Western New England Sweeps Roger Williams on Senior Day

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 13, 2019) - The Western New England baseball team swept Roger Williams in a Commenwealth Coast Conference (CCC) doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Trelease Park.

In the first game, the Golden Bears were cushioned by an eight-run first inning to coast to a 14-4 win, after seven innings. In the later game, the Hawks stormed back with six runs in the sixth to tie, but Western New England responded with five runs in the seventh to prevail, 13-9.

In between games, the 12 seniors on Western New England were honored for their outstanding contributions to the baseball program over the past four years.

Western New England 14 Roger Williams 4

Top Performers
Senior catcher Brian Valeriano (Stratford, Conn.) led the way for the Golden Bears, going 2-4 with a two-run shot, making it his fourth of the season. Senior shortstop Alex Loparco (Riverside, Conn.) went 3-4 with a double and two singles. Senior infielder Aaron Rios (Stratford, Conn), senior outifield Ben Lacroix, and sophomore outfielder Joe Webber (Marshfield, Mass.) all collected two hits on the day.

Senior pitcher Bob Hamel (Southwick, Mass.) pitched seven innings and with three strikeouts.

The Hawks were led by the play of Justin Stone who went 2-3, including a two-run home run. Chris Bosco hit a triple for Roger Williams while Joey Gulino had two runs.

Game Review
The Golden Bears opened up the game with scoring eight runs. Cassella started with a double that scored two runs. Then, back-to-back hits from Webber and Grignano scored made the score 6-0 for Western New England. Valeriano finished off the inning with a home run over the left field fence to balloon the lead to 8-0.

In the top of the third, the Hawks got on the board with a Chris Bosco triple to deep center that scored Stone and Gulino, making the score 8-2.

Loparco and Cassella would both single in the fourth before Rios scored Loparco off a sac fly, adding to the Golden Bear lead.

In the top of the fifth, the Hawks would get some offense off the bat of Stone, who homered to left, making the score 9-4. In the bottom of the inning Loparco would double down the left field line allowing Webber to score adding to the lead at 10-4.

The Golden Bears went on to score four runs in the bottom of the seventh after the Hawks walked in three runs and Grignano singled down the left field line, which enforced the mercy rule at 14-4.

Western New England 13, Roger Williams 9

Top Performers
Western New England was anchored by senior outfielder Eric Lacaire (Worcester, Mass.) and senior infielder Aaron Rios (Stratford, Conn.) who both went 3-5. Sophomore outfielder Joe Webber (Marshfield, Mass.), senior catcher Brian Valeriano (Stratford, Conn.), and senior shortstop Alex Loparco (Riverside, Conn.) all had two hits. Three other Golden Bears secured hits, as well.

On the mound, senior pitcher Paul Wetmore struck out six through 5.2 IP.

Roger Williams was led by Danny Roth who went 4-5 with a home run and a double. Chris Bosco had two hits and two RBIs, while five other Hawks players collected a hit.

Game Review
In the top of the second, Roger Williams took the first lead of the game after two batters walked and a Hobin sac fly brought Roth home, making it 1-0 for Roger Williams.

In the bottom of the third, the Golden Bears scored five runs off of five hits to take the lead at 5-1. After only giving up one hit, Western New England came back and scored three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to expand their lead to 8-1. Lacaire hit a deep triple to center field to start off the inning and eventually scored on a passed ball. A bases loaded walk scored another and another Hawks miscue turned the lead into 8-1 for the Golden Bears.

The Hawks rallied in the sixth with six runs off four hits, closing the gap to 8-7. Then, tying up the game at 8-8 in the top of the seventh off and RBI single from Stone.

Western New England rattled off five runs in the bottom of the inning to secure the lead off the bats of Nussbaum and Rios, which led to the Golden Bears closing out the game with 13-9 victory.

Up Next
Western New England (16-8, 8-1 CCC) will travel to Eastern Connecticut University on Tuesday at 4pm. Roger Williams (9-15-1, 4-4-1 CCC) will host Wesleyan.