Hummer Goes Nine, Baseball Earns Tie with Salve Regina in CCC Play

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 15, 2023)  - The Western New England baseball team earned a second game tie with the Seahawks of Salve Regina University on Saturday after dropping the first contest on a near 1-0 defeat after SP Kevin Hummer went the full nine innings, giving up just one run, though WNE would not be able to put many hits on the board in the loss. WNE would rally back and score two on the Seahawks in the ninth of the second game to earn an even split after a weather delay would cancel the remainder of the contest. 

Records:

• Western New England: 17-6-2, 4-3-1 CCC
• Salve Regina: 18-6-1, 5-2-1 CCC

Pitching Records: Game 1

• W: Brayden Clark: 5-2
• L: Kevin Hummer: 2-1
• SV: Jason Arrigo: 4

No Pitching Records: Game 2

How it Happened (Game 1):

In a pitcher's duel between the Golden Bears and the Seahawks, the first, and only, run of the game came in the top of the seventh for the Seahawks as both lineups would be shaken by WNE SP Kevin Hummer and Salve Regina SP Brayden Clark. Salve would see the best opportunity to score come to waste after two runners got on base via walk and single before a double play was turned by the Golden Bears in the second. WNE would return the favor in the bottom of the inning, though two runners would be stranded. 

Both pitchers would cruise through the sixth inning before the Seahawks would get the first run of the game in the top of the seventh. Christian Homa led off with a double down the right field line and would later come around to score on a fielder's choice, giving SRU the 1-0 lead. The WNE bats stayed cold as both Brayden Clark, who worked the first seven innings for the Seahawks, and Jason Arrigo, who finished the game, shutdown the high-powered offense for WNE. Western New England would fall 1-0, cracking just five hits. 

Around the Horn:

• Kevin Hummer pitched all nine innings for the Golden Bears, picking up his first loss of the season, giving up six hits and a run while walking one and striking out three. 
• Brayden Clark went the first seven giving up four hits and no runs while walking one and striking out six. Jason Arrigo finished the game, picking up his fourth save of the season, going two innings, giving up one hits and one walk, while striking out two. 
• Michael Breen recorded the only RBI of the game. 

How it Happened (Game 2): 

Much like game one, game two started out with quiet bats and dominant starting pitching as Western New England's Jared Kuryan and Salve's Graham Jeffries would shine through the first four innings. The Golden Bears would find their offense in the bottom of the fifth inning after Kohtaro Shimada led WNE off with a single to center field, which was then followed up with a single to left field by Aaron Cole, putting two runners aboard with no outs. Paul Villecco would rip a single to center field to score both runners after John Bova produced a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over in the previous at bat. WNE would take the 3-0 lead out of the fifth after Cody Waterbury would double down the left field line to produce the third Golden Bears run. 

Salve would begin to pick away at Kuryan and the Golden Bears, getting one run back in the top of the sixth before scoring four runs in the top of the seventh to take a 5-2 lead. A two-run error and two run RBI double would produce four runs in the inning as WNE would see themselves in a 5-3 deficit. 

WNE and Salve would go down quietly in the eighth before the Golden Bears would shine in the bottom of the ninth, quickly tying the game. Kohtaro Shimada would be hit by a pitch before Aaron Cole doubled to right field and would advance on an errand throw by the Salve Regina right fielder, allowing Cole to take third and home, tying the game for WNE. The Golden Bears and Seahawks would be evened up heading into extra innings before thunderstorms halted play, causing the CCC contest to end in a tie. 

Inside the Lines:

• Both Cody Waterbury and Aaron Cole collected two hits apiece in the tie, while WNE collected eight total hits. 
• SP Jared Kuryan went the first 6.2 innings giving up four hits and five runs, one earned, while walking three and striking out one. 
• Andrew Melone finished the game for WNE, going 2.1 innings giving up two hits and no runs while walking one and striking out one. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Weather permitting, WNE will host No. 18 Wheaton College (Mass.) on Sunday, April 16 at 1:00 PM.