SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Junior pitcher Jason Pizzoferrato (Windsor, CT) won his eighth game of the season without a loss as third-seeded Western New England College posted a 6-4 victory over fourth-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology in the championship game of The Commonwealth Coast Conference Baseball Tournament Sunday afternoon (May 4) at Western New England’s Trelease Park.

The host Golden Bears, who went a perfect 4-0 in capturing the championship in their inaugural season in TCCC, jumped out to a 2-0 lead before an out was even recorded in their first at bat. Junior Chris Newell (Wallingford, Conn.) led off with an infield hit and went from first to third on a sophomore Justin Walz (Groton, Conn.) single. He would come in to score one batter later on a senior Travis Schwamb (West Springfield, Mass.) double. Walz scored the second run of the inning on an RBI single by sophomore Joe Griglun (Southington, Conn.). Wentworth sophomore starter Chris Sandini (Upton, Mass.) would retire the next three batters in order to end the inning.

Wentworth took a 3-2 lead in the top of the second inning as sophomore Anthony Carbone (Goshen, Conn.) led off with a single and would get to third when freshman Ben Danker (Branford, Conn.) singled and moved to second on an outfield error. Sophomore Chris Carbone (Goshen, Conn.) walked to load the bases and senior Jarrett Ament (Boylston, Mass.) placed a single to right to plate Anthony Carbone. After a strikeout, freshman Jake McManus (Hopkinton, N.H.) delivered an infield single that would score Danker. Sophomore Doug Papuga (Branford, Conn.) reached on a fielder’s choice that would see Chris Carbone score on an error and McManus reach third. However, Papuga was caught stealing to end the inning.

A three-run third inning gave Western New England the lead for good. Walz led off by drawing a walk and went to second when Schwamb singled through the left side. Griglun moved both players up 90 feet with a groundout and senior Ryan Kravontka (Glastonbury, Conn.) doubled to right to score both runners and put the Golden Bears up 4-3. After the second out was recorded freshman Tony Trubia (Tolland, Conn.) reached on an error that scored Kravontka.

The sixth inning saw the Leopards pull back within one, as junior Nick Cunningham (Pembroke, Mass.) doubled to left—his 100th career hit—and moved to third on an error. After a strikeout, Danker grounded out, which would allow Cunningham to score. Western New England push the margin back to two in the seventh inning when a Kravontka single to left scored Newell. In the eighth inning, the Golden Bears had a chance to add to their lead, but left runners on first and second.

Down to its final three outs, Chris Carbone drew a leadoff walk, placing the tying run at the plate. Senior Chris Anderson (Moodus, Conn.), who had come on in relief of Pizzoferrato in the seventh, got a fly out and then induced senior Gerald Marquis (Marlborough, Conn.) to ground into a fielder’s choice, erasing Chris Carbone. Anderson ended the game with a strikeout, giving the Golden Bears the title.

Pizzoferrato improved to 8-0 on the season as he allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits, while walking three and striking out six in 6.2 innings. Anderson notched his second save of the season, allowing one hit and one walk, while striking out one, over the final 2.1 innings. Offensively, Kravontka was 2-for-3 with three RBI, while Newell, Walz, and Schwamb each collected a pair of hits. Nine of Western New England’s 11 hits came from the top five batters in the lineup.

Sandini suffered his first loss of the season, falling to 5-1. He allowed six runs (four earned) on 10 hits, walked two, and struck out five over 6.1 innings of work. Freshman Matt Jordan (Northfield, N.H.) pitched the final 1.2 innings, allowing one hit and one walk. Six different players recorded hits for the Leopards, including Danker, Ament, and McManus, who each drove in a run.

With the win Western New England improves to 31-11 and runs its win streak to nine games. The Golden Bears, champions of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference the last two seasons, will be making their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament, which commences on May 14.

Wentworth, appearing in its first conference title game since the 1996 season, falls to 30-13 and is in contention for a berth in the ECAC Tournament. The field for that tournament will be announced on Monday.

Western New England 6, Wentworth 4 (05/04/08 at Springfield, Mass.)
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Wentworth........... 030 001 000 - 4 6 2 (30-13)
Western New England. 203 000 10X - 6 11 3 (31-11)
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Wentworth - Chris Sandini, Matt Jordan (7) and Gerald Marquis; Western New England - Jason Pizzoferrato,
Chris Anderson (7) and Jon Dominik
Win-Pizzoferrato (8-0), Save-Anderson (2), Loss-Sandini (5-1); T-2:37, A-325