Posted: May 01, 2010
Box Score - Game Two
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Western New England College baseball team swept a pair of games from Endicott College, 12-7 and 15-14, to advance into The Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship game to be played on Sunday afternoon. Endicott wraps up its TCCC Tournament run with a 27-15 overall record and hope to grab an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Western New England College (32-9) will meet fifth-seeded Salve Regina at 1:00 p.m. Sunday in Springfield, Mass. for the conference crown and a trip to the NCAA Division III Championship.
The two-time defending champion Golden Bears have won four consecutive games in the tournament after dropping its opening contest against Anna Maria on Tuesday.
WNEC and Endicott combined for 48 runs and 67 hits in the twin bill as the hitters took advantage of summer-like conditions (85 degrees).
With players from both sides getting key hits, WNEC’s senior shortstop Justin Walz (Groton, Conn.) came through with a walk-off, two-out single that capped a wild five-run ninth inning to end game two.
Both teams had big leads in the second game with Endicott taking a 6-1 advantage in the fourth before Western New England College tallied five runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the contest. The Golden Bears scored a pair of runs in both the fifth and sixth innings for a 10-6 lead before the Gulls sent 12 batters to the plate in the eighth to score seven runs for a 13-10 lead. Senior left fielder \#Aaron Santos\# (Cambridge, Mass.) (3-for-5, 5 RBI) hit his second homer of the game in the ninth to give the visitors a four-run margin.
WNEC came back with a big inning using a key two-run single by freshman second baseman Mike Rubino (Northford, Conn.), and run-scoring singles by junior left fielder Andrew Fatse (Hamden, Conn.) and junior designated hitter Ryan Dudzinski (Bristol, Conn.) to set the stage for Walz who finished with three hits.
Rubino and sophomore right fielder Tom Bouvier (East Longmeadow, Mass.) each had four of the team's 21 hits. Rubino (who scored four runs with three RBI) and junior catcher Jason Leclerc (Chicopee, Mass.) each homered. Senior first baseman Joe Griglun (Southington, Conn.) singled twice to become the school's single season leader in hits (71). Junior Zach Cloft (Glastonbury, Conn.) pitched 1 1/3 innings to gain his fourth win of the season without a loss.
EC sophomore right fielder \#Colin Sitarz\# (West Hartford, Conn.) and freshman second baseman \#Eric Lemke\# (Southington, Conn.) each banged out three hits.
Seven players from each squad had multi-hit performances.
In the opener, Western New England College scored four runs in both the first and second innings and took a 12-2 lead into the ninth before the Gulls scored five times.
Dudzinski led the way with three hits (including a homer), four runs, two RBI, and his 27th stolen base of the season. Griglun and Fatse also contributed three hits. Senior Matt Rogers (Portsmouth, R.I.) went 8 2/3 innings in raising his record to 9-1.
For Endicott, Lemke and sophomore center fielder \#Mike Russo\# (Natick, Mass.) each compiled three hits while Sitarz slugged a homer. Sophomore \#Benjamin Petrides\# (Belchertown, Mass.) took the loss.
The Gulls now hope to hear word on a possible NCAA Tournament at-large bid while also being eligible for the ECAC Division III Tournament.
Release courtesy of Western New England College Sports Information
