Baseball Drops Opening Round Tournament Game at Salve Regina

NEWPORT, R.I. (May 10, 2023) – The Western New England baseball team saw their early lead trickle away as the hosting two seeded Seahawks of Salve Regina stormed back in a big way and took down the Golden Bears by a final score of 10-7, sending WNE into the loser's bracket of the CCC Tournament. 

Records:

• Western New England: 24-14-2
• Salve Regina: 36-6-1

Pitching Records:

• W: Jason Arrigo: 4-0
• L: Troy Donohue: 0-2

How it Happened:

After Western New England was set down in order to open the first frame, Salve Regina jumped on a mis-pitch from WNE SP Matt Lauria and sent it over the wall as Brandon Grover got the scoring going, giving the Seahawks a 1-0 lead. The Golden Bears stormed back in the top of the second to grab their first lead of the game after both Cody Waterbury and Jack Loftus would go deep, giving WNE a 3-1 lead. Later in the inning, both Aaron Cole and Kohtaro Shimada would score while Paul Villecco would single to right field, giving WNE another run, taking a 4-1 lead. 

Salve would battle back in the bottom of the fourth inning when Michael Breen, Tyler Pestrosino and Matt D'Amato all registered RBI hits for the Seahawks, evening the score at four after four innings of play. In the fifth inning, Western New England would quickly load the bases after Vincent Caccavale would walk, CJ Willis reached on an error, and Cody Waterbury would also be walked. With the bases full, Sean Jamieson would be hit by a pitch, giving Western New England their second lead of the game. 

The lead for WNE would be short lived, however, as Salve's Matt D'Amato would register an RBI groundout, evening the score, while Dustin Siqueira would register the go-ahead run for Salve Regina on a wild pitch by Troy Donohue. WNE would come around to tie the game again in the top of the seventh after CJ Willis would single into the hole between shortstop and second base to score Paul Villecco, after Villecco reached on a fielding error by the Seahawks. The even score would last for another three outs as Salve Regina would plate four runs in the bottom of the seventh, taking the lead for good. Two unconventional runs, a walk and hit by pitch would score the first two runs of the inning while WNE's kryptonite Matt D'Amato would come around with a two RBI single to center field, collecting his third and fourth RBIs of the game, giving Salve Regina a 10-6 lead. The Golden Bears would start a rally in the ninth after Sean Jamieson would grab an RBI single to right field, though the rally wouldn't last long as Salve's Tommy DelVecchio would close the door to get the final out of the game as the Golden Bears would fall in their opening matchup by a final score of 10-7. 

Around the Horn: 

• WNE SP Matt Lauria lasted just 5.2 innings, giving up 12 hits and six runs while striking out six Seahawks in the loss.  The WNE bullpen allowed four Salve hits and four runs while striking out just two on the day. 
• The blue and gold left seven runners on base while punching out just five hits in the game. No Golden Bear had more than one hit in the loss. 
• Matt D'Amato went 3/5 at the dish for Salve in their win, grabbing four RBIs. Seven of the starting nine for Salve Regina recorded two or more hits in the win. 
• Jason Arrigo picked up the win for the Seahawks, going four innings out of the bullpen, giving up just one hits and two unearned runs while walking three and striking out six. WNE struck out 12 times on the afternoon. 
• The five hits for WNE the second lowest of the season. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England will return to Trelease Park on Thursday, May 11 at 3:00 PM to take on sixth seeded Suffolk University in a CCC Elimination Game with the winner moving on in the tournament while the loser is eliminated from playoff contention. 
• With the win, Salve moves on to host Roger Williams University, who was victorious earlier this afternoon, defeating Nichols College 5-3 on the road.

To view the full CCC playoff schedule, click here.