Seahawks slug Golden Bears to wrap up Matt Kurkjian ALS Awareness Invitational with 2-1 mark

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sunday, February 25, 2024) - Salve Regina University baseball won the rubber game of its three-day series in the Matt Kurkjian ALS Awareness Invitational, posting crooked numbers in each of the first three innings en route to a 14-2 final against Western New England University at Talbot Field in the nation's capital.

Catholic University hosted the event to honor its 1978 graduate and hall of famer, Matt Kurkjian, who passed away last September after battling ALS.

The Seahawks (2-1) defeated the hosts on Friday afternoon, 6-0, before falling on day two to Stockton University, 9-5. Today, Brayden Clark (Beverly, Mass.) earned his first start of the season and faced his former Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) foe in the Golden Bears (0-3). Salve Regina scored three runs in each of the first two frames and built an 8-0 lead after three before Western New England scraped its only offensive output together in the fourth.

Driving in runs for the Seahawks in the first three innings were Christian Homa (Fairfield, Conn.), Evan O'Rourke (Arlington, Mass.), Hunter Yaworski (Brooklyn, Conn.), Matt D'Amato (Midland Park, N.J.), and Shea Donovan (Milton, Mass.). The Seahawks erupted for six unearned runs in the seventh with a pair of RBI for Elliot Hamilton (Glastonbury, Conn.).

Sophomore Brendan Foley (Burlington, Conn.) (W, 1-0) earned the victory in relief with three strikeouts in two full innings.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Salve Regina 14, Western New England 2
Records: Salve Regina (2-1, 0-0 NEWMAC), Western New England (0-3, 0-0 CCC)
All-Time Series: Salve Regina earned its 17th victory in the all-time series, 49 games to date. The 50th meeting is scheduled for neutral turf at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Connecticut, later this season.

SUMMARY

• B1 - . | Seahawks 3, Golden Bears 0
• B2 - . | Seahawks 6, Golden Bears 0
• B3 - . | Seahawks 8, Golden Bears 0
• T4 - . | Seahawks 8, Golden Bears 2
• B7 - . | Seahawks 14, Golden Bears 2

NOTEWORTHY

• .

QUOTING COACH CIRELLA

"It's a lot of what you expect after getting limited time outside and very little time on an actual baseball field. There were a lot of good things but there are also a lot of areas we need to continue to improve to get to where we want to be in May. This will continue to be a work in progress as it is still very early in the season." -- Seahawk head coach Eric Cirella '05

WHAT'S NEXT?
Salve Regina welcomes University of Southern Maine to Newport, Rhode Island, for the home opener at Reynolds Field on Friday, March 1, at 1 p.m., followed by a twinbill with the Huskies on Saturday with an 11 a.m. first pitch.