Villecco, Caccavale Connect for Grand Slams in Slugfest Win over UMass-Boston

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 31, 2022) – The Western New England baseball team punched out three home runs and collected 17 RBIs as a team in their 17-11 slugfest victory over the visiting Beacons of UMass-Boston on Thursday afternoon. Vincent Caccavale and Paul Villecco each connected on grand slam home runs for the Golden Bears in the win, collecting four RBIs each.

Records:

• Western New England: 9-5
• UMass-Boston: 11-4

How it Happened:

The Beacons opened the scoring in the top of the first inning after a double and a sacrifice fly would plate two runs for the Beacons as they took a quick 2-0 lead in the contest. Western New England would answer rather quickly, as in the bottom of the first inning the first three runners would reach base as both Henry Schowerer and CJ Willis would walk while Ben Harrison would single to CF. Sean Jamieson would triple to left center field to score all three runs to five Western New England a 3-2 lead. The scoring didn't stop there, as Cody Waterbury doubled to the same spot as Harrison did, scoring WNE's fourth run of the game. The Golden Bears took a 4-2 lead out of the first inning. 

UMB would come back for just a single run in the top of the second inning on a fielding error that gave the Beacons their third run of the contest. Golden Bears starter Jacob Hobart would get out of the third inning easily, setting the Beacons down one, two, three. The Golden Bears would pick up energy in the bottom of the third inning after Vincent Caccavale would single to center field, while Joe Webber would rip a single down the right field line, followed by a Cody Waterbury walk to quickly load the bases for WNE. Paul Villecco would send a sailing ball to right field for the Golden Bears, putting it over the fence for WNE's first home run of the season at Trelease Park, and putting Western New England ahead 8-3 in the game. Hobart would finish the contest in the fourth inning, going the first four innings, giving up four hits and three runs (two earned) while walking none and striking out five Beacons. 

UMass-Boston would come alive in the fifth inning as two doubles and a home run would score four runs on four hits in the inning as they saw their 9-3 deficit quickly turn to a 9-7 deficit. Western New England would waste little time in the bottom of the inning to grab those four runs back. Kohtaro Shimada would be hit by a pitch, while CJ Willis and Ben Harrison would also reach base in the inning before Vincent Caccavale would send a booming ball deep to center field and over the fence for Western New England's second grand slam of the afternoon, giving Western New England a 11-7 lead. The Beacons, however, would not go away easily as Drew Metzdorf would send a ball over the fences, followed by an RBI single for the Beacons to score their third run of the inning as Western New England saw a four-run lead turn into a one run lead.

Cody Waterbury would lead off the bottom of the 6^th inning with a home run, the Golden Bears third of the afternoon, to left field to give Western New England a four-run lead. UMass-Boston would continue their effort to complete the comeback, as they added a run in the top of the 7^th inning to make the score 14-11 in favor of WNE. The Golden Bears would ice the game in the bottom of the 8^th as they picked up an extra three insurance runs. Shimada would single to center field to score a run, which was then followed up by a Schowerer RBI walk, and a SAC fly from Willis as the Golden Bears would take a 17-11 lead into the 9^th. In the 9^th, utility player CJ Willis would close out the Beacons, setting them down in order to close out the game and picking up a win for the Golden Bears by a final score of 17-11. 

Around the Diamond:

• Four Golden Bears came away with two hits on the afternoon, as Ben Harrison (2-5), Vincent Caccavale (2-4), Joe Webber (2-4), and Cody Waterbury (2-4) would all contribute to the Golden Bears in the win. 
• Sean Jamieson, Vincent Caccavale, and Paul Villecco combined for 11 of the Golden Beats 17 RBIs in the win. Cody Waterbury added three RBIs for Western New England. 
• SP Jackson Snider exited the game after just 0.1 innings giving up three hits and four runs while walking three Golden Bears. 
• Western New England would give up the first two runs of the game, though took a quick lead in the bottom of the inning and never lost the lead after that.
• The WNE bullpen closed out the final 3.2 innings as Aidan Gowaski (1-0), Kyle Roberts and CJ Willis combined for 2 hits and one unearned run while walking two and striking out seven. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE head to Endicott College for a double header CCC match with the Gulls on Saturday, April 2 starting at 12:00 pm. 
• UMB hosts LEC opponent Castleton University on the same date at 2:00 and 5:00 pm.