Webber’s Four RBIs Leads Golden Bears Past Keene State

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 7, 2022) – The Western New England baseball team was led by Joe Webber, who slashed for four RBIs on the afternoon, taking down the Keene State Owls pitching as WNE would walk away with a 10-1 victory over the Owls from a rainy Trelease Park on Thursday afternoon.

Records:

• Western New England: 10-8
• Keene State: 3-14

How it Happened:

Western New England started off the scoring early, though not before Jacob Hobart, the Golden Bears starting pitcher, got out of the top of the first by leaving the bases loaded. Hobart got Michael Montembeault to pop out in foul territory to the catcher, and Liam Conley to fly out to left field to leave the bases juiced in the inning. Western New England would get the first run of the game on a steal of home plate by Vincent Caccavale to give WNE a 1-0 lead. After Caccavale walked to open the bottom of the inning for WNE, Sean Jamieson singled through the right side of the infield to get the first two runners aboard for WNE. A flyout would push Caccavale over to third base with one out. WNE put on a delayed double steal that would send Jamieson to second base and a throw down from the Owls would be unsuccessful while Caccavale would reach home plate without a throw back, giving WNE a 1-0 lead. 

The Golden Bears would come around and tack on two extra runs in the bottom of the second inning when Caccavale singled to third base, which send both Cody Waterbury and Jake Balderston all the way home, after Keene State committed a throwing error to give Western New England a 3-0 lead. Keene State's lone run of the afternoon would come in the top of the third inning after Brendan Eaton would connect for a long ball to left field, sending the game to a two-run lead in favor of the hosts. 

WNE would come around for a three-run fourth inning as Balderston would lead the Golden Bears off with a walk, while Jamieson would do the same. WNE's next batter, CJ Willis would crack a hard ground ball to the Owls short stop, who was unable to take care of the hop, scoring Balderston, and putting Jamieson at third with one out. Joe Webber would come through with two outs, connecting on a triple to center field, scoring two runners for the Golden Bears, giving WNE a 6-1 lead. 

The middle innings would register zeros across the board, as neither team scored in the fifth, sixth, or seventh as WNE's Hobart would conclude his 80-pitch outing, going the first five innings, giving up eight hits and one run while walking two and striking out one. Kyle Roberts would finish the sixth and seventh, not allowing any runners to reach for the Owls, getting one strike out. Keene's Will Dolaher went 2.2 innings giving up no hits and no runs to the Golden Bears while striking out four. 

The offense for WNE would strike for four final runs to put the game on ice in the bottom of the eighth inning. EJ Dudley would lead WNE off with a double down the left field line, while Balderston and Caccavale were both hit by pitches to load the bases with no outs. Willis would reach first base on an error by the Owls shortstop, advancing every Golden Bear runner, scoring a base. Ben Harrison would also be hit by a pitch, scoring another WNE run. Webber would cap off the scoring in the contest as he was able to collect two more RBIs to his total, giving him four on the afternoon. Matt Vigliotti would close the door on the Owls afternoon, sending Western New England to a 10-1 victory over Keene State. 

Around the Diamond:

• Joe Webber finished the successful afternoon by going 2-5, connecting for four RBIs and two extra base hits. Webber is not hitting .351 on the season. 
• Vincent Caccavale collected one base hit and had two RBIs on the afternoon, while also taking one base on balls. 
• The WNE bullpen closed out fhe final four innings giving up just one base hit to Keene State while walking three and striking out four. 
• Brendan Eaton collected the Owls lone RBI on a solo home run, while Will Dolaher pitched 2.2 scoreless innings for KSC in the loss. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England returns to CCC play on Saturday, April 9 at 12:00 pm when they host Gordon College from Trelease Park.
• Keene State stays on the road, as they travel to UMass-Boston on the same date at the same time.