April 5, 2009
Box Score - Game One / Box Score - Game Two
BEVERLY, Mass. - Western New England freshman Matt Fleishman (East Northport, N.Y.) entered Sunday's doubleheader with zero career collegiate homeruns and boarded the bus back to Springfield, Mass. with three round-trippers as the Golden Bears blasted the Gulls, 12-0 and 15-2. The wins improve WNEC to 15-9 overall and 9-5 in TCCC play while the Gulls fall to 7-13 and 2-6 in Conference action.
Western New England broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning of game one as the Golden Bears cranked back-to-back doubles to pull ahead 1-0. The visitors would extend the lead to 4-0 in the fifth as Fleishman doubled to right center, followed by an RBI single by Mike Beck (Whitesboro, N.Y.).
In the sixth, the guests tacked on eight runs on a trio of Gulls' pitchers to blow the game wide open. Fleishman belted a three-run towering shot to left field that cleared the trees above the rock wall, followed two batters later by a Mike Beck two-run shot to left center. Sophomore Evan Michaud (Windsor Locks, Conn.) tossed the complete game shutout, allowing five hits while striking out five to improve to 3-1. Fleishman was 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two run scored in game one.
The late offensive momentum garnered by the visitors carried over into game two as the Golden Bears jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after one inning of play. The Gulls would finally get on the board in the home half of the second as Mike Judge (Wilton, Conn.) drove in Michael Russo (Natick, Mass.) with an RBI single up the middle. The Blue and Green would make it 3-2 just one inning later with a leadoff double by Aaron Santos (Cambridge, Mass.) followed by an RBI single from Andrew Betts (Bristol, Conn.).
The sixth inning once again belonged to Western New England as the Golden Bears posted nine runs on six hits to take control of the afternoon. Tony Trubia (Tolland, Conn.) got the frame started with a double down the left field line; only to have Fleishman crank his second homerun of the day just one batter later. WNEC batted around in the inning, with Trubia clearing the bases with a three run shot followed by Fleishman's second home run of the inning and his third of the day with a smash to center field. WNEC scored a combined 17 runs in the sixth inning of games one and two on Sunday.
Fleishman went a combined 4-for-7 with seven RBIs and four runs scored in the pair of victories. Tony Trubia also posted big numbers, batting 5-of-7 and driving in five for the guests.
Endicott looks to end its five-game conference skid with a doubleheader against Curry College on Monday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. WNEC travels to Eastern Connecticut on the same day at 4:00 p.m.
