WNE Baseball Wins Opener, Falls Late in Game Two at Gordon College

WENHAM, Mass. (April 28, 2023) – The Western New England baseball team squeaked out a win in game one of the two seven inning double header before seeing the Fighting Scots plate five sixth inning runs to take game two as the two teams would split the Friday afternoon twin ball games.

Records:

• Western New England: 23-9-2, 7-5-1 CCC
• Gordon College: 11-24, 3-10 CCC

Pitching Records (Game 1): 

• W: Kevin Hummer: 4-1
• L: Andrew Marzetta: 4-4

Pitching Records (Game 2): 

• W: Zach Fay: 2-1
• L: Sean Hogan: 1-1

How it Happened (Game 1): 

The Golden Bears and Gordon College Fighting Scots would play two seven inning games on Friday afternoon as Western New England would look to gain early ground on the Fighting Scots in the top of the first inning after CJ Willis would single up the middle and steal second base, giving WNE a runner in scoring position with just one out. The Golden Bears would fail to score in the top of the first inning while Kevin Hummer sat down the Fighting Scots 1-2-3 in the first. 

Gordon College would earn the first run of the game after Shane Demers doubled down the right field line to open the inning while Ben Chase would bring in Demers on an RBI single in the infield, giving Gordon the 1-0 lead. Scoring would lull until the fifth inning when Kohtaro Shimada would lead off WNE with a walk, pumping up his teammates after the free base. John Bova would single up the middle with one out in the inning, bringing up the top of the order and Paul Villecco, who made no mistake in plating three runs on his fifth home run of the season, giving the blue and gold a 3-1 lead. 

Gordon would fight back in the bottom of the sixth inning and even the score again when Andrew Hartman went yard, a two-run shot for the Fighting Scots, leveling the score at three all. Western New England's John Bova would lead off the seventh inning with a single down the left field line while Paul Villecco would walk and CJ Willis would move Bova to third on a fielder's choice, putting runners on first and third with one out. Third baseman Cody Waterbury would come through for Western New England with an RBI single, scoring one, giving the Golden Bears their second lead of the game. 

Kevin Hummer and the WNE defense would hold off the Fighting Scots in the bottom of the seventh, as the Golden Bears would go on to take an important CCC win over the Fighting Scots, winning 4-3. 

Inside the Lines:

• WNE scratched out eight hits, including two from Paul Villecco, as the senior collected three RBIs in the win. 
• John Bova also collected two hits for the Golden Bears while scoring two runs to help WNE collect their seventh CCC win of the season. 
• SP Kevin Hummer, who broke the record for most start in a career with the Golden Bears with today's win at 39, threw a complete game, going seven innings giving up six hits and three runs while striking out four Fighting Scots. 
• Andrew Marzetta suffered his fourth loss of the season, going six innings, giving up seven hits and four runs while walking one and striking out two.

How it Happened (Game 2): 

After finding themselves down a run after the fourth inning, Western New England would even the score in the top of the fifth inning when Aaron Cole would make it on base the unconventional way, striking out swinging, though reaching base on a wild pitch, putting a runner aboard for John Bova. Bova would collect a double to left field, scoring Cole, giving WNE their first run of game two. 

WNE would struggle to get out in the sixth inning after WNE SP Jared Kuryan went the first five innings, giving up three hits and a run while striking out six. All nine batters for the Fighting Scots would come to the plate while two big hits in the inning would plate five runs for Gordon, giving the Fighting Scots a 6-1 lead. Western New England would not be able to overcome the five-run deficit with three outs to play, falling to Gordon by a final score of 6-1. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will play host to Middlebury College on Sunday, April 30 at 1:00 PM for a non-conference tilt.