SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 19, 2025) – The Western New England baseball team came up with two victories on Saturday afternoon against the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology, grabbing 4-3 and 9-7 wins to take a pair of Conference of New England games in an important afternoon. Prior to first pitch, WNE honored their 2025 senior class. 

Records:

• Western New England: 18-12, 6-5 CNE
• Wentworth Institute of Technology: 9-17, 3-6 CNE

How it Happened: (Game 1):

Wentworth would deliver just a two-out single in the top of the first inning as Jared Kuryan would sit the Leopards down in just 15 pitches. The Golden Bears, meanwhile, would be sat down in order in the bottom of the inning. Kuryan followed up his 15-pitch first inning with just six pitches needed in the bottom of the second, getting three groundouts to quickly set Wentworth down. Western New England would come around for the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the second after the first three batters would reach on hits to take the lead. Jack Loftus, Leo Paragarino, and Connor Cowern would all reach on singles. Despite the next three batters registering outs, Trey Young's unassisted groundout and Antonio Galizia's sacrifice fly to center field would plate a pair of runs, giving the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead. Nothing would come out a two-out hit for Wentworth in the top of the third but the same could not be said in the bottom of the third for WNE, as Jack Loftus would deliver an RBI single through the right side of the diamond, scoring John Bova, who doubled with one out in the frame. Western New England would take a 3-0 lead after three innings of play. 

Another run would come across for Western New England in the bottom of the fourth while Jared Kuryan continued to deal for the Golden Bears. Connor Cowern would lead off the bottom of the fourth with a double and would eventually come around to score on a failed pickoff attempt after Antonio Galizia would walk and would reach third base on the error while Cowern would score, giving the blue and gold and 4-0 lead after four innings. Western New England would grab two hits in the bottom of the fifth but would not be able to score any additional runs to add to their four-run lead. Wentworth went down easily in both the sixth and seventh innings, as Kuryan continued to move right along past the Wentworth lineup with the Golden Bears still leading 4-0 after seven innings of play. 

The Leopards would cause chaos in the top of the eighth, leading off with two singles to begin the inning as the gas in Kuryan's tank began to run low. After getting a popup and foul out, Kuryan would then run into more trouble that resulted in the first run of the game for Wentworth when WIT singled home one, cutting into WNE's lead. Matthew Favazzo would then rip a two-RBI single to center field that brought home two more, dropping the lead for Western New England to just one, leading 4-3. A.T. DiPina would single to right field, moving Favazzo over to third, which would end the afternoon for Kuryan in favor of Alex Slezak, who needed just one out to get out of the inning with the tying run just 90-feet from the plate. Slezak would come up in the clutch for WNE, getting Nick Cullinan to fly out to left field, ending the Wentworth run and allowing WNE to cling onto their one run lead. The Golden Bears couldn't add anything to their total in the bottom of the eighth while Troy Donohue executed a perfect top of the ninth, getting a fly out, pop out, and strikeout of the Leopards to end the game, picking up his second save of the season, giving the blue and gold a 4-3 victory over the Leopards in an important game one victory. 

Inside the Lines:

• Four Golden Bears collected two hits each in the game. Ryan Montini, Jack Loftus, Leo Paragarino, and Connor Cowern would accomplish that feat. 
• On the mound, WNE would look to Jared Kuryan, who went the first 7.2 innings, giving up seven hits and three runs, all earned, while walking two and striking out two in the game, earning his third win of the season. 
• Alex Slezak went just 0.1 of an inning but came up with a massive out in the eighth to get WNE out of a jam. 
• Troy Donohue pitched a clean top of the ninth, getting a strikeout to end the game, giving WNE the win. 
• Game one marks the sixth straight win overall for WNE over Wentworth. 

How It Happened: (Game 2): 

The Golden Bears got out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning, taking advantage of a Wentworth error with two outs to take the lead. Jack Loftus would deliver a double in the inning that moved over John Bova, who reached on a fielder's choice, putting runners on second and third with two outs. Leo Paragarino would hit a roller to shortstop, fielded cleanly but the throw to first would be way off line, scoring both runners for Western New England, giving the Golden Bears the quick 2-0 lead.  John Bova would add a run for the Golden Bears in the bottom of the second inning, coming through with two runners on base, picking up a single to left field to score one, giving WNE a 3-0 lead after two innings of play. Matt Lauria, who made the start for Western New England, got through the Wentworth lineup by giving up just two hits through the first nine batters and no runs. 

Lauria and the Golden Bears would get into trouble in the top of the fifth after two of the first three Leopards would come away with singles as the Leopards looked to capitalize on their chances this time around. In what was one of the rarest plays in baseball, a catcher's balk would be called that plated one unearned run that put the Leopards on the board for the first time. Matt Robinson and Matt Favazzo would then collect a pair of back-to-back singles that gave the Leopards three runs in the inning, trailing by just a run. Lauria would bear down in the top of the sixth inning while Ryan Montini would deliver a two-RBI double to left field in the bottom half of the inning to extend WNE's lead back to three, 6-3. Lauria's afternoon would end after the sixth inning while Tanner Wall would come into the game in the seventh and would give WNE's lead away after Wentworth tagged the sophomore for four runs on four runs. Western New England also made an error in the inning to set themselves behind for the first time in the afternoon, now trailing 7-6. 

The first two Golden Bears would reach in the bottom of the seventh for WNE as Connor Cowern would be walked followed by a hit by pitch to Greg Nivison, putting the first two Golden Bears on base. Jack Gamache would quickly deliver an RBI single to left field to score Cowern, evening the score at seven after seven innings of play. Andrew Melone would walk a pair of Leopards in the top of the eighth but would get Wentworth's top hitter, A.T. DiPina, to fly out to center field to end the threat and send WNE back to the offensive side of the ball in the bottom of the eighth. The Golden Bears would quickly take the lead in the bottom of the inning, getting back-to-back doubles from Ryan Montini and Jack Loftus to give the blue and gold an 8-7 lead. Connor Cowern tacked on an extra run with a sacrifice fly as WNE took a 9-7 lead into the final three outs of the game. For the second time this week, Canon Marshall would be called on to make the save and the sophomore, for the second time, successfully completed the save with a 1-2-3 inning, setting the Leopards down and sweeping the afternoon from Wentworth, winning game two by a final score of 9-7. 

Inside the Lines:

• Ryan Montini and Jack Loftus would come up with big hits for Western New England in the eighth inning to complete the sweep of Wentworth. 
• Tyler Kornacki went 3/5 at the dish for the blue and gold while Loftus followed with the same stat line. 
• Matt Lauria went the first six innings, giving up ten hits and three runs, two earned, while walking none and striking out seven Leopards. 
• Andrew Melone and Canon Marshall had successful outings on the mound, getting the win and save, respectively. 
• This is the third straight season in which Western New England has swept the Leopards in doubleheader action.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Three non-conference games at Trelease Park are due up for the Golden Bears, hosting all of University of Saint Joseph, Clark University, and Elms College this Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons, all at 3:30 PM.