HARWICH, Mass. – Junior lefty Bryan Calzone (Bethel, CT) pitched the first nine-inning complete game of his career and sophomore catcher Jon Dominik (West Springfield, MA) slugged his first collegiate homer as Western New England College defeated Worcester State 8-3 in an elimination game of the NCAA Division III New England Regional Baseball Tournament Friday morning (May 16) at Whitehouse Field.
WNEC (33-12) will meet Southern Maine at 8:00 p.m. tonight (weather permitting) in another elimination contest. The Golden Bears defeated the Huskies 8-6 in 12 innings in the opening game of the tournament on Wednesday (May 14).
Western New England College compiled 15 hits with Dominik enjoying his second three-hit performance in his last five contests. It's been a tough year at the plate for Dominik who has a .245 average, but he came through in the clutch in one of the team's biggest games of the season. Dominik is perfect behind the plate with a 1.000 fielding percentage in 240 chances.
The Golden Bears took a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a RBI double by senior first baseman Travis Schwamb (West Springfield, MA) and run-scoring single by senior shortstop Ryan Kravontka (Glastonbury, CT) who tied the school's all-time hit record (210) set last year by former teammate Tom Horgan.
WNEC enjoyed a 4-0 advantage before the Lancers pulled within one after scoring twice in the fourth and once in the fifth.
In the sixth Dominik belted a two-blast that scored freshman third baseman Tony Trubia (Tolland, CT) who led off the inning with a walk. Sophomore designated hitter Joe Griglun (Southington, CT) later delivered a key two-run single for the 8-3 margin.
Calzone retired the side in the sixth, pitched out of jams with two runners on in both the seventh and eighth innings, and got three straight outs in the ninth. He gave up eight hits with six strikeouts and a walk to improve his record to 7-4.
Every player in the lineup collected at least one hit with sophomore rightfielder Steve Kearney (Glastonbury, CT) getting two singles, two RBI, and a run. Griglun and Trubia (two runs) each contributed a pair of hits while junior rightfielder Mike Beck (Whitesboro, NY) added two singles and a run.
The Lancers (24-18) had three players with two hits, senior rightfielder Chris Gusha (Rutland, MA), sophomore second baseman Ryan LaPrade (Leominster, MA), and freshman leftfielder Corey Abbascia (Shrewsbury, MA). Junior Pat Good (Hull, MA) took the loss.
Western New England College's 33 victories ties as the second highest in the program's 40-year history.
