Baseball Comes Up Short Twice Against No. 5 Endicott

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (May 6, 2023) – The Western New England baseball team fell short in doubleheader action on Saturday afternoon as the visiting fifth ranked Gulls of Endicott College were able to squeak by the Golden Bears, 12-7 and 6-4 in doubleheader play. 

Records:

• Western New England: 23-13-2, 8-7-1 CCC
• No. 5 Endicott College: 35-5, 15-1 CCC

Pitching Records: Game 1

• W: Chris Jenkins: 6-1
• L: Kevin Hummer: 4-2

Pitching Records: Game 2

• W: Kyan Bagshaw: 4-1
• L: Jared Kuryan: 3-1
• Sv: Max Tarlin: 9

How it Happened: Game 1

The visiting Gulls got off to a roaring start after plating six runs in the top of the first. Wladkowski, Pacheco, Mulready, and Liponis would all earn RBIs for the Gulls that would quickly plate six runs for the fifth ranked team in NCAA Division III. The Golden Bears would not go down without a fight as Paul Villecco led off the inning with a single, followed by a single up the middle from John Bova. After CJ Willis connected on a SAC bunt, Cody Waterbury would send a double into left center field to plate two runs, giving the Golden Bears their first two runs of the game. 

TJ Liponis would continue his hot streak off Kevin Hummer and the Golden Bears in the third inning, singling to center field, scoring another EC run, giving the Gulls a 7-2 lead in the third. Western New England would respond with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning after Sean Jamieson singled to right field to score CJ Willis as Western New England would trail by three runs, 7-3, through three innings of play. Endicott would score two more runs in the top of the fourth as the high powered Gulls offense showed in game one. WNE would respond with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth when Aaron Cole singled through the right side of the diamond while Ryan Montini would score on a wild pitch later in the inning as WNE would find themselves still down by four through five innings. 

Zeros were put up for both sides in the sixth, seventh, and eighth before Endicott would break that streak in the top of the ninth, plating three more runs of Aidan Gowaski, taking a 12-5 lead. WNE would tack on two runs in the bottom of the ninth off a Paul Villecco double though it would not be enough as the Golden Bears would fall by a final score of 12-7. 

Inside the Lines:

• Paul Villecco, Cody Waterbury, and Sean Jamieson all collected three hits for WNE in the loss. 
• Three Gulls had three RBIs in the win with Robbie Wladkowski, Dylan Pacheco, and TJ Liponis leading the Gulls. 
• SP Kevin Hummer lasted three innings for WNE giving up seven hits and seven runs, one earned, while striking out two. 
• Endicott starter Rian Schwede would struggle, though RP Chris Jenkins would put the final 4.2 innings on lock, striking out four Golden Bears. 

How it Happened: Game 2

Western New England would jump out to the early 1-0 lead after a CJ Willis RBI double to left center field off Gulls starting ace Gabe Van Emon. Endicott would come back in the top of the third to take their first lead of the game off a Joseph Millar RBI single and Caleb Shpur sacrifice fly, giving Endicott a 2-1 lead. The Golden Bears responded in the bottom of the inning when Cody Waterbury delivered a single to right field to score Vincent Caccavale, evening the score at two. 

The Golden Bears would take their second lead of the game when Vincent Caccavale singles up the middle to score Henry Schowerer, giving WNE a 3-2 lead. The Gulls would come around for a three spot in the top of the fifth, getting a 2 RBI single and RBI double, taking their second lead of the game. 

Western New England scored their fourth and final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth when Kohtaro Shimada found a gap in right field to bat a double. From there, the Golden Bears offense would fizzle out grabbing no hits in the final three innings as the blue and gold would fall in game two by a final score of 7-4. 

Inside the Lines:

• WNE cracked seven hits in the loss, two of which came from Vincent Caccavale. 
• SP Jared Kuryan went the first five innings, giving up six hits and five runs, two earned, while walking two and striking out five. 
• Troy Donohue and Andrew Melone came out strong in relief, combining for four innings of working, giving up two hits and a run while striking out five. 
• Max Tarlin collected his ninth save of the season, working 2.2 innings giving up no hits and two walks while striking out three. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England picks up the five seed in the CCC Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, May 10 as WNE travels to second seeded Salve Regina University. For full tournament schedules, click here.