Western New England Powers Past New Paltz, 14-1

Golden Bears break game open with five runs in fifth inning

AUBURNDALE, Fla. (March 20, 2018) – The Western New England University baseball team put multiple runs on the board in four separate innings en route to a 14-1 victory over SUNY New Paltz on Tuesday morning at the Lake Myrtle Complex. 

Top Performers
• Junior shortstop Alex Loparco (Riverside, Conn.) helped power Western New England's offensive outburst, as he reached base six times. Loparco went 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, three walks, three RBI and three runs scored.
• Senior third baseman Jared Rosenblatt (Avon, Conn.) went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI, while juniors Joe Cassella (Wallingford, Conn.) and Erik Lacaire (Worcester, Mass.) and freshman Andrew Owsianko (Southington, Conn.) drove in two runs each.
• Freshman right-hander Clay Tucker (Chelmsford, Mass.) earned the win in his first career start after allowing just one unearned run on three hits over five innings.  

• New Paltz freshman infielder Anthony Pantano (Farmingdale, N.Y.) went 1-for-4 and drove in the Hawks' lone run in the second inning.

Game Review
Western New England set the tone for the contest in the first inning, as the Golden Bears put a pair of runs on the board and never looked back.

Sophomore Kevin Johnson (Waterford, Conn.) led off with a walk and advanced to third base on a failed pickoff attempt, before coming in to score on an RBI double by Loparco. Rosenblatt came up next and brought Loparco home with an RBI single, giving the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead.

New Paltz got one run back in the second on Pantano's RBI single, but the Haws would not score for the remainder of the contest.

Western New England increased its lead to 4-1 in the third on a two-run single by Lacaire, before going up 5-1 the fourth when Loparco drew a walk with the bases loaded.

The Golden Bears broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning to establish a 10-1 cushion. Owsianko got it started with an RBI double, and Cassella followed with a two-run double, before Johnson and Loparco added RBI singles.

Rosenblatt recorded a three-run home run in the seventh, and Western New England tacked on one final run in the eighth on another RBI double for Owsianko to complete the scoring.

Notes
• The Golden Bears tallied 14 hits, their second highest total this season and third 10+ hit performance since arriving in Florida.
• The Western New England bullpen shined, as four pitchers combined to allow just two hits over four innings of work.
• Loparco is batting .688 (11-for-16) with seven RBI and eight runs scored over the last four games.

Up Next
Western New England (5-3) will be off tomorrow, before returning to action with the fifth of eight games at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational against Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Thursday morning at 11 a.m.