SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 23, 2016) - The Western New England University baseball team split a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) doubleheader with the Wentworth Institute of Technology this afternoon at Trelease Park. The Golden Bears dropped the first game, 4-1, before exploding offensively in game two en route to a 16-3 triumph.
 
Wentworth 4, Western New England 1
The Golden Bears opened up the first game with an early first-inning run, when senior Doug Milne (Nesconset, N.Y.) fouled out to left field, scoring freshman Erik Lacaire (Worcester, Mass.) from third base.
 
After that run, which was unearned because Lacaire moved into scoring position on an error, Wentworth starter Mike Callagee (Emerson, N.J.) silenced the Golden Bears' bats, tossing seven innings, scattering four hits and only walking two batters.
 
Callagee's counterpart, Western New England freshman lefthander Bob Hamel (Southwick, Mass), pitched well, too, only allowing two earned runs in six innings.
 
Leading 2-1 after two innings, the Leopards strung together three hits in the third and pushed across two more runs, widening their lead to 4-1. From there, Callagee keep the Golden Bears off the board and secured the victory.
 
Justin Burst (Jackson, N.J.) collected a game-high two hits for the Leopards; he drove in the first run for Wentworth, knocking a single to right field which scored Tim Elrick (Buzzards Bay, Mass).
 
Western New England 16, Wentworth 3
The Western New England offense came to life in game two, erupting for 15 hits, while the bullpen turned in a shutdown performance.
 
Senior Eduardo Colmenares (Caracas, Venezuela) led the Golden Bears with a 4-for-5 showing, driving in two runs and crossing the plate three times. Freshman Alex Loparco (Riverside, Conn.) and sophomore Steve Rivela (Hudson, Mass.) both knocked in four runs, while senior captain Kevin Marciano (Pepperell, Mass.) and Milne had three hits apiece and three runs scored.
 
Getting on the board early again, the Golden Bears scored three runs in the first inning off of a three-run double by Loparco.
 
The Leopards answered in the fourth, collecting three runs on four hits. First, Burst lined a single to left. Two batters later, Jimmy Temte (Northborough, Mass.) drilled a double to right field, scoring Burst and cutting the Golden Bears' lead to 3-1. After a wild pitch and two more singles, the Leopards knotted the game up at 3-3.
 
Western New England junior starter Andrew Mulvey (Bristol, R.I.) struggled in the fourth, but only surrendered two earned runs in three innings.
 
Tied 3-3 after four innings, Milne lined a single to centerfield to start the fifth for the Golden Bears. Marciano followed with a single, and then Colmenares drove in both runners with a double to deep left field, giving Western New England a 5-3 edge. Following Colmenares, junior Dan Morin (Salem, N.H) roped a single to left field, and then two batters later, Rivela drove both runners in with a single that snuck through the right side of the infield. The Golden Bears scored one more time in the inning and pushed their lead to 7-3. 
 
Western New England wasn't finished, however. In the sixth inning, they collected five hits, including four that went for extra bases, and scored nine runs. With the bases loaded, Rivela smashed a triple into right field, clearing the bases. Then, after a walk, senior Matt Calzone (Middlebury, Conn.) knocked an RBI double into left, and Milne followed with a two-run double to right. Finally, Marciano tripled and scored on a wild pitch, giving the Golden Bears a 16-3 lead.
 
Junior Matt Thomas (Plainville, Conn) and freshmen Jeremy Morris (Montrose, N.Y) and Andrew Foley (Wilbraham, Mass) combined for four scoreless innings, closing out the Golden Bears' victory.
 
Western New England (22-7, 8-2 CCC) will be right back in action tomorrow with a doubleheader against Nichols at Trelease Park. Wentworth (9-19, 3-9 CCC) hosts Roger Williams for a pair of games on Monday at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Mass.