Webber Hits Two Home Runs in 13-8 Conference Victory

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 27, 2022) – The Western New England baseball team sought revenge at Trelease Park on Wednesday afternoon, taking down the visiting Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards by a final score of 13-8, having previously been defeated by the Leopards in their last meeting. Graduate Student Joe Webber collected two home runs and three RBIs to lead the Golden Bears. 

Records:

• Western New England: 15-13-1 (6-6 CCC)
• Wentworth Institute: 12-14 (2-9 CCC)

How it Happened:

Western New England's Matt Lauria took the ball to open the contest and set the Leopards down by a quick one-two-three inning to get off to a quick start. The Leopards didn't go down in order in the second as they collected the first run of the game when an error by Western New England would send Christian Peruzzi to score to give Wentworth an early 1-0 lead. Western New England would take exception to that as Sean Jamieson would force his way on base via a walk to open the bottom of the second inning, followed by a Joe Webber no doubt home run to right field to give the Golden Bears a 2-1 lead. After Cody Waterbury would follow out to first base, Vincent Caccavale would make a heads up play to swipe home plate with no Leopard in sight, giving WNE a 3-1 lead. Aaron Cole would follow up the SAC by Waterbury and lace a single up the middle to give the Golden Bears a three-run lead. 

The runs continued to pour on for the Golden Bears as another run came around to score in the bottom of the third inning when Ben Harrison connected for a leadoff triple to right field, followed by a single down the right field line for Sean Jamieson, putting Western New England ahead 5-1. The Golden Bears would cash in on their sixth run of the contest on a fluky play in the outfield by the Leopards. Cole would lift a high fly ball to right field that would bounce in and out of the glove of Nolan Freeman, who would throw out two runners in the process while WNE would come across with a Jake Balderson run, giving the Golden Bears a 6-1 lead. 

The Leopards would strike in the top of the 5^th inning on an RBI groundout to collect their second run of the ball game, still trailing by four. Western New England would get that run right back in the bottom half of the inning when Joe Webber connected for his second home run of the afternoon to right field, giving Western New England a 7-2 lead. 

WNE would blow the game wide open in the bottom of the 6^th inning after four straight hits to score runs would come. Cody Waterbury would triple to center field, Aaron Cole would single to right field, while both CJ Willis and Ben Harrison would double to left center and right center, respectively, to get the Golden Bears four runs on four hits in the inning. After the inning, WNE would take an 11-3 lead. The Leopards would attempt to crawl back into the contest, scoring two runs in the top of the seventh to make the score 11-5 before WNE would respond again with two runs of their own when CJ Willis would smack a two RBI single through the right side to give the Golden Bears a 13-5 lead. Wentworth would come around to score three runs in the top of the ninth on a three run home run by Michael Petit, though it would not be enough as the Golden Bears would come away with a 13-8 victory over Wentworth. 

Around the Diamond:

• Matt Laura (4-3) went the first seven innings for the Golden Bears, throwing 110 pitches, giving up seven hits and five runs, four earned, while walking two and striking out four Leopards. 
• Five of the first six batters in the Western New England lineup had two hits each with Cody Waterbury (2/3), Aaron Cole (2/5), CJ Willis (2/5), Ben Harrison (2/4), and Joe Webber (2/5) all collected two hits and shared ten of the 11 RBIs.
• Joe Webber collected a team best three RBIs on two home runs in the win. 
• Wentworth was led by Michael Petit, who collected four RBIs on two hits in the losing effort. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England travels to Dean College for non-conference action on Thursday, April 28 at 3:30 pm.
• Wentworth meets with top seeded Endicott College on Saturday, April 30 at 11:00 AM for their senior day.