Baseball's Season Come to a Close With Loss in CCC Tournament

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore Trevor Breton (Enfield, Conn.) pitched eight innings of five-hit ball and struck out 15 batters and five players recorded multiple hits as the Western New England University baseball team staved off elimination in the 2013 Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament with a 17-1 win over Wentworth.

With the win the top-seeded Golden Bears improve to 30-10 on the season and were set to face third-seeded Salve Regina on Saturday afternoon. The Leopards, the number five seed in the tournament, saw their season come to an end with a 16-17 record.

The Golden Bears scored all the runs they would need in the first inning, pushing three runners across, as senior Mike Rubino (Northford, Conn.) had an RBI double and sophomore Steve Buckley (Monroe, Conn.) senior Kyle McKelvey (Schenectady, N.Y.) each had RBI singles.

An inning later the hosts broke the game open with a six-run frame as senior freshman T.J. Wyrebeck (Bristol, Conn.) delivered a two run single, while senior Tim Clark (West Springfield, Mass.) drew a bases-loaded walk, Rubino hit a sacrifice fly, and Senior Taylor Perun (Plainville, Conn.) had an RBI double. Western New England also took advantage of a Leopard error in the inning, scoring a run.

Wentworth scored its lone run of the game in the third inning as senior Ryan Delgado (Wareham, Mass.) led off the inning getting hit by a pitch and juniors Paul Dassau (Franklin, Mass.) and Jon Spitz (Hanover, Mass.) delivered back-to-back singles to load the bases. Senior Alex Wong (Lewiston, Maine) hit into a double play, which allowed Delgado to score.

Western New England added a run in the fourth on an RBI single from senior Tom Booth (Milford, Conn.) and scored twice in the seventh when Buckley hit a two-run home run. The Golden Bears completed the scoring in the eighth with a five-run inning.

Buckley and junior Steve Ambrosino (Laurel Hollow, N.Y.) had three hits apiece for Western New England, while Rubino, Buckley, and Booth each drove in three runs.

Dassau had two of the Leopards' six hits, with Spitz, Wong, freshman J.P. Dennehy (Danbury, Conn.), and freshman Johnny Ryan (Brandt Rock, Mass.) also recording hits. Junior Dakota Baird (Bermuda Dunes, Calif.) took the loss, allowing seven runs (five earned) on five hits in an inning-plus of work. Senior Ryan DeCotis (Nashua, N.H.), freshman Corey Jerolmon (New Milford, Conn.), and senior Ryan Conrad (East Bridgewater, Mass.) all pitched in relief for the Black & Gold.