Golden Bears sweep to claim first place; Seahawks honor four seniors

SEAHAWK BASEBALL RESULTS

[1] Western New England 15, Salve Regina 12
[2] Western New England 5, Salve Regina 4 (8 innings)
Newport, R.I. - Reynolds Field
Sunday, May 1, 2016

NEWPORT, R.I. - Western New England University baseball scored 15 runs in first two innings of game one, and the go-ahead run in extra innings of game two, to sweep Salve Regina University in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) regular season finale for both teams. Golden Bears (28-9; 13-3 CCC) earn the top seed in playoffs starting on Thursday, while the Seahawks (21-15-1; 10-6 CCC) take the fourth seed and will be on the road at third-seeded Nichols College to start the postseason.

Series and Streaks
With 30 meetings now in the books, Western New England extends its win streak in the series to 18 games, and overall record to 25-5 against Salve Regina. The last Seahawks' victory came on March 21, 2010, in the opener of two in Newport (8-5).

Three Seahawk Stars of the Day
1 – Salve Regina senior Alex Croce (Rumford, R.I.) - pitched two and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief in game one with a couple of strikeouts.
2 – Salve Regina freshman Tristan Dacey (Wyckoff, N.J.) - went 3-for-7 with three runs batted in, including his sixth home run of the season that ties him for league lead.
3 – Salve Regina freshman Zack Smith (New Canaan, Conn.) - went 4-for-8 with two runs scored.

Key Stat of the Day
Despite trailing 15-0 before batting for the second time, Salve Regina outhit Western New England, 15-13, in game one and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.

Turning Points
The visitors crossed the plate 10 times before the home team batted in the opener; Golden Bears added five more in their second frame.

In the second game, Eduardo Colmenares' (Caracas, Venezuela) single to center with two outs in the seventh made a bid for the go-ahead run to cross the plate, but Seahawk senior Ryan Kelly (Waldwick, N.J.) threw a one-hopper to catcher Christian Vargas (Melbourne, Fla.) to nail his counterpart Matt Calzone (Pomperaug, Conn.). Great play in the field, then lead off the next half inning? Yes, but Golden Bears' reliever Jacques Boilard (Brimfield, Mass.) got Kelly to pop to short before striking out the next two Seahawks. Western New England went ahead on a sacrifice line drive to left by Ben LaCroix (Branford, Conn.) which brought home Doug Milne (Nesconset, Mass.) who opened the eighth inning with a single to left off Seahawk senior Mike Schuermann (Rockville Centre, N.Y.).

Quick Hits

• The Seahawks honored five seniors prior to the final regular-season home game - Croce, Kelly, Schuermann, pitcher John McDermott (Bedford Hills, N.Y.), and marketing intern Mary Cain (Montpelier, Vt.).
• Western New England's 18-game win streak in the series includes six one-run victories.
• Daniel Morin (Salem, N.H.) and Tristan Dacey (Wyckoff, N.J.) both homered in the first game to continue sharing the league lead with six roundtrippers apiece. Dacey finishes as the league-leader with five home runs and 20 RBI in CCC games.
• Alex Perry (No. Attleboro, Mass.) homered in the opener for his 39th run batted in on the year. John Kussmaul (Brick, N.J.) also added his second homerun of the season.
• Seahawk starter in game two, Jimmy Fitzgerald (Canton, Mass.), breezed through his first two frames retiring first six Golden Bears he faced.
• Western New England starter Tom Mahoney (Granville, Mass.) earned the victory, now 4-3, despite allowing eight runs (six earned) in five innings.
• Frank Lemieux (Marshfield, Mass.) struggled in his start for the Seahawks to fall to 3-2 on the year.
• Boilard (2-1) picked up the win in relief in game two while the losing decision was pinned on Schuermann (0-1).
• Salve Regina lost by the same score (15-12) exactly 12 years ago (May 1, 2004) in Middletown, R.I., when the Seahawks fell to Endicott in conference playoff action.
• Through three innings of game two at Roger Williams on Saturday, Salve Regina had a shot at the first seed in the CCC postseason. After losing that, today the Seahawks had a shot at second seed before the loss in game one. Third seed went by the board with their third consecutive defeat. Nichols swept Roger Williams today to claim the third seed with the right to host on Thursday.

Next up
Salve Regina (21-15-1, 10-6 CCC) – Thursday, May 5 at Nichols, 3 p.m. [CCC]
Western New England (28-9; 13-3 CCC) – Thursday, May 5 vs. Curry, 3 p.m. [CCC]