Golden Bears Sweep Leopards

(Courtesy of WNEC Sports Information)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Western New England College swept Wentworth 6-3 and 9-4 in a battle of two of the top baseball teams in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Sunday afternoon (Apr. 18) at Trelease Park.  The Golden Bears ran their winning streak to nine games in raising their record to 25-6 overall and 14-4 in the conference. The Leopards are now 20-10 and 12-6 in the league. Both teams started the day tied for second in TCCC with Curry.

In the opener, Wentworth jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first before WNEC scored singles in the first and second, and three runs in the third to take a 5-3 lead.

Junior left fielder Andrew Fatse (Hampden, MA) knocked in two runs with a pair of singles.  Senior shortstop Justin Walz (Groton, CT) tripled and scored twice while junior designated hitter Ryan Dudzinski (Bristol, CT) added a RBI triple.  Junior pitcher Evan Michaud (Windsor Locks, CT) gained his fourth win in five decisions by allowing six hits in six innings with three strikeouts and two walks.  Sophomore Mike Lawlor (Windsor, CT) gave up two hits and fanned two to earn his sixth save of the season.

Wentworth senior catcher Pete Oggeri (Sandy hook, CT) had a pair of singles, run, and run-batted-in.  Junior third baseman Mike Diodato (Asbury, NJ) also singled twice and drove in a run while junior second baseman Jake McManus (Hopkinton, NH) had a RBI double in the first.  Senior Chris Carbone (Goshen, CT) (2-3) took the loss.

In the second game, Western New England College rallied from a 4-2 deficit by scoring seven runs in the sixth inning, five of which were unearned because of two throwing errors.

Freshman Kevin Jefferis (Cheshire, CT) won the battle of pitching aces with senior Mo Gardner (Chagrin Falls, OH) after both entered the game with perfect 5-0 records.  Jefferis had a complete game performance giving up six hits and three earned runs with three strikeouts and three walks.

The Golden Bears again collected nine hits with senior center fielder Steve Kearney (Glastonbury, CT) delivering a pair of singles and scoring a run.  Senior first baseman Joe Griglun (Southington, CT) had a single and three RBI while junior catcher Jason Leclerc (Chicopee, MA) had a big two-run single in the deciding sixth.

The Leopards had six hits with McManus having another productive game with a single, double, and run, while junior center fielder Matt Jordan (Concord, NH) reached base four times on a pair of singles and walks.  Junior first baseman Ben Danker (Branford, CT) had a RBI double in the sixth that helped give the visitors a two-run advantage.

Gardner allowed eight hits and six runs (three earned) with three strikeouts and a walk in suffering his first loss of the season.