positive experience in their pursuit of excellence through high academic standards, quality competition, and a meaningful student life. The Conference administers championships in 21 intercollegiate sports.

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