BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Baseball team earned a pair of dramatic wins over Wentworth on Saturday afternoon at Paolino Field, taking game one 8-6 before walking off game two, 7-6, to complete the Conference of New England (CNE) sweep. The 11:00 AM opener also served as Senior Day for the Hawks, celebrating the program's graduating class.
Game ONE – RWU 8, Wentworth 6
Wentworth struck first with a four-run second inning, capitalizing on a key three-RBI double to take early control. The Hawks responded steadily, chipping away with two runs in the third on sacrifice flies from Sam Arcieri (Westwood, N.J.) and Luke Miele (Wellesley, Mass.) before tying the game in the fourth.
Casey DeLorenzo (East Greenwich, R.I.) delivered an RBI single, followed by an RBI double from Will Florio (San Jose, Calif.) to even things at 4-4 and shift momentum back toward RWU.
Wentworth regained the lead with single runs in the sixth and seventh, but the Hawks saved their biggest moment for the eighth inning. After loading the bases, Arcieri launched a go-ahead grand slam to right-center, turning a 6-4 deficit into an 8-6 lead in one swing and igniting the Paolino Field crowd on Senior Day.
On the mound, Daniel McDonnell (Southampton, N.Y.) shut the door in relief, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings to secure the victory. Offensively, Florio led the way with three hits, while Miele added three hits of his own in a balanced attack.
Game Two – RWU 7, Wentworth 6
The second game turned into a back-and-forth battle from the start, with both teams trading runs across the early innings. Braden Ventura (Swansea, Mass.) drove in the tying run in the first, and Jack Tubman (Bellingham, Mass.) answered again in the third to keep the Hawks even at 2-2.
Wentworth briefly pulled ahead, but Roger Williams continued to respond. Florio tied the game in the sixth with an RBI single before Tubman delivered a clutch two-run single in the seventh to give RWU a 5-3 lead.
The Leopards refused to go away, rallying for three runs in the eighth to retake a 6-5 advantage and set up a tense finish.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Hawks answered once again, tying the game on a sacrifice fly by Noah Hester (Old Saybrook, Conn.) to make it 6-6 heading into the ninth.
After Ryan Camp (Cheshire, Conn.) worked a scoreless top half of the ninth out of the bullpen, Roger Williams completed the comeback in walk-off fashion. With two runners on, Rory Lynch (Easton, Conn.) delivered a clutch RBI single to left field, bringing home the winning run and sealing the 7-6 victory.
Tubman led the offense in game two with three hits and three RBI, while Ventura added three hits and two runs scored.
Roger Williams used late-inning heroics in both games to secure the sweep, capping off a memorable Senior Day with a pair of comeback victories in front of the home crowd. The Hawks' next game will be at Wheaton (Mass.) on Apr. 26 at 1:00 PM.
