Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BOSTON, Mass. (April 27, 2024) – The Western New England baseball team pounded out 30 hits on Saturday afternoon in two games as the Golden Bears would take two important CCC games from the hosting Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards, grabbing 11-6 and 10-6 wins.

Records:

• Western New England: 18-15, 7-4 CCC
• Wentworth Institute: 20-14, 3-8 CCC

How it Happened (Game 1): 

The hosting Leopards would be the first to threaten off WNE starting pitcher Jared Kuryan in the bottom of the first inning, getting the bases loaded with just one out in the frame, though Kuryan would get the final two outs of the inning himself, grabbing a looking strikeout and groundout to himself, keeping the bases loaded and Wentworth off the scoreboard after one inning of play. WNE would reward their starter with four straight singles to open the top of the second, as Sean Jamieson, Kohtaro Shimada, Ryan Montini, and Jack Loftus would all join in on the hit party, with Loftus grabbing the RBI single to score WNE's first run of the game, taking a 1-0 lead over Wentworth. Western New England was not done scoring in the inning, as Trey Young would reach on a fielder's choice, picking up an RBI, while Paul Villecco grabbed WNE's fifth single of the inning, scoring Young, giving the Golden Bears a 3-0 lead.

Wentworth would strike in the bottom of the second inning with just a single run on an RBI double to get their first run of the contest. The Leopards would even the score at three in the bottom of the third inning when a two-RBI single to centerfield by Aaron Lundgren tied the game. The score wouldn't stay tied for long as the Golden Bears would record two quick outs to finish the bottom of the third and would grab the lead back in the top of the fourth when Young recorded a sacrifice fly to score Loftus, who opened the inning with a double to left field. The Golden Bears would end the fourth inning holding on to a one-run lead, leading 4-3.
A four-run inning in the top of the fifth would give Western New England some needed insurance. Cody Waterbury and Sean Jamieson would both walk, while Jack Loftus would single to shortstop. On the same play, Wentworth would record an error, giving Loftus two RBIs and giving Western New England a 6-3 lead. Trey Young would continue his onslaught of RBIs in the contest, picking up his third and fourth RBIs of the game on a single to center field, giving the Golden Bears an 8-3 lead.

Wentworth would continue to score, grabbing two runs in the bottom of the fifth, ending the afternoon for Kuryan, who went the first five innings for Western New England, giving up eight hits and five runs while walking four and striking out two. John Bova would make his impact on the contest in the top of the sixth inning, leading off with a solo home run to give the Golden Bears a 9-5 lead. As they did all afternoon long, Wentworth would answer with a run, as the Golden Bears would lead by three runs after six innings of play.

The Golden Bears would add two needed insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning after Aaron Cole and Paul Villecco added RBI singles to give WNE an 11-6 lead. Cam Heeman would lock up the final three innings for the Golden Bears, sending Western New England to a game-one victory, 11-6.

Inside the Diamond:

• Six of the starting nine Golden Bears recorded at least two hits in the game, with Jack Loftus grabbing three hits and three RBIs.
• Trey Young had one hit in the game and recorded four RBIs to lead the Golden Bears.
• Cam Heeman closed the final three innings of the game for Western New England, going three innings and giving up just two hits while striking out one Leopard to earn his first save of the season.
• WNE takes its fourth straight win over Wentworth.

How it Happened (Game 2): 

The Golden Bears would jump on Wentworth's starting pitching early, coming away with six runs in the top of the first inning to grab the early lead. Jack Loftus started the scoring for the Golden Bears with an RBI single to left center, as the first seven Golden Bears would reach in the inning. Ryan Montini's two RBI single would score two more, giving WNE a 3-0 lead. Kohtaro Shimada would double to left field, giving WNE a 4-0 lead, while the scoring would end with an Andrew Florek two-RBI single to right field, giving Western New England a 6-0 lead after a half inning of play. SP Tyler Curtis would have no trouble sitting the top three Leopards down in the bottom of the first inning, getting WiT in order.

The Golden Bears would threaten in the top of the second inning, but would not be able to score after getting two hits, though left both John Bova and Ryan Montini on base. Wentworth would grab an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning to score their first run of the game, giving Western New England a 6-1 lead after two innings. John Bova would continue his hitting tear in game two, coming around with his second home run of the afternoon, this time a two-run home run to left field, giving the Golden Bears an 8-1 lead. The Leopards would respond with a home run of their own, also a two-run shot, in the bottom of the third, as the Golden Bears would still lead by five runs after four innings.

Neither team would have much success scoring through the middle innings, seeing Wentworth come around with the lone run in the sixth inning, as the Leopards would inch closer at Western New England's lead. WNE would have a response for the one run for Wentworth in the top of the seventh after Aaron Cole would lead off with a triple to right field, quickly driven in by Paul Villecco, who recorded an RBI on a sac fly, giving WNE a 9-4 lead. Wentworth would continue to punch back at the Golden Bears, coming away with an RBI double with two outs in the seventh inning and seeing the Golden Bears lead 9-5.

Wentworth would get within three runs after a one-out solo home run would give the Leopards their sixth run of the game and see WNE's original six-run lead in the first cut in half in the eighth, as Wentworth would trail now 9-6. The Golden Bears would secure insurance in the top of the ninth when John Bova was at it again, coming through with an RBI single to right field, scoring Cole, who would walk with one out in the top of the ninth as WNE took a 10-6 lead. Troy Donohue would lock up the bottom of the ninth inning, getting Wentworth in order to complete the sweep of the Leopards, giving Western New England a four-run victory in game two.

Inside the Diamond:

• John Bova led the way for the Golden Bears in game two, going 4/6 at the plate, hitting a home run, and grabbing three RBIs.
• Paul Villecco churned out three hits in five plate appearances, grabbing an RBI in the win.
• Tyler Curtis went the first four innings for WNE, giving up five hits and three runs while walking two and striking out one.
• Luas Kamoen and Troy Donohue finished the final five innings for WNE, allowing a combined five hits and three runs while combining for four strikeouts.
• The Golden Bears grabbed 15 hits in the win and improved to 7-4 in CCC play.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England returns home for a non-conference tilt with the University of Saint Joseph's (Conn.) on Sunday, April 28 at 1:00 p.m..