SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 19, 2025) – The Western New England baseball team saw an early 6-2 lead disappear while also holding a one-run lead in the top of the eighth but the Bears of the United State Coast Guard Academy clawed their way back into the game, feeding off of WNE's six errors, to come away with a 9-8 victory in ten innings, defeating the Golden Bears by the on run margin. 

Records:

• Western New England: 7-4
• United States Coast Guard Academy: 7-4

How it Happened:

USCGA's Wyatt Duthu led the top of the first inning off with a single to center field while putting the Bears in scoring position quickly off Western New England starting pitching Jacob Hobart, getting to second base safely on a steal. Duthu would come around to score on the first of six Western New England errors on the afternoon as Parker Madden's ground ball would not be fielded cleanly by the WNE infield resulting in a 1-0 lead for Coast Guard. The Golden Bears used their high-powered offense in the bottom of the first inning to quickly erase the Bears' lead. Andrew Florek led off with a single up the middle while John Bova walked, quickly putting runners aboard. Both players would advance on a passed ball, putting runners at second and third with just one out. Jack Loftus would deliver a two-RBI triple to right center field that flipped the lead, seeing USCGA's 1-0 lead turn into a 2-1 lead in favor of the Golden Bears. Connor Cowern would deliver in his first game at Trelease Park with a single to left field, scoring Loftus, giving the Golden Bears a 3-1 lead after one inning. Coast Guard would get one run back in the top of the second thanks to another Western New England error but the blue and gold would roar back with three more in the bottom of the second to take a 6-2 lead. In the inning, WNE would pick up some offense on errors from Coast Guard, as Florek would reach on an error while Bova would follow suit. The two Golden Bears would quickly come around to score as Ryan Montini and Jack Loftus produced RBI singles, giving the Golden Bears a 5-2 lead. Trey Young picked up a single of his own that would score another for Western New England, which gave WNE a 6-2 lead after two. 

Coast Guard would cut WNE's lead in half in the top of the third after Rick Barkley smashed a two-run home run to center field, his third big fly of the year and his 18^th career home run, breaking Coast Guard's all-time home runs lead in program history. WNE would pick up one more in the bottom of the third after Florek continued to deliver, coming up with a sacrifice fly, following an Antonio Galizia double to lead off the inning. Jacob Hobart would cruise through the fourth inning but would again get himself in trouble in the top of the fifth, giving up two runs on four hits while Western New England would record another error in the inning that resulted in a Coast Guard cutting WNE's lead down to one, 7-6. Hobart would last the first five innings and was eligible for the win, giving up ten hits and six runs, four earned, while striking out just one. 

Coast Guard would come from four runs down to tie the game in the top of the sixth after Barkley picked up a sacrifice fly for his third RBI of the game, a ball that nearly left the yard again, seeing the score get even at seven all. The Western New England offense would fall flat from there, recording just a handful of hits for the remainder of the game. Cam Heeman would be brought into the game in the top of the seventh with a runner on second and would record a big out to get WNE out of a jam. The Golden Bears scored again in the bottom of the seventh after a throwing error from Coast Guard's third baseman would being home Connor Cowern, who opened the inning with a single. WNE took an 8-7 lead after seven innings of play. 

The lead for the Golden Bears wouldn't even last for a half-inning. The Bears would get to Western New England's relief pitching, this time, Andrew Melone, who was not helped out by his defense, which committed two errors in the top of the eighth inning, which eventually brought home a run, tying the game at eight. WNE would put the lead off runner on in the bottom of the eighth but would not score and followed suit in the bottom of the ninth after Troy Donohue pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth, but the Golden Bears would not be able to take advantage of a Leo Paragarino single. In the top of the tenth, Coast Guard's Drew Basque delivered an RBI single up the middle, which was caused by a failed pick off attempt as the ball got away, putting a runner just 90 feet away in scoring position. USCGA would take advantage, leaving two on base but scoring the all-important run in the top of the tenth to take a 9-8 lead. Jack Loftus would be hit by a pitch for the second time in the game with one out in the bottom of the 10^th inning while Canon Marshall would see a 12-pitch at-bat turn into a walk with two outs, but the Golden Bears would not be able to score either of their runners and would drop their home opener by a final score of 9-8. 

Inside the Lines:

• Three Golden Bears picked up two hits each in the game, as Jack Loftus led the way with two hits in four plate appearances, coming up with three RBIs. 
• Trey Young produced an RBI in his 2/4 outing while also walking once. 
• Connor Cowern went 2/6 overall, scoring a run for Western New England. 
• WNE used seven pitchers in the loss on Wednesday afternoon. Jacob Hobart started and lasted five innings, giving up six runs, four earned, without walking a batter and striking out one. 
• The WNE pitching had just five strikeouts in the game in total. 
• The game featured ten errors between the two teams, six by Western New England. 
• This is the first all-time meeting between the two teams. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears return home on Saturday, March 22 at 12:00 PM to host Curry College in their first Conference of New England doubleheader of the season from Trelease Park.