Hamel & Wetmore Shut Down Gordon as Golden Bears Earn CCC Sweep

Nussbaum homers twice in game one triumph  

WENHAM, Mass. (April 28, 2018) – Junior pitchers Bob Hamel (Southwick, Mass.) and Paul Wetmore (Hamden, Conn.) both tossed complete game shutouts as the Western New England University baseball team swept a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) doubleheader from Gordon College on Saturday afternoon at J. Tec White Field. The Golden Bears rolled to a 9-0 win in the opener, before defeating the Fighting Scots 2-0 in game two. 

WNE 9, Gordon 0

Top Performers
• Hamel went the distance for the fourth time this season, striking out seven batters and allowing just four hits over seven innings to improve to 4-0.
• Sophomore Zac Nussbaum (Bridgewater, Mass.) led the Golden Bears offensively, going 3-for-4 at the plate with two home runs and three RBI.
• Junior Joe Cassella (Wallingford, Conn.) went 2-for-3 with a walk, one RBI and one run scored, while sophomore Jamie Schofield (Darien, Conn.) walked and homered.

• Gordon sophomore John Lagerfeldt (Stratford, Conn.) reached base twice with a walk and a single.  

Game Review
Western New England gave Hamel more than enough run support in the top of the first inning, as the Golden Bears scored six times with the help of four hits and four errors. 

Schofield led off the contest with a solo home run over the right field fence, and junior Alex Loparco (Riverside, Conn.) reached on an error before scoring two batters later on another error.

Two more Gordon miscues later in the frame, in addition to an RBI single by Nussbaum and an RBI groundout by junior Aaron Rios (Stratford, Conn.), allowed the Golden Bears to increase their advantage to 6-0.

Nussbaum went deep with one out in the fifth to make it 7-0, and Cassella recorded an RBI single in the sixth before Nussbaum capped the scoring in the seventh with his second home run of the contest.

WNE 2, Gordon 0

Top Performers
• Wetmore turned in Western New England's second complete game shutout of the day as he struck out seven batters and surrendered just one hit over seven scoreless frames to improve to 6-2 this spring.
• Junior Ben LaCroix (Branford, Conn.) went 2-for-3 with two RBI, while senior Jared Rosenblatt (Avon, Conn.) singled and drove in a run.

• Gordon junior Christian Hodge (Waltham, Mass.) doubled in the first inning for the Fighting Scots' lone hit of the contest.
• Freshman right-hander Joe Pedulla (Monroe Township, Pa.) took his first loss of the season (6-1) despite allowing just two runs on three hits over seven innings.

Game Review
After three scoreless frames, the Golden Bears plated the only two runs of the game in the fourth inning. Loparco led off with a walk, and junior Erik Lacaire (Worcester, Mass.) followed with another free pass. Following a fly out by Cassella, LaCroix singled down the right field line, scoring Loparco from third. Rosenblatt came up next and singled through the left side of the infield, bringing in Lacaire.

Wetmore retired the side in order in the fourth, and worked around a leadoff walk in the fifth, stranding a runner at third base. The junior posted his third 1-2-3 inning in the sixth before working around another leadoff walk in the seventh to complete the sweep. 

Up Next
Western New England (24-11, 9-5 CCC) returns home on Sunday to complete its CCC slate against Nichols at 1 p.m., while Gordon (17-14, 8-6 CCC) travels to Salve Regina on Monday for its conference finale.