Hamel & Wetmore Lead Golden Bears to Pair of Wins at Salve Regina

Western New England improves to 4-0 in CCC play

NEWPORT, R.I. (April 7, 2018) – Led by a pair of complete game performances from junior pitchers Bob Hamel (Southwick, Mass.) and Paul Wetmore (Hamden, Conn.), the Western New England University baseball team picked up two wins over Salve Regina University on Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Reynolds Field. 

Western New England 16, Salve Regina 2

Top Performers
• Junior Joe Cassella (Wallingford, Conn.) led the way for the Golden Bears in the opener, going 4-for-5 at the plate with three RBI and three runs scored, in the process extending his hitting streak to 15 games.
• Senior Jared Rosenblatt (Avon, Conn.) went 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and four RBI, while sophomore Zac Nussbaum (Briidgewater, Mass.) drove in three runs.
• Making his first start of the season, Hamel allowed just one earned run and struck out four batters in a 77-pitch, complete game effort.

• Salve Regina freshman Michael DeFusco (East Greenwich, R.I.) posted a 3-for-3 effort with two doubles and one RBI.

Game Review
After both teams scored single runs in the first inning, Western New England took the lead for good with three runs in the top of the third. 

Salve Regina sophomore pitcher Patrick Maybach (Saunderstown, R.I.) retired the first two batters in the inning, before hitting sophomore Jamie Schofield (Darien, Conn.) with a pitch and giving up a double to junior Erik Lacaire (Worcester, Mass.).

Cassella came up next and produced an RBI single, and Rosenblatt followed with a double to right field, bringing in two more runs.

An RBI single by sophomore Kevin Johnson (Waterford, Conn.) in the fourth made it 5-1, before the Seahawks scored their final run in the fifth on DeFusco's RBI double.

The Golden Bears put the game out of reach with 11 runs in the top of the seventh inning. Western New England recorded just three hits in the frame, but Salve Regina's pitchers hit six batters and issued four walks.

Western New England 4, Salve Regina 0

Top Performers
• Johnson sparked the Golden Bears in game two with a 2-for-3 showing out of the leadoff spot in the batting order, as he doubled and scored a pair of runs.
• Junior shortstop Alex Loparco (Riverside, Conn.) went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, one RBI and one run scored, while Lacaire also doubled and drove in two runs.
• Wetmore improved to 4-1 this season after striking out nine batters and allowing six hits over a complete game shutout performance.

• Salve Regina was led by senior catcher Christian Vargas (Melbourne, Fla.) and sophomore outfielder Dylan Ketch (Clinton, Conn.), who both went 2-for-3 at the plate.

Game Review
Western New England jumped out to a quick lead as Johnson led off the contest with a double to right field before scoring on a double to left by Loparco.

The Golden Bears added three more runs in the third inning to open up a 4-0 advantage. Johnson again got it started as he led off the frame and was hit by a pitch. Loparco then reached on an error, and both players came in to score on a double to center field by Lacaire. Later in the inning, Lacaire crossed the plate on an RBI single by Rosenblatt. 

After stranding two runners on base in the third, Wetmore retired the side in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. The junior surrendered two hits in the final frame, but struck out junior Anthony Gozzo (Windsor, Conn.) to end the contest.

Up Next
Both teams will be right back in action tomorrow, as Western New England (15-4, 4-0 CCC) hits the road for a non-conference contest at Westfield State and Salve Regina (7-9, 0-2 CCC) travels to Wentworth for a CCC twinbill.