SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Top-seeded Western New England defeated fourth-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology by the scores of 4-2 and 9-3 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference Baseball Tournament Saturday to advance to the final round for the fourth consecutive season.
The 25th-ranked Golden Bears will host third-seeded Endicott at noon Sunday (May 8) for the conference championship and the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament. The third-seeded Gulls advanced to the finals with an 11-0 win over sixth-seeded to remain undefeated in the tourney at 3-0. Western New England will have to win two games against EC to capture its fourth straight TCCC title.
Senior Matt Rogers (Portsmouth, RI) gained the win in relief with three scoreless innings in the opener and started the second game, going six innings to improve to 10-1 on the season.
Junior first baseman Mike Taylor (Andover, MA) knocked in the winning run in the opener, which forced the second and deciding game and drove in three runs to help the Golden Bears secure a berth in the title game.
Needing a win to stay alive, in the first game the Golden Bears plated the two deciding runs in the eighth inning on two-out RBI singles by Taylor and sophomore right-fielder Casey Dadio (Branford, CT).
Sophomore Kevin Jefferis (Cheshire, CT) went six strong innings allowing seven hits and a pair of runs (one earned) with two walks and strikeouts. Rogers gained the win in relief by striking out three and giving up one hit in three innings.
Senior center-fielder Andrew Fatse (Hampden, MA) continued his strong post-season play with a pair of run-scoring singles in the fifth and seventh. Sophomore left-fielder Matt Anthonis (Guilford, CT) also had two hits and scored a pair of runs.
Wentworth scored an unearned run in the third for the early lead with junior shortstop Conner Flisnik (Marcy, NY) getting a RBI on a ground-out. The Leopards went ahead 2-1 in the sixth when senior first baseman Ben Danker (Branford, CT) led-off with a double and scored when senior second baseman Jake McManus (Hopkinton, NH) followed with a single. McManus finished with two hits.
Sophomore Alex Wong (Lewiston, ME) also had a strong performance going six innings and giving up four hits and four runs with five walks and four strikeouts. Junior Kyle Cruz (Burlington, CT) took the loss in relief, as he fell to 1-1 on the season.
In the winner-take-all contest, the Golden Bears wasted no time scoring five runs in the first inning with a two-run double by Taylor among helping to lead the way. He also added a RBI single in the seventh to pace the 15-hit attack.
Sophomore second baseman Mike Rubino (Northford, CT) went 3-for-3 with a hit by pitch, sacrifice, and two runs scored. Sophomore second baseman Tm Clark (West Springfield, MA) also collected three singles and scored once.
Rogers picked up where he left off in the first game, as he allowed seven hits in six innings and one earned run with a walk and four strikeouts. Freshman Mike Lospinuso (West Islip, NY) went the final three innings giving up a pair of hits with two strikeouts for his first collegiate save.
Sophomore catcher Ryan Delgado (Wareham, MA) had three hits and scored a run for the visitors. Danker and senior centerfielder Matt Jordan (Concord, NH) contributed a single and double. Junior Nick Colanto (Beverly, MA) was the losing pitcher, falling to 4-2 on the season.
Western New England head coach Matt LaBranche won his 350th career game in the first contest and the Golden Bears (36-9) set a school record for wins in the second outing, breaking the old mark of 35 set in 2006.
Wentworth, which had defeated the Golden Bears, 7-1, on Thursday, fell to 24-15 and awaits a possible ECAC Tournament berth which will be announced on Monday.
-Portions of this release courtesy of Western New England Sports Information-
