WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 25, 2024) – The Western New England baseball team fell on the final day of the Matt Kurkjian ALS Awareness Invitational on Sunday to a former member of the Commonwealth Coast Conference, Salve Regina University. The 19th-ranked Seahawks got off to an early start and took down the Golden Bears by a final score of 14-2. WNE made six errors and had just five hits in the loss.

How it Happened:

John Bova opened Western New England off with a double in the top of the first, though Western New England failed to score after Seahawks starter Brayden Clark shut the Golden Bears down following the hit. Salve Regina wasted little time getting to WNE starter Jared Kuryan, as an error would cost the Golden Bears three runs in the opening inning, with the Seahawks grabbing three runs on three hits while leaving one on base to take an early 3-0 lead. The Golden Bears would again put a runner on base in the top of the second with only one out, though would not be able to score again. Salve put an additional three runs up on the board in the bottom of the second inning to quickly begin to run away with the score, with the Golden Bears making their second error of the game. The Seahawks would lead 6-0 after two innings of play.

Trey Young would open the top of the third inning with a single to left field, while John Bova would grab his second hit of the game and second double of the game, putting runners of second and third with one out. The Golden Bears would see Sean Jamieson reach on a fielder's choice, with the Seahawks tossing Young out at the plate. WNE would not be able to bring any runs home, leaving three aboard in the third. The Seahawks continued to score while the Golden Bears continued to make costly errors that sent Kuryan out of the game after the second inning, giving up only two earned runs out of six. The Seahawks would take an 8-0 lead after three innings of play.

Western New England would find a spark in the top of the fourth inning with Kohtaro Shimada picking up WNE's third extra base hit of the afternoon, while Ryan Montini would walk to give WNE runners on second and first with one out. Aaron Cole would deliver an RBI double down the right field line while Trey Young picked up his first RBI of the season as the Golden Bears would trail 8-2 after four innings of play. As it would turn out, Western New England would not pick up any additional hits through the final five innings of the game, while Salve Regina would torch the Golden Bears in the bottom of the seventh inning, picking up six runs in the seventh, while WNE recorded three errors in the inning to put away the Golden Bears by a final score of 14-2.

Inside the Diamond:

• Salve Regina takes down WNE for the second straight time, while the Golden Bears are 0-8-2 against the Seahawks in their last ten.
• John Bova recorded two doubles in three plate appearances on Sunday afternoon while recording a walk to lead WNE.
• WNE was doomed by six errors on Sunday, as the WNE pitching gave up just four earned runs in the game.
• Western New England would see Lucas Kamoen, Nate Acabchuk, and Canon Marshall make their season debuts out of the bullpen.
• The Salve Regina bullpen gave up no hits to Western New England in 5.1 innings of work while striking out six.
• Four different Seahawks recorded two RBIs in the game, while four different Seahawks had at least two hits.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE looks to bounce back with a road doubleheader on Saturday, March 2, beginning at noon against Springfield College.