Baseball Kicks off 2020 Campaign

WEYMOUTH, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team opened its 2020 campaign with a par of games against Eastern Nazarene. The Lions prevailed in the opener, 11-1, and completed the sweep with a 2-0 win in the nightcap.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – GAME ONE

Offensive Leaders:  Aidan French, 1-4, 1 run; Nolan McManus, 1-2, 1 walk; Matt Bishop, 1-3, 1 RBI
Pitching Leaders:  Ryan Obin (L, 0-1), 4 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 4 K; Jon Campbell, 0.2 IP, 2 K

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – GAME TWO

Offensive Leaders:  Kyle O'Neill, 2-3; Aidan French, 1-2
Pitching Leaders:  Ryan Joyce (L, 0-1), 4 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 5 K; Leo Coelho, 3 IP, 1 R, 3 K

HOW IT HAPPENED (Game One):

• The teams traded runs in the first inning with Eastern Nazarene grabbing a 1-0 lead in the top half of the inning on an RBI groundout from senior Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.), which plated senior Dylan Loviaux (Mohton, Pa.). In the bottom of the inning, junior Aidan French (Chicago, Ill.) led off with a single and went to second on a wild pitch before moving to third when sophomore Nolan McManus (Milton, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice. He came into score on a sophomore Matt Bishop (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) single.
• Eastern Nazarene scored a run in the fourth and added two more in the fifth before scoring seven times over the final two innings to break the game open. Pesce had a two-run home run in the fifth as part of a five RBI game for him.
• Three Leopards had hits in the loss while senior Ryan Obin (Plymouth, Mass.) struck out four batters over four innings. Freshman Jon Campbell (Redmond, Wash.) pitched two-thirds of an inning, striking out both batters he faced.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Game Two):

• While game one featured 12 runs and 13 hits, the nightcap was more of a pitcher's battle as both teams combined for just two runs on seven hits. After a scoreless first two innings, the Lions got the only run they would need in the top of the third inning on an RBI single from senior Bobby Fulkerson (Anaheim, Calif.), which scored sophomore Brandon Guerrero (Boston, Mass.) who had reached on an error with one out.
• As they had in the first inning, the Leopards threatened in the fifth, however, left a pair of runners on base to end the threat.
• Eastern Nazarene tacked on a run in the top of the seventh inning when Guerrero ground out to score sophomore Jaime Roldan (Boston, Mass.) who had led off the inning with a double.
• Sophomore Kyle O'Neill (Haverhill, Mass.) had two of Wentworth's three hits while French had the other. Senior Ryan Joyce (Avon, Mass.) took the loss (0-1), allowing an unearned run on two hits while striking out five in four innings.

NOTEWORTHY:

• Today marked the earliest games played in program history. Previously the earliest the Leopards opened the season was on February 23, 1992, at Florida Institute of Technology. The last time the Black & Gold opened the season in February was on February 27, 2016, against Emerson.

SERIES NOTES:

• Today marked the 50th and 51t all-time meetings between the two programs. Wentworth holds a 33-18 series advantage.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth heads to the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational for its annual spring break trip, March 6-14. The Leopards will play 10 games during this trip, beginning with a doubleheader against Nebraska Wesleyan on Sunday, March 8, in Auburndale, Fla.

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