AUBURNDALE, Fla. (March 18, 2016) - The Western New England University baseball team erupted for eight runs over the final four innings, capping its undefeated, season-opening trip at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational with a 10-3 victory over Calvin (Mich.) College this morning at Lake Myrtle Park.
 
With the win, Western New England improves to 8-0, extending its best start in program history. Calvin drops to 4-6 with the setback.
 
The Golden Bear offense continued to roll, recording 18 hits and reaching the 10-run mark for the fourth time this spring. Western New England also received another impressive pitching performance from freshman lefthander Bob Hamel (Southwick, Mass.), who improved to 2-0 after striking out eight batters and allowing just two earned runs over seven strong innings.
 
Senior shortstop Kevin Marciano (Pepperell, Mass.) and freshman outfielder Ben LaCroix (Branford, Conn.) set the tone at the top of Western New England's batting order, going a combined 5-for-9 at the plate with five runs scored. Freshman infielder Alex Loparco (Riverside, Conn.) led all players with four hits, while senior second baseman Eduardo Colmenares (Caracas, Venezuela) went 2-for-5 with four RBI and classmate Doug Milne (Nesconset, N.Y.) added two hits and two runs.
 
Senior Jordan VanderWall (Wyoming, Mich.) and freshman Steven Seager (Plantation, Fla.) led the Calvin offense with three hits apiece, and junior Colton Wolfe (Eaton Rapids, Mich.) was responsible for all of the Knights' runs with his three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth.
 
Senior lefty Kyle Wasserberger (Spring Lake, Mich.) dropped to 0-2 with the loss after the Golden Bears got to him for four runs on four hits in the seventh.
 
Facing a 3-2 deficit in the top of the sixth inning, Western New England was able to manufacture the game-tying run as Milne executed a perfect bunt down the third base line, before taking second on a wild pitch and reaching third on an infield single by Loparco. Milne came in to score when senior T.J. Wyrebek (Bristol, Conn.), who delivered a walkoff double in Monday's 6-5 win over Trinity, singled through the right side of the infield.
 
The Golden Bears then broke through for four runs the following inning, taking the lead for good on Colmenares' RBI double to left center, before scoring three more times to claim a 7-3 advantage. Colmenares came up big again in the eighth, driving in LaCroix and Marciano with a triple to left center, and the senior eventually crossed the plate on a wild pitch extend the final margin of victory to seven.
 
Western New England opened the scoring in the top of the third courtesy of Colmenares' RBI groundout, and the Golden Bears doubled their lead in the fourth on junior Daniel Morin's (Salem, N.H.) solo shot to right field, his second home run in as many days.
 
Calvin pulled ahead in the bottom half of the inning on Wolfe's three-run homer, but the Knights were unable to generate any offense the rest of the way, as Hamel, junior Jacques Boilard (Brimfield, Mass.), and freshmen Jeremy Morris (Montrose, N.Y.) and Paul Wetmore (Hamden, Conn.) combined to shut them out over the final five innings.  
 
Western New England now heads back north and is scheduled to open its home slate this Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. against Brandeis at Trelease Park.