WORCESTER, Mass. (March 12, 2024) – Western New England baseball head coach Dan Gomez earned his 200th career victory in a 15-7 offensive-filled day for the Golden Bears, who defeated the previously undefeated Cougars of Clark University on Tuesday afternoon.
Records:
- Western New England: 3-3
- Clark University: 9-1
How it Happened:
The Golden Bears got off to the start they were looking for after the undefeated Cougars had trouble finding the strike zone. Kohtaro Shimada and Sean Jamieson recorded a base on balls while Jack Loftus was hit by a pitch, all coming with two outs, bringing Andrew Florek to the dish. The sophomore would deliver with a two-RBI single up the middle of the diamond, giving Western New England a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
It would not take long for the hosts to erase Western New England's lead and come up with their first lead of the game after a two-RBI double down the left field line by Michael Soares to even the score. The Cougars would fill the bases following the double from Soares and would pick up a bases-loaded walk, delivered by WNE starter Nate Acabchuk, while Clark's Billy Sullivan would single in the infield to plate another Cougar, giving Clark a 4-2 lead after one inning of play. The Cougars would continue to struggle to throw strikes in the second inning as the Golden Bears would come away and take advantage of the walks. Ryan Montini would open the second inning with a single, while Canon Marshall would reach on a walk. After a wild pitch was tossed to push runners to second and third, WNE's leadoff hitter Trey Young would reach on a single to left field, scoring both runners, evening the score at four. Cody Waterbury would step to the plate with just one out in the inning and sent the baseball over the fences, which gave the Golden Bears a 6-4 lead. Waterbury collects his first home run of the season and fourth overall this season for Western New England. WNE would end the top of the second inning with four runs and four hits.
Tyler Curtis would shut down Clark's threat in the bottom of the second inning after loading the bases with one out, getting the next two Cougars to strike out swinging, holding off the home team from scoring. Western New England would be back on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning after Andrew Florek would slam a triple to right center field and would be followed up with the second home run of the day for the Golden Bears, this time coming from sophomore Ryan Montini, who smacked his second homer of the season and third career home run, giving WNE an 8-4 lead after the top of the third. Clark would get one run back in the bottom of the third when Dom Mariani would single to right field, though that would be all Clark would get in the third, leaving one runner on base with Western New England leading 8-5.
The Golden Bears would threaten for additional runs in the top of the fourth, though they would be held at bay by the Cougars. Sean Jamieson and Jack Loftus both recorded hits for Western New England in the inning, though would not be able to plate anything additional. Just as the Golden Bears did, the Cougars would threaten for runs of their own in the bottom half of the fourth. Clark would get a leadoff double, followed by a walk, though Demitri Boulas would get a pop-out and two flyouts to end the Cougars threat. WNE would grab a leadoff solo home run, their third of the afternoon, in the top of the fifth, when Aaron Cole gave the ball a ride to the deepest part of the ballpark and gave the Golden Bears a 9-5 lead. Cole collects his first career home run.
Western New England's Cody Waterbury would collect his second home run of the afternoon in the top of the sixth inning, adding to the Golden Bears 10-5 lead. Cam Heeman would strike out three of the four batters that he would face in the bottom of the sixth inning, seeing the blue and gold take a 10-6 lead heading into the homestretch of the contest. Clark came around with another added run in the bottom of the seventh to shrink WNE's lead to three at 10-7, though the top of the eighth would be another offensive explosion for the blue and gold, adding another four runs on the Cougars. Both Trey Young and Kohtaro Shimada would walk with one out in the inning, which would be followed up by a three-run home run from Waterbury, his third big fly of the afternoon, to go along with six RBIs, giving the Golden Bears a 13-7 lead. Sean Jamieson would smash a double to center field following the home run and would come all the way around to score on a wild pitch and a passed ball, extending Western New England's lead to 14-7. In the ninth, Western New England would add one more run when Trey Young singled through the right side of the diamond, extending WNE's lead to 15-7. Troy Donohue would close out the ninth inning for the Golden Bears, propelling WNE to an eight-run road victory.
Around the Horn:
- Western New England Head Coach Dan Gomez earned his 200th career win, all coming with the Golden Bears in today's 14-7 win. Gomez is the second-winningest head coach in the program's history.
- Cody Waterbury led the offense for the Golden Bears on Tuesday, collecting three home runs and six RBIs, going 3/5 at the plate, and scoring four runs.
- Aaron Cole and Ryan Montini also contributed big flies for Western New England on the afternoon.
- Sean Jamieson and Andrew Florek combined to go 5/9 at the plate, picking up a combined two extra base hits and two RBIs.
- The Golden Bears finished the afternoon with 15 runs on 15 hits.
- WNE used nine pitchers on the day, striking out nine total Cougars.
Up Next on the Schedule:
- Western New England will set out to the RussMatt Invitational for a week of games in Davenport, Florida, beginning on Saturday, March 16 at 1:00 PM when WNE meets No. 7 Wisconsin La-Crosse at the Northeast Regional Park (Field 3).