Western New England’s Season Ends with 6-4 Loss to Keystone in NCAA Regional

Loparco named to All-Tournament Team

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. (May 19, 2018) – The Western New England University baseball team had its run in the NCAA Tournament New England Regional ended with a 6-4 loss to Keystone (Pa.) College on Saturday afternoon at Hendy Field on the campus of Mass Maritime Academy.   

With the win, Keystone (34-11) advances to play Ramapo on Saturday night. Western New England's season comes to a close at 32-15.

Top Performers
Junior Joe Cassella (Wallingford, Conn.) led the Golden Bears, as he went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBI. Juniors Alex Loparco (Riverside, Conn.) and Aaron Rios (Stratford, Conn.) also had two hits each, while sophomore Jamie Schofield (Darien, Conn.) walked twice and scored two runs.

Senior right-hander Jake Kawiecki (Burlington, Conn.) was strong in his final collegiate start, as he struck out six batters and allowed just one earned run over six innings on the mound.

Keystone senior Eric Drzewiecki (Hellertown, Pa.) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored, while junior Dakota McFadden (Rocky Point, N.C.) posted a 2-for-3 effort with a walk and one RBI.

Game Review
Western New England jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning as Cassella recorded an RBI single and junior Ben LaCroix (Branford, Conn.) added a sacrifice fly.

Keystone answered with two runs in the bottom of the second inning, before the Golden Bears pushed their advantage to 4-2 on Cassella's second RBI single in the top of the fifth.

The Giants pulled ahead in the bottom of the seventh with a four-run rally, which was highlighted by Drzewiecki's go-ahead, two-run single.

Western New England put one runner on base in both the eighth and ninth innings, but the Golden Bears were unable to overcome their two-run deficit.

At the conclusion of the Regional, Loparco was named to the All-Tournament Team for his performance over the three-game stretch.