DAVENPORT, Fla. (March 9, 2025) - The Western New England baseball team split a double header on Saturday night from Northeast Regional Park on the first day of the Russ Matt Invitational against Wartburg College, falling in the opener by a final score of 6-1 in seven innings before coming back for a 3-0 win in the nightcap, also in seven innings. Matt Lauria led Western New England in game two with a career high 13 strikeouts.

How it Happened (Game 1):

Wartburg would strike early in the first game of the doubleheader against Western New England starting pitcher Jared Kuryan. The Knights came up with a single on the second batter of the game before Keegan Schmidt would single to center field to score an unearned run, giving Wartburg the early 1-0 lead. WNE would record one hit in the bottom of the first inning as Ryan Montini, the third batter of the game for WNE, would pick up a single to the Wartburg shortstop but the Golden Bears would not be able to do anything with the chance, trailing 1-0 after one inning. Kuryan would settle in but would give up a second run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning as the Knights took a 2-0 lead after two innings of play. 

Ryan Montini would record his second hit of the game to lead off the bottom of the fourth for Western New England while Jack Loftus picked up a double to left field, moving Montini to third, but the next two Golden Bears would strike out leaving no runs on the board for the blue and gold still trailing by two after four innings of play. Kuryan would get the Knights in order in the top of the fifth, but the Golden Bears would go down in order themselves in the bottom of the fifth. Western New England would get a leadoff triple by John Bova, as the senior smacked a three-bagger to right field to begin the sixth inning. Montini would come to the plate again and would score Bova on a groundout cutting Wartburg's lead in half. The Knights would bat around in the top of the seventh inning as Alex Slezak would give up four runs and three hits but the Golden Bears would make one costly error as all four of Slezak's runs would go unearned, but Wartburg would take a commanding 6-1  lead in the top of the seventh as Western New England would be down to their final three outs in the game. The Golden Bears would not be able to record a hit in the bottom of the seventh as they would fall 6-1 in the opening game of the Russ Matt Invitational.

Inside the Lines:

• Graduate Student Jared Kuryan went the first six innings of the game, giving up five hits, two runs, one earned, while walking two and striking out six.
• Ryan Montini had two hits for WNE in three at bats while picking up the lone RBI in the game.
• Three different members of Wartburg collected two RBI's while three total Knights had multi-hit outings.
• This was the first meeting all time between the two teams.

How it Happened (Game 2):

The Golden Bears would be the designated road team for game two of the seven-inning double header but would not fare well as the road team to start the game, coming up with three strikeouts as Wartburg would get out of the top of the first inning quickly. Matt Lauria would make this start on the mound for Western New England in Game two and would record two strikeouts in the bottom of the first inning while keeping Wartburg off the scoreboard after the Knights picked up one hit in the bottom of the first inning while getting a runner on third due to two passed balls but did not score in the bottom of the first. The golden bears threatened for runs in the top of the second inning as Connor Cowern would walk, steal a base, and advanced to third base on a throwing error by the Wartburg catcher while Trey Young walked leaving runners on first and third with two outs, but Western New England would come up short of scoring a run. Matt Lauria would pick up three strikeouts in the bottom of the second to quickly send down the Knights while Western New England would reward their starting pitcher with three runs in the top of the third.

The first two batters of the top of the third for Western New England would go down quickly, but John Bova's single with two outs to the left field would spark a rally. Ryan Montini would walk, moving Bova to second base with still two outs in the inning. Jack Loftus would be the next batter for Western New England and would deliver a two RBI triple to left center field, scoring both Montini and Bova, giving the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead. WNE was not done there as Tyler Kornacki would be the next batter and would double to right-center field easily scoring Loftus but would be thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple as the ending would end with Western New England leading 3-0. Lauria would appreciate the three runs for WNE and would add two more strikeouts to his resume in the bottom of the third. The bats would go quietly for both Wartburg and Western New England in the bottom of the fourth and top of the fifth. Lauria continued to stay out of trouble for the Golden Bears on the mound, striking out the side in the bottom of the sixth needing just three outs to end the game. WNE would go hit-less in the top of the seventh . Lauria would close out the game in style, picking up his career high 13th strikeout of the night, and would strike out two of the three outs in the bottom of the seventh, wrapping up the game for WNE, giving the Golden Bears a 3-0 win over Wartburg.

Inside the Lines:

• Matt Lauria shined for Western New England on the mound, picking up his second win of the season. Lauria went the distance in the night cap going the full seven innings giving up just three hits and no runs while walking two and striking out 13 Knights.
• The top of the third inning was all Western New England needed to win the game, scoring all three of their runs. Jack Loftus led the way with a two RBI triple, scoring both Ryan Montini and John Bova.
• Tyler Kornacki came up with a double in the top of the third as well as an RBI which gave Western New England a 3-0 lead at the time.
• Through 14 innings pitched this season Lauria has given up just eight hits and three walks without giving up a run while striking out 23 batters. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New  England is back in action on Sunday, March 9 at 12:30 PM taking on Stockton University at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Florida.