Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Game 1 - Box Score
Game 2 - Box Score
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Top-seeded Western New England defeated third-seeded Endicott by identical 5-4 scores Sunday (May 8) to capture The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Baseball Championship title for the fourth consecutive year.
The Golden Bears, ranked 25th nationally, posted a 6-1 record in the tournament (including four victories by one run) and had to win back-to-back doubleheaders to earn an automatic invitation to the NCAA Division III Championship for the sixth straight year.
Coach
Matt's LaBranche's squad now has a school-best 38-9 record.
Junior relief pitcher
Mike Lawlor (Windsor, CT) won the opener and earned the save in the second contest. Sophomore left-fielder
Matt Anthonis (Guilford, CT) had five hots in the doubleheader.
Game 1 - Western New England 5, Endicott 4
Sophomore second baseman
Tim Clark (West Springfield, MA) delivered the game-winning single with two outs in the eighth as the Golden Bears staved off elimination. He drove in senior center-fielder
Andrew Fatse (Hamden, MA) who was safe on an error and advanced to second on the wild throw.
Endicott scored single runs in the first three innings before WNE scored an unearned run in the bottom of the third. The Golden Bears tied the contest with a sacrifice fly by junior first baseman
Mike Taylor (Andover, MA) in the fourth and sacrifice fly by senior first baseman
Tony Trubia (Tolland, CT) in the fifth.
The Gulls went ahead 4-3 in the sixth when freshman shortstop
Jake Northrup (Boxborough, MA) led-off with a long homer to left off Lawlor who entered the game the previous inning. Anthonis then tied the game with a key two-out single in the seventh.
Lawlor was outstanding going five innings giving up two hits with no walks and five strikeouts to raise his record to 3-1.
Clark, sophomore third baseman
Mike Rubino (Northford, CT), and sophomore shortstop
Kyle McKelvey (Schenectady, NY) each finished with two hits.
Northrup also had two hits, including a run-scoring single in the third that put the visitors ahead 3-0.
Junior right-fielder
Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, CT) reached base three times with two singles and a hit by pitch. He and Northrup also scored a run apiece. Junior
Mike Nich (Orange, CT) (6-4) was the hard-luck loser in relief. He gave up just two hits and had a strikeout in an inning-and-a-third.
Game 2 - Western New England 5, Endicott 4
Clark again drove in what proved to be the winning run with a double in a two-run sixth that gave the Golden Bears a 5-2 lead. His clutch hit brought home Fatse who doubled in the previous at-bat to score McKelvey who had a lead-off walk.
Anthonis went 4-for-4 with three singles and a triple with a run scored and RBI.
Endicott rallied with a run in the seventh on a key two-out single by freshman center-fielder
Tad Golf (Martha's Vineyard, MA). The Gulls scored an unearned run in the eighth to get within 5-4 when junior catcher
Robbie Goldstick (Deerfield, IL) walked, moved to second on a passed ball, and came home on a two-out single by senior third baseman
Chris Dominiguez (Braintree, MA).
EC threatened in the ninth when Northrup and Sitarz singled to lead-off the inning. Lawlor got the final three outs, including a game-ending double play for his eighth save of the season. He permitted only three hits in an inning-and-two-thirds.
The Golden Bears finished with 12 hits as Clark had three safeties to finish hitting a team-high .440 in the tournament.
Dominiguez led the 15-hit Endicott attack with three hits while five other players each contributed two hits apiece. The Gulls, however, left 12 runners on base. Freshman
Drew Dumas (Holden MA) suffered his first loss in three decisions in relief.
Western New England senior catcher
Jason Leclerc (Chicopee, MA) threw out a runner in the first game and two in the second contest. The Gulls also had another runner thrown out at the plate in the first game on a delayed double steal.
Senior
Evan Michaud (Windsor Locks, CT) came in relief and gave up two runs (one earned) with five hits, a walk, and four strikeouts in four innings for his seventh win of the season without a loss.
Endicott (30-15) could be in consideration for a post-season playoff invitation.
