BRISTOL, R.I. – Western New England College notched a doubleheader sweep of the Roger Williams University Baseball team Sunday afternoon with a 8-1 win in the opener, followed by a 4-1 victory in the nightcap.
Defensive miscues in the first game proved to be the Hawks' downfall in the first game, as Roger Williams committed five errors in the first game, leading to six unearned runs in the contest. The Golden Bears got two of those unearned runs in the top of the first to go up 2-0. Ryan Dudzinsky (Bristol, Conn.) swung through what would have been the third out of the inning, but the wild pitch found its way to the backstop, followed by an errant throw past first base trying to get Dudzinsky out at the bag. Tony Trubia (Tolland, Conn.) and Mike Rubino (Northford, Conn.) would come in to score for WNEC.
In the third inning, Trubia added two more on the board for Western New England with a two-RBI double to right center, scoring Rubino and Casey Dadio (Branford, Conn.). The Golden Bears would then double their 4-0 advantage in the fifth in an inning that saw three Hawk errors committed and all four runs score with two outs.
The Hawks made their way onto the scoreboard in the sixth inning, with Trevor Manzi (Beverly, Mass.) leading off the inning with a walk and eventually scoring on an RBI double by Eric Bransfield (Lynn, Mass.). That would be all Roger Williams would muster offensively, as WNEC held on for the win.
Matt Rogers (Portsmouth, R.I.) picked up the win, allowing one run on six hits and a two walks in seven innings with six strikeouts. Dadio, Rubino, Kyle McKelvey (Schenectady, N.Y.) and Matt Anthonis (Guilford, Conn.) all had two hits apiece, with Rubino adding two runs scored and an RBI.
Sam Podbelski (East Greenwich, R.I.) suffered the loss, tagged for all eight runs (two earned) in 4.2 innings of work. Manzi finished 1-for-2 in the game with a walk and a run, while Bransfield went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
The Golden Bears began the second game similar to the opener, with two runs in the top of the first. Trubia knocked an RBI single to left to bring in Dadio and would later score on a misplayed ball at third.
The Hawk offense stalled until the bottom of the fourth, when Rob Zarthar (Dedham, Mass.) led off the inning with an infield hit. Mike Pascarella (Milford, Conn.) would come through four batters later with a two-out RBI single up the middle to cut the deficit to one. Yet the Golden Bears brought in two more runs in the sixth inning to take a 4-1 lead that they would ultimately hold on to for the win.
Kevin Jefferis (Cheshire, Conn.) tossed five innings for the win, giving up an unearned run on six hits and two walks with four Ks. Mike Lawlor (Windsor, Conn.) pitched two perfect innings for his third save of the year. Tim Clark (West Springfield, Mass.) went 3-for-4 in the game, while Trubia was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Sean Boyle (Arlington, Mass.) took the loss, giving up four runs (three earned) in 5.2 innings on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Zarthar finished 2-for-3 with a run, with Pascarella adding a hit and an RBI.
Roger Williams (9-13, 5-3 TCCC) steps out of TCCC play on Wednesday with a 3:30 p.m. game at Suffolk University. Western New England (17-6, 13-1 TCCC) hosts the University of Massachusetts-Boston on the same day and time.
