BROCKTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team suffered a pair of Commonwealth Coast Conference losses to Roger Williams Saturday afternoon at Campanelli Stadium.
With the two wins, the Hawks improve to 12-13 overall and 5-1 in CCC play while the Leopards fall to 7-12 (2-6) after seeing their two-game win streak halted.
GAME ONE: Roger Williams 13, Wentworth 0
Senior Sam Bennett (Andover, Mass.) hurled a four-hit shutout while striking out five to improve to 4-2 on the season as Roger Williams took a 6-0 lead in the first inning and cruised from there. With two outs and one run in on a sophomore Joey Gulino (Meriden, Conn.) RBI single, an error allowed sophomore Justin Stone (Blackstone, Mass.) to score and the Hawks scored four additional times as junior Anthony Dominguez (Chester, N.J.), sophomore Tyler Rondeau (Bourne, Mass.), and senior Shane Nowak (Litchfield, N.H.) each had RBI singles and sophomore Eddy Jackson (Seekonk, Mass.) had a run-scoring double. Jackson gave the Hawks a 7-0 lead with his second inning sacrifice fly, which scored freshman Brandon Jenkins (East Bridgewater, Mass.), who had led off the inning with a single.
Wentworth nearly got on the board in the third inning as junior Anthony de la Cruz (Lynn, Mass.) led off with a single and went to second when sophomore Owen Swanson (New Milford, Conn.) reached on an error. Freshman Aidan French (Chicago, Ill.) took advantage of the Hawks' second miscue of the inning when he reached to load the bases with no one out, however, a 1-2-3 double play and a strikeout ended the threat.
Roger Williams added three runs in the fifth inning as Stone and Jenkins each had RBI singles and Gulino reached on a fielder's choice which also plated a run. The Hawks completed the scoring in the seventh with two of the three runs they scored in the inning coming on a Dominguez single.
Jenkins and Nowak were each 3-for-5 as a part of a 16-hit attack while Dominguez drove in three runs in the game.
Junior Mike Callagee (Emerson, N.J.) took the loss (1-3) for the Leopards as he allowed six runs (one earned) on six hits in two-thirds of an inning. Freshman Brendan Winch (Bow, N.H.) allowed four runs on seven hits and struck out a pair in 4.1 innings while classmate Nate McDonald (Durham, Conn.) pitched the final two innings, allowing three unearned runs on three hits. Junior Andrew Elliott (Rockland, Mass.) had two of the Leopards' four hits.
GAME TWO: Roger Williams 5, Wentworth 0
The nightcap was scoreless for the first four innings of play, however, both teams had chances to get on the board first. In the bottom of the second, senior Tim Elrick (Plymouth, Mass.) led off ad went to second on a junior Jake Smith (Orange, Conn.) sacrifice bunt. A wild pitch moved Elrick to third, however, a strikeout and a groundout ended the threat. Roger Williams left a pair of runners on in the top of the third as junior Chris Bosco (North Andover, Mass.) hit a two-out single and went to third on a Nowak single. A groundout would strand him there. Wentworth had a pair of runners on with two outs in the fourth inning, however, a strikeout ended the inning with the game still scoreless.
Roger Williams scored twice in the top of the second inning to take a 2-0 lead Dominguez walked, went to second on a Jackson sacrifice bunt, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. A Rondeau sacrifice fly brought him home to make it 1-0. Bosco was hit by a pitch and stole second before Nowak brought him home with an RBI single. The Hawks added three runs to their lead an inning later on an RBI single from Dominguez, and Jackson groundout which drove in a run, and a Rondeau double.
Sophomore Justin Garcia (Foxborough, Mass.) picked up the win (3-1) as he allowed three hits, walked three, and struck out six in five innings of work. Freshman Matt Vernacatola (Berlin, Conn.) pitched the final two innings where he did not allow a hit and struck out one. Nowak and Stone had two hits apiece in the win.
Sophomore Ryan Obin (Plymouth, Mass.) took the loss (1-4) as he allowed three runs on six hits in five-plus innings. Junior Ben Rexford (Lancaster, N.H.) allowed a pair of runs on two hits in an inning of work while freshman Ricky Alexy (Newton, Mass.) allowed one hit in a scoreless seventh inning.
Wentworth hosts Fitchburg State on Thursday.
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