WNEC had a five run first inning en route to defeating Bridgewater State 9-0 for a trip to Appleton. In the Mid-Atlantic, Kean forced a winner-take-all game with a 9-4 win over Alvernia in the Mid-Atlantic and followed up with a 7-0 win for the regional crown.

With the Western New England win, there will be three teams making their first appearance in the finals since 2004 (Brockpost State, George Fox, and Mancester). If Alvernia defeats Kean, it will be the first time since 1989 (Johns Hopkins, Southern Maine, UW-Whitewater, Wooster) that four teams will be making their final debut in the same year.

Western New England will be joining Buena Vista and Keystone as first-timers in the Championship tournament. Western New England photo by Steve Rogers

Western New England will be a rookie in the D-III Championship finals but it was two sophomores that got them there. Kevin Jefferis pitched seven-and-a-third scoreless innings and Tim Clark had four hits as the second-seeded Golden Bears blanked eighth-seeded Bridgewater State 9-0 to win its first-ever D-III New England Regional Championship Sunday at Whitehouse Field.

Western New England started fast by scoring five runs in the first inning while knocking out Bridgewater State ace Corey Batista who started despite getting injured playing shortstop turning a double play Saturday in a 6-3 win over Wheaton. Senior third baseman Tony Trubia, sophomore third baseman Mike Rubino, and senior center fielder Andrew Fatse each had RBI singles in the opening frame. Junior first baseman Mike Taylor knocked in the last two runs with a base hit. Western New England a pair of run in the third, one in the sixth and one in the seventh. Clark, who had seven hits in the tournament, was named the regional Most Outstanding Player.

Sunday's scoreboard

Kean lost its first regional game and won the final six to fill the final spot in the National Championship series. Kean athletics photo

Kean punched its ticket as it defeated Alvernia, 7-0, for the Mid-Atlantic Region Championship on Sunday afternoon. The top-seeded Cougars emerged from the loser’s bracket after dropping the first round of the tournament with a loss to Catholic and had to defeat Alvernia twice on Sunday to advance to the World Series for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

After scoring nine runs in the first game, the Cougars picked right up where they left off in the second game, scoring two in the first inning. The Cougars tacked on two more runs in the third inning and pushed the lead out to seven runs with a three-run seventh.

Chris Cirlincione returned on short rest after pitching the first game of the tournament for the Cougars and allowed just four hits and no runs in seven innings of work. Lee Cavico, the tournament's MVP, was 2-of-4 with one RBI and one run scored, while Ken Gregory was 2-of-5 with four RBI in the winner-take-all championship game.

In the first game of the day, Kean scored four runs in the fifth inning en-route to a 9-4 win over Alvernia. Sam Fourre made just his third start of the season, as he went the distance in scattering 10 hits with six strikeouts for the Cougars, while freshman Tyler Smarslok was 2-of-3 with two RBI and one run scored.