Western New England Eliminated From CCC Tournament with Losses to Endicott & Gordon

BEVERLY, Mass. (May 6, 2017) – The Western New England University baseball team had its run in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament ended with losses to Endicott College and Gordon College on Saturday afternoon at Endicott's North Field. The Golden Bears dropped a 5-4 contest to the Gulls in the first game of the day, before falling to Gordon 5-3 in the elimination contest.

Endicott (24-16) and Gordon (12-21) will play tomorrow for a chance to advance to next weekend's championship round, while Western New England's season ends at 22-18.

Endicott 5, Western New England 4

Top Performers
• Senior first baseman Daniel Morin (Salem, N.H.) led the Golden Bears at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a walk and a home run. Sophomore infielder Alex Loparco (Riverside, Conn.) went 2-for-5 with a double and one run scored, while sophomores Aaron Rios (Stratford, Conn.) and Brian Valeriano (Stratford, Conn.) drove in one run each.
• Sophomore Paul Wetmore (Hamden, Conn.) got the start on the mound and took the loss (5-3) despite allowing just three earned runs on four hits over six innings.

• Junior Michael Casciano (Somers, Conn.) delivered the key hit for Endicott, as he belted a go-ahead, three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning that proved to be the difference in the contest.
• Graduate right-hander Nick Quattro (Canton, Conn.) picked up the win in relief for the Gulls after surrendering one run on four hits over 4.1 frames.

Game Review
• Western New England got off to a strong start with two runs in the bottom of the first, as Loparco scored on a wild pitch and Rios came through with a two-out, RBI single later in the inning.
• Endicott answered with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning, the second of which scored on an RBI single off the bat of graduate outfielder Corbin Hyde (Lewiston, Maine).
• Western New England regained a 3-2 edge in the third, as Morin led off the frame with a mammoth solo home run to left field.
• The Golden Bears added to their lead in the fifth, when junior Jared Rosenblatt (Avon, Conn.) singled through the right side of the infield with one out before eventually coming around to score on a sacrifice fly by Valeriano.
• Wetmore, who gave up just three hits over the first five innings, retired the first batter he faced in the sixth before issuing consecutive walks. Casciano came up next and gave the Gulls a 5-4 lead with a three-run homer over the left field fence.
• Western New England put a runner on base in both the eighth and ninth innings, but the Golden Bears were unable to produce the game-tying run.

Gordon 5, Western New England 3

Top Performers
• Valeriano and sophomore Erik Lacaire (Worcester, Mass.) had two hits each for the Golden Bears, while Rosenblatt went 1-for-4 with an RBI single.
• Senior right-hander Matt Thomas (Plainville, Conn.) got the start for Western New England and surrendered just two runs on three hits over five innings, but took the loss.

• Gordon freshman right-hander Morgan Hyde (Thomson, Ga.) turned in a complete game performance on the mound, striking out five batters while scattering eight hits and allowing just one unearned run. Hyde also went 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI and two runs scored.
• Sophomore third baseman Daniel Quint (Wells, Maine) posted a 1-for-5 effort with two RBI.

Game Review
• After four scoreless frames, Gordon broke through for two runs in the top of the fifth. Quint got the Fighting Scots on the board with an RBI groundout, before a wild pitch later in the inning allowed Hyde to score.
• Gordon added three more runs in the sixth to open up a 5-0 advantage, as Hyde and Quint both recorded RBI singles before senior Dean Demers (Sandy Hook, Conn.) scored on a passed ball.  
• After stranding two runners on base in the fifth, the Golden Bears finally broke through in the sixth on a two-out RBI single to left center by Rosenblatt.
• Western New England loaded the bases with three consecutive singles and nobody out in the bottom of the seventh. The Golden Bears plated two runs on a Gordon throwing error and a double play ball that allowed sophomore Joe Cassella (Wallingford, Conn.) to score from third, but they were unable to further capitalize.
• Hyde retired the side in order in the eighth and worked around a leadoff single by Valeriano in the ninth to seal the win for the Fighting Scots.