Baseball Falls in Close Game to Elms, 5-4

HARTFORD, Conn. (March 1, 2020) – The Western New England University baseball team suffered their first loss of the season as they fell to Elms, 5-4, in non-conference action on Sunday afternoon at DiBenedetto Stadium at Trinity College.

Top Performers
Senior Cameron Griffin (West Springfield, Mass.) had a double and three runs batted in for the Blazers. Junior Nathan Ayala (Springfield, Mass.) had a double with two runs batted in.

Freshman Vincent Caccavale (East Hartford, Conn.) had a double and two runs batted in for the Golden Bears. Sophomore Brandon Kohl (Southington, Conn.) and freshman Austin Brown (Waterbury, Conn.) threw for a combined nine strikeouts.

Game Review
It was a scoreless game until the Blazers got on the board in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded, Griffin knocked freshman Jake Slahotsky (South Windsor, Conn.) home for a 1-0 lead. On the next at-bat, Ayala hit a double that sent sophomore Tyler Galenski (Wilbraham, Mass.) and senior Josh Pasini (Enfield, Conn.) across the plate to give the Blazers a 3-0 lead.

The Golden Bears answered in the next half inning. Senior Zac Nussbaum (Bridgewater, Mass.) hit a single to center field that sent senior Jamie Schofield (Darien, Conn.) across the plate. Later in the inning, Caccavale hit a double that scored sophomore Ben Harrison (Newtown, Conn.) and Nussbaum that tied the game at 3-3. Junior Joe Webber (Marshfield, Mass.) scored on a wild pitch in the next at-bat to give the Golden Bears a 4-3 lead.

In the next half inning, the top of the sixth, The Blazers pulled ahead after Griffin doubled to right field that sent Galenski and senior Will Kennedy (Holyoke, Mass.) across the plate for the winning runs.

Notes
• Western New England had seven hits.

Up Next
Western New England (1-1) will play Framingham State on Thursday afternoon at NEBC. Elms (2-0) will travel down to Florida and face Becker in a doubleheader on Friday.