Hot Bats Places WNE In CCC Baseball Championship Series

DUDLEY, Mass. (May 13, 2022) ­– The Western New England baseball team used their steady offense to get past the hosting Nichols College Bison on Friday afternoon, sending the Golden Bears to the CCC Championship series which will begin on Saturday afternoon at Endicott College.

Records:

• Western New England: 19-19-1
• Nichols College: 19-21-1

How it Happened:
Western New England opened the game with a leadoff single from Cody Waterbury, though the Golden Bears would fail to come across with a run in top of the first inning. SP Jacob Hobart would take the ball for Western New England, shutting down the Bison offense after a leadoff double. Two strike outs would end the inning, giving Western New England the bats again. Joe Webber would single with one out in the top of the second which would be followed up by a Sean Jamieson double to center field. After the Golden Bears were set down for the second inning, Kohtaro Shimada would be hit by a pitch, sending the bases loaded with two outs. John Bova would smack a triple to left center field, scoring all three runs, crediting three RBIs to get the Golden Bears out to an early 2-0 lead. Cody Waterbury would score Bova, picking up ab RBI single through the right side of the infield, giving Western New England a 4-0 lead through an inning and a half.

Nichols would come around with a one out triple in the bottom of the second, though Hobart would get two Bison to pop and ground out, retaining the 4-0 lead for WNE. CJ Willis would come around for yet another home run for Western New England with one out in the top of the third, which started a five run rally in the inning, giving WNE a 9-0 lead. Sean Jamieson would collect a two RBI double to right center field, scoring Ben Harrison, who reached on a HBP, and Joe Webber, who collected a single earlier in the inning. Paul VIllecco would clear the bases with a two run home run to right center field, scoring the eighth and ninth runs for WNE through three innings of play. Nichols would come through for two runs on five hits in the bottom of the third after an RBI ground out and single from the Bison would send the score to 9-2 in favor of the Golden Bears.

WNE added one in the top of the fourth when Ben Harrison collected an RBI single through the left side of the infield, scoring Aaron Cole to give Western New England a 10-2 lead. John Bova would come through with a home run in the top of the fifth inning, scoring Western New England's 11^th run of the ball game, which gave WNE a nine-run lead at the time. Bova wasn't done there, collecting an RBI sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth to give Western New England a commanding ten run lead.

Hobart would slow down the Bison offense, going the first the first eight innings, giving up 12 hits, though just three runs, while walking one and striking out five Bison. Cody Waterbury would but the dagger into the contest, scoring two runs in the top of the eighth inning via the long ball, as WNE's third baseman would hammer a home run to deep center field, scoring Kohtaro Shimada, giving the Golden Bears a 14-2 lead. Matt Viglitotti would close out the Bison in the ninth, giving up just a hit and an unearned run, while striking out one, sending the Golden Bears into the CCC Championship series on Saturday afternoon.

Around the Diamond:

• All nine in the starting nine collected hits for WNE for the second consecutive afternoon with Joe Webber, Cody Waterbury, CJ Willis, Sean Jamieson, Paul Villecco, and John Bova collected multi-hit efforts.
• John Bova went 2/5 at the dish, collecting a game high five RBIs in the win.
• Cody Waterbury, Paul Villecco, and Sean Jamieson all collected more than one RBI for WNE in the win.
• The WNE offense pounded out 18 hits in the win while walking five time in the contest.
• The WNE pitching has been electrifying over their last two games, getting good starting pitching and excellent relfef pitching, sending WNE to the championship series.
• WNE makes the championship series for the first time since 2018, when they were crowned champions of the CCC.
• The Golden Bears will meet Endicott for the fourth time this season after dropping the opening game of the playoffs vs. the Gulls.
• WNE and EC will meet for the first time in the championship series since 2013.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will head to the CCC Championship series which begins on Saturday, May 14 at 12:00 pm.
• Nichols sees their season end with a 19-21-1 record.