SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 30, 2024) – The Western New England baseball team took care of business early in the afternoon, cruising to a 19-3 victory over the Pilgrims of New England College, though the second game would not go as smoothly, seeing the Golden Bears surrender ten ninth-inning runs to fall 18-12 in the second half of the doubleheader.

Records:

• Western New England: 7–10
• New England College: 3-16

How it Happened (Game 1):

There was no shortage of offense for the Golden Bears in their home opener, coming away with an early lead in the bottom of the second inning and never looked back. Andrew Florek started the Golden Bears off with an RBI groundout after Sean Jamieson reached on a walk and stole two bases to begin the inning, giving the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead. Henry Schowerer would reach on a single up the middle and would be driven in by John Bova, grabbing a single for himself through the left side of the diamond, extending Western New England's lead to 2-0. The Pilgrims would leave two runners on base in the top of the third inning after Jared Kuryan would grab a groundout to surrender those two runs on base, cruising right through the NEC lineup.

Western New England grabbed two more runs in the bottom of the third inning when Jack Loftus and Andrew Florek both grabbed RBIs, Loftus on an RBI single and Florek on a fielder's choice, giving Western New England a 4-0 lead after three innings of play. Scoring would continue in the bottom of the fourth inning when WNE would double their lead. Cody Waterbury would do damage, grabbing a bases-loaded triple after a hit by pitch, and two walks would cost New England College four runs after Jack Loftus would bring home Waterbury on an RBI groundout, giving the Golden Bears an 8-0 lead after four innings of play.

Jared Kuryan would dial in for the top of the fifth, setting the road team down in order, while the Pilgrims would come alive in the top of the sixth inning to get to the starter for the Golden Bears, who lasted 5.2 innings on Saturday for WNE, giving up seven hits and three runs, one earned, while walking one and striking out seven Pilgrims. Alex Slezak would clean up the top of the sixth for the Golden Bears, with New England College plating three of their own to trail 8-3. Western New England would take exception to the 'Grims runs in the top of the sixth inning and came away with an explosive bottom of the sixth inning, grabbing 11 runs on eight hits in the inning. In the inning, Jack Loftus, Aaron Cole, Jack Gamache, Trey Young, Cory Kilroy, Ryan Montini, and Greg Nivison would all pick up hits that recorded RBIs as the Golden Bears would take care of business, defeating New England College by a final score of 19-3.

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears finished with 14 hits in the contest and 19 runs, with 11 coming in the bottom of the sixth.
• Only three Golden Bears recorded multiple hits: Jack Loftus, Aaron Cole, and John Bova.
• Jared Kuryan and Alex Slezak combined to pitch the full seven-inning game for Western New England.

How it Happened (Game 2):

In a game that looked to be in favor of the home team, Western New England would see New England College put together two massive innings, which would be all the Pilgrims needed to get by the Golden Bears, winning the second game by a score of 18-12. Western New England opened the second game with four runs in the bottom of the first inning as Cody Waterbury would record his second triple of the day while Aaron Cole and Ryan Montini would record RBI singles of their own, giving the Golden Bears a 4-0 lead after one inning of play. 

The top of the second would not favor WNE pitching, seeing New England College grab eight runs on five hits while the Golden Bears defense recorded two errors in the inning. The Pilgrims would chase Matt Lauria after just an inning and a third after giving up four hits and eight runs, six earned, while walking two batters.
The score would remain 8-4 in favor of the road team until Trey Young got a hold of a ball that would hang up for just a second too long, getting a run home for Western New England and seeing WNE trail 8-5. Tyler Curtis would shut down all offensive abilities for the Pilgrims, going 4.2 innings, giving up just four hits while striking out six on 50 pitches. The Golden Bears would come back from four down to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth inning after Andrew Florek delivered a two-RBI single, scoring Jack Loftus and Sean Jamieson, while Aaron Cole grounded out to score Florek, evening the score at eight after five innings of play. The Golden Bears would get their lead back in the bottom of the sixth inning after Jack Loftus would grab a two-RBI triple, followed up by a single to right field by Sean Jamieson, seeing Western New England take an 11-8 lead.

An RBI groundout in the bottom of the seventh by Trey Young gave the Golden Bears a 12-8 lead, a lead that WNE took into the top of the ninth, needing three outs to close the game. The Golden Bears would struggle to find the final three outs of the game, using three pitchers in the inning who combined to give up five hits and ten runs, eight earned, while striking out just one Pilgrim in the inning as NEC would reverse course, flipping their 12-8 deficit into an 18-12 lead. The 'Grims would hold on in the bottom of the ninth, seeing WNE threaten with a runner on base, though that would be all as the Golden Bears would fall in game two, 18-12.

Inside the Lines:

• Western New England collected seven extra base hits in game two, while NEC had just two.
• WNE made five errors in the contest to cost them runs in both the second and ninth innings.
• NEC scored eight runs in the second and ten runs in the ninth, which was all they needed to take the game for WNE.
• Jack Loftus went 3/3 at the plate, delivering two RBIs. Ryan Montini would grab three hits in four plate appearances.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE meets the University of Hartford on Tuesday, April 2, at 3:30 p.m. for the first meeting between the two programs all time.