BEVERLY, Mass. (May 10, 2024) – The Western New England baseball team won two more games on Friday afternoon, avoiding elimination against the second seeded Hawks of Roger Williams University, scoring the first four runs of the game while leaning on Tanner Wall the rest of the way to escape elimination, 4-3.

Records: 

• No. 5 Western New England: 24-19
• No. 2 Roger Williams University: 24-13-1

How it Happened: 

In their third meeting in less than a week, the Golden Bears and Hawks would duel it out for a chance at the CCC title game. The Golden Bears, who have been red hot since entering the playoffs, started early in the top of the first inning, scoring the first runs of the game. John Bova, one of the hottest offensive bats in the CCC over the last five games, singled to right field with two outs, while Sean Jamieson would get the Golden Bears on the board with a two-run home run to right center field, giving Western New England a 2-0 lead over Hawks ace Lucas Larivere. Tanner Wall shut down the Hawks in the bottom of the first inning, getting the Hawks 1-2-3.

The Golden Bears were back on the board in the top of the third inning after Ryan Montini led off the top of the third with a single, while Cody Waterbury would reach on an error, scoring Montini, giving Western New England a 3-0 lead. Aaron Cole would bring in Sean Jamieson, who walked in the inning, doubling the Golden Bears lead in the top of the third, 4-0.

Roger Williams would come around with three hits and three runs in the bottom of the third inning as the Hawks would begin to find a grove, scoring all three runs with one out in the inning. Roger Williams would leave one runner on base in the inning as Tanner Wall would get the Hawks to fly out and ground out to escape the jam.

The Hawks would see their starter last just three innings, while relief pitcher JT Gunzy would toss a near-perfect game down the stretch, though it would be matched by Western New England's Wall. The Hawks would leave two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth inning and one in the bottom of the seventh to keep the Hawks from scoring.

The Golden Bears would see their offense flutter, as Gunzy for the Hawks would pitch a strong six innings for the Hawks, giving up just one hit to the Golden Bears while striking out five. Wall would send down the Hawks in order in the eighth and in the ninth, preserving the victory for the blue and gold and moving Western New England into the championship game for the first time since 2021.

Inside the Lines:

• The early runs were key to victory in the win over the Hawks as the Golden Bears fended off elimination for the fourth straight game and moved into the championship series.
• Tanner Wall led the charge for Western New England, going the distance and being the second starter for WNE to go the full nine innings in the playoffs, giving up seven hits and three runs while walking two and striking out one.
• John Bova again led Western New England with his fourth multi-hit game of the playoffs. The junior is now 16/25 at the play in the playoffs. Bova notched two hits and a run in the win over RWU.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE and Endicott will battle for the CCC title on Saturday, May 11, with the first game beginning at noon. Western New England will need two victories over top-seeded Endicott College in order to claim the title, while the Gulls need just one to eliminate the Golden Bears from the CCC tournament. WNE and Endicott met for the title in 2022, when the Gulls defeated Western New England 4-1.