Loftus, Willis Lead Golden Bears Past Anna Maria in Opening Day of RussMatt Invitational

AUBURNDALE, Fla. (March 11, 2023) – The Western New England baseball team opened their Florida Spring Break schedule with two wins over the AMCATs of Anna Maria College, winning 14-9 in game one, followed by a 10-1 win in game two to sweep the doubleheader. 
Records:

• Western New England: 3-0-1
• Anna Maria: 2-6

Pitching Records: Game 1

• W: Kevin Hummer: 1-0
• L: Nick Choate: 0-1

Pitching Record: Game 2:

• W: Jared Kuryan: 1-0
• L: Michael Shorey: 0-1

How it Happened: Game 1

WNE opened with the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning as the home team when Sean Jamieson would walk, which would be followed by a Cody Waterbury RBI double to lead the home team to an early victory. Western New England would break the game open in the bottom of the second inning after Jack Loftus (BB), Kohtaro Shimada (HBP) and John Bova (HBP) would all reach, leaving the bases loaded for CJ Willis, who slammed his first home run of the season and 15^th total home run in his career, grabbing four quick RBIs to give WNE a 5-0 lead. The Golden Bears would continue to pour it on after Cody Waterbury (E8), and Paul Villecco (HBP) would reach to open the inning, leading to a Jack Loftus three run home run to give WNE a commanding eight run edge. 

Anna Maria would turn the tables in the fifth, grabbing five runs on WNE starter Kevin Hummer off three hits to get themselves right back into the contest. WNE would get a run back in the home half of the fourth on another CJ Willis home run, a home run that tied the record for most home runs in WNE Baseball history. Anna Maria would come all the way back from their eight-run deficit and even the score in the top of the sixth on four runs off two hits in the top of the sixth. Western New England would quickly respond, however, in the bottom of the sixth when Paul Villecco would reach on an error by the AMCATs left fielder, scoring Cody Waterbury, John Bova and Aaron Cole. Jack Loftus and Jack Gerraughty would both double in the inning cap off the five-run inning for the Golden Bears. WNE would close out the top of the seventh inning with a perfect inning from Andrew Melone who struck out two to grab the win for Western New England, who took the win 14-9. 

Game 2:

WNE would lead off the game with a double from Jake Gerraughty, who was later brought in by a Cody Waterbury RBI single to give Western New England a quick lead. Anna Maria would grab the run right back on WNE after a leadoff triple from the AMCATs would come around to score in the inning, though SP Jared Kuryan would quickly end the inning on a flyout, limiting the damage. Sean Jamieson would send a ball over the fences in the top of the third inning to give WNE the lead again, a lead the Golden Bears would hold for the remainder of the contest. 

WNE would cap off the second game of the day with two runs in the fifth when Vincent Caccavale flied out to left field, connecting on a sacrifice fly before the bases would re-load for an RBI walk for Sean Jamieson, giving WNE their second run of the inning. Jared Kuryan would continue to sit down the AMCATs as the junior went the first five innings for WNE giving up just three hits and one run while walking two and striking out five. 

John Bova (RBI single), Kohtaro Shimada (two RBI double), CJ Willis (two RBIs and two singles) would wrap up the scoring for Western New England on the night as WNE would come away with the 10-1 victory. The WNE bullpen would stuff Anna Maria in the final innings as Demitri Boulas went one inning striking out one while Tyler Curtis went the final inning also striking out one to end the game. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE is right back in action tomorrow, Sunday, March 12 at 9:15 AM when the Golden Bears play Stockton University (3-4).