WENHAM, Mass. – Senior Adam Farrar (Newport, Vt.) picked up a complete game victory as the Wentworth baseball team rallied with a pair of runs in the sixth inning to overtake league-leading Western New England, 4-3, before the Golden Bears used a seven-run fourth inning in the nightcap to earn the split with a 13-5 win.
Western New England took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the opener as junior Mike Rubino (Northford, Conn.) hit a sacrifice fly to left that scored sophomore Jeff Schult (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) who had led off with a walk. The Golden Bears increased their lead to 2-0 an inning later on an RBI single off the bat of sophomore Taylor Searles (Seymour, Conn.), which scored junior Tim Clark (West Springfield, mass.) who had led off the inning with a double.
The Leopards tied the game in the third inning as junior Alex Wong (Lewiston, Maine) led off with a single and went to third on a sophomore Jon Spitz (Hanover, Mass.) double. After a popup, freshman Jake Mailman (Medway, Mass.) delivered a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Wong, and freshman Joe Hulme (Tewksbury, Mass.) singled in Spitz a batter later.
An RBI double from junior Tom Booth (Milford, Conn.) scored junior Kyle McKelvey (Schenectady, N.Y.) in the top of the fourth, giving the Golden Bears a 3-2 lead, a lead they would hold until the sixth inning.
Senior Justin Bolla (Groveland, Mass.) hit a one-out single through the left side and went to second when sophomore Dakota Baird (Bermuda Dunes, Calif.) walked. Western New England brought in senior closer Mike Lawlor (Windsor, Conn.) who walked senior Kevin McKenzie (Arlington, Mass.) to load the bases. Junior Ryan Delgado (Wareham, Mass.) hit a grounder to third which enabled Western New England to get Bolla at the plate. However, the attempt to get Delgado sailed into right field, allowing Baird to score the tying run and put McKenzie at third. On a 1-0 pitch Wong laced a single through the right side to plate McKenzie and give Wentworth a 4-3 lead.
Down to its final at bat, Western New England went in order – all on ground outs, including one back to Farrar to end the game.
Farrar (2-2) scattered nine hits, walked two, and struck out six batters to earn his second straight win. Wong, Hulme, and Bolla each had a pair of hits in the win.
Lawlor falls to 1-2 with the loss, as he allowed an unearned run on one hit and walked one in two-thirds of an inning. He had come on in relief of sophomore Brendan Nugent (Milford, Conn.), who allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits, walked two, and struck out three in 5.1 innings. McKelvey (three hits) and Searles (two hits) paced the Western New England offense.
The Golden Bears struck for three runs in their first at bat of game two as Clark delivered a three-run home run to right and used a senior Mike Taylor (Andover, Mass.) solo shot to take a 4-0 lead in the second inning. An inning later Western New England upped its lead to 6-0 on an RBI single from Clark and a sacrifice fly from McKelvey.
Wentworth cut the lead in half in the home half of the third when Wong, who reached on an error to lead off the inning, scored on a wild pitch, Mailman had an RBI single, and Hulme drove in a run on a fielder's choice.
Western New England sent 12 batters to the plate in the top of the fourth and broke the game open with seven runs, which included a two-run single from sophomore Steve Ambrosino (Laurel Hollow, N.Y.) and a two-run single from Searles. Clark McKelvey, and senior Tyler Issadore (Hingham, Mass.) each had an RBi as well.
Wentworth plated a single run in the home half of the fourth on a single from Wong and added a run in the sixth on an RBI single from senior Conner Flisnik (Marcy, N.Y.).
Junior Kevin Jefferis (Cheshire, Conn.) improved to 2-2 as he allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits, walked two, and struck out three in 4.2 innings of work. Clark was 4-for-4 with five RBI, while Ambrosino and Searles each had two hits and two RBI.
Senior Kyle Cruz (Burlington, Conn.) fell to 2-3 with the loss as he allowed nine runs (eight earned) on seven hits, walked one, and struck out two in three-plus innings. Sophomore Ben Lewis (Middletown, R.I.) allowed four runs on five hits in four innings. Lewis held Western New England scoreless over the final three innings. Wong and Flisnik had two hits each.
Western New England stands at 17-9 (7-1 Commonwealth Coast Conference) and hosts Curry in a doubleheader on Sunday. Wentworth stands at 15-13 (6-4) and is at Endicott for a pair, also on Sunday.
