BROCKTON, Mass. – Senior Johnny Ryan (Brandt, Rock, Mass.) had a pair of doubles and sophomore Tyler Weninger (Chandler, Ariz.) pitched six and a third strong innings to enable the Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team to earn a split with Roger Williams in a Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader played at Campanelli Stadium. The Leopards took a 5-3 decision in the nightcap after falling by the same score in the opener.
Game One: Roger Williams 5, Wentworth 3
Senior Kevin Baker (Wilbraham, Mass.) delivered a one-out single to left field in the first inning and senior Jamie Timothy (Cohasset, Mass.) followed with a two-run home run to left to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead after one.
In the top of the second, Roger Williams tacked on two more runs to push its lead to 4-0. Sophomore Shane Nowak (Litchfield, N.H.) reached on an error and advanced to second on a ground ball to third. Nowak came around to score the third Hawks' run on freshman Chris Bosco's (North Andover, Mass.) single into right. Baker followed up Bosco's single with an RBI single of his own to score the fourth run.
The Leopards, however, got three runs back in the home half of the second to cut the lead down to one. Junior Jordan Burst (Jackson, N.J.) started off the inning with an infield single and reached second on an error. With Burst at third and sophomore Bryon Kucharski (East Haven, Conn.) at first, freshman Ross Golebiewski (Lyme, Conn.) sent a three-run homer - his first career dinger – down the left field line to put the score at 4-3. Wentworth threatened for more as freshman Matt Smith (Horseheads, N.Y.) singled up the middle and junior Christian Ferri (Bloomfield, N.J.) walked, but a foul ball to the catcher ended the threat.
Sophomore Matt Moskal (Hamden, Conn.) snuck an RBI single through the right side to score Timothy and put Roger Williams on top, 5-3, after three innings in the books. After Roger Williams took the 5-3 lead over Wentworth in the third, neither team was able to plate a run through the next four innings.
The Leopards had an opportunity in the bottom of the sixth to even up the score with runners on first and second with two outs, but a fielder's choice closed out the inning. Wentworth went down in order in the bottom half of the seventh as Roger Williams took the game one 5-3 win.
Sophomore Jimmy Smith (Walpole, Mass.) pitched six innings to improve to 4-3 as he allowed three runs on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts in the win for Roger Williams, while senior Troy DeLeon (East Hampton, Conn.) picked up his first save of the season. Timothy and Baker paced the Hawks and went a combined 3-for-7 with a home run, three runs scored and three RBI.
Senior Corey Jerolmon (New Milford, Conn.) was tagged with the loss (2-3), allowing five runs on five hits in seven innings with one walk and four strikeouts. Burst led the Leopards, going 2-for-3 with one run scored, while Golebiewski went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI.
Game Two: Wentworth 5, Roger Williams 3
Bosco started game two off with a single to right field and moved to third after an error on the play. He then scored the game's first run on a sacrifice fly into left from Baker to give Roger Williams the 1-0 advantage after one.
Wentworth took a 5-1 lead in its half of the third that started off with an infield single from Golebiewski. After Smith reached on a fielder's choice and moved Golebiewski up to second on an error, Wentworth squared the game 1-all on Weninger's RBI single to right. The next two Leopards' runs came with Smith scored after Burst reached on an error and was followed up by a two-run double into center from Ryan. Ryan crossed home with the fifth run of the inning on junior Jimmy Temte's (Northborough, Mass.) single to center.
After Wentworth pitching held Roger Williams scoreless through five innings, the Hawks chipped the Leopards' lead down to two in the top of the seventh.
Senior Mike Allwein (Newtown, Conn.) and Nowak got on base for the Hawks with one out in the seventh that allowed junior Bryan Terzian (Westport, Conn.) to bat an RBI single to left center. Weninger was replaced by junior Aaron Denis (Dover, N.H.) and junior Caulin Rogers (Gloucester, Mass.) brought Allwein in on a sacrifice fly into right to cut Wentworth's lead down to 5-3. However, the Hawks' comeback was cut short on a ground ball to shortstop and the Leopards' snagged the 5-3 victory in game two.
Weninger pitched 6.1 innings, allowing three unearned runs on five hits with six strikeouts and one walk in the win (2-5) for the Black & Gold, while Denis picked up his first save, retiring the two batters he faced. Ryan paced the Leopards as he went 2-for-2 for two doubles, plated one run and had two RBI.
Senior Tyler Campo (Wrentham, Mass.) took the loss (1-4) as he allowed five runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts. Nowak led the Hawks and went 2-for-3 with two singles and a run scored.
Wentworth heads to Brandeis on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
