SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The second-seeded Western New England College baseball team scored 15 runs on 15 hits to cruise past seventh-seeded Nichols, 15-3, in the opening round of the The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament Tuesday afternoon at George E. Trelease Memorial Park. The Golden Bears (26-14) scored runs in each of the first six innings, highlighted by a three-run homer from freshman Matt Fleishman in the fifth inning. Nichols (16-19) was led by a pair of hits each from three players, including Zac Johnson (Wakefield, R.I.), who came across for two of Nichols’ runs.
In the second round winners’ bracket Wednesday, WNEC will host #3 Roger Williams, which bested #6 Wentworth, 8-1, in the opening round. Nichols will travel to Brookline, Mass., to face Wentworth in a 3 p.m. game at Northeastern Wednesday.
In the top of the first, Nichols starter Austin Martin (Cranston, R.I.) walked the bases full before a fielder’s choice from Justin Walz and a pair of singles sent three WNEC runners across the plate. The following inning, Mike Beck reached on an error, advanced on a wild pitch and a Walz single before scoring on a passed ball for a 4-0 lead.
A two-out double from Tony Trubia in the third turned into the Golden Bears’ fifth run when the sophomore came around to score when Fleishman reached on an error. In the fourth, another Bison error proved costly as the home team extended its lead to 6-0.
Martin left runners on first and second in the fifth before being relieved by Chris Nemeskal (Swampscott, Mass.), whom Fleishman tagged right away to clear the bases with a three-run shot just over the left field fence. After one more hit, Nemeskal worked out of the inning with a pair of flyouts to right and a fielder’s choice.
The Bison’s bats came alive in the top of the sixth, as Nichols collected a pair of runs off of four-straight singles. Cale LaCasse (Killingly, Conn.) led off with a shot up the middle and advanced to third on a Johnson hit to short right center. With Johnson on second after the throw, LaCasse came around to score on an Al Montalto (Wilmington, Mass.) single through the left, and Johnson crossed as Nemeskal’s hit went to center for a 9-2 score.
WNEC batted around in the sixth, picking up six runs on six hits, getting five off of Nemeskal before Chris Newell jammed a triple off reliever Matt Whitman (North Plainfield, N.J.).
A one-out RBI single from Josh Clark (Brunswick, Maine) capped a three-hit inning for Nichols in the eighth, plating Johnson, who led off with a single through the left.
Nichols reliever Dan Vreeland (Becket, Mass.) pitched a 1-2-3 seventh and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth to close out the game.
Martin took the loss for Nichols, allowing eight runs (five earned) on six hits through four innings while striking out one and walking three; he falls to 4-2 on the season.
Bryan Calzone held Nichols to three hits through five innings, picking up the win with two runs allowed on seven total hits through six innings of work. Paul Dougan, Erich Geckle and Matt Sieminski each pitched an inning in relief.
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